Defence giant BAE appoints its first-ever female chairman
DEFENCE giant BAE is set to name its first female chairman.
The appointment of Cressida Hogg ( pictured), the current chairman of FTSE 100 property giant Land Securities, is due to be announced alongside BAE’s half-year results today.
She is poised to succeed Sir Roger Carr, who joined in 2013 to stabilise the business shortly after a disastrous attempt to merge with European aerospace giant EADS.
He steps down next May. BAE declined to comment, but Hogg’s arrival will mean all three of the UK’s top defence firms will have female chairmen for the first time.
Anita Frew filled the role at Rolls
Royce last year while Ruth Cairnie stepped up at Babcock in 2019.
The Mail on Sunday revealed BAE was appointing Hogg last weekend – and Sky News last night reported she had been handed the role as she prepares to leave LandSec next year after eight years.
Hogg has also held a senior position at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, one of the world’s largest pension funds, and sits on the board of the London Stock Exchange Group.
She is the daughter of British industrialist Christopher Hogg, who chaired several firms including pharma giant GSK, media group Reuters and Allied Domecq.
Her husband, Henry Legge, is a barrister and the brother of William Legge, the Earl of Dartmouth and former deputy chairman of Ukip.
Upon arrival, Hogg will join female board members including Kelly Ayotte, a former US senator, lawyer Alice Eldridge, and Gina Haspel, the first female head of the CIA. Shares in BAE have risen by 40pc this year.
BAE SYSTEMS ON TRACK TO PICK FEMALE LEADER