[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 41 (Thursday, March 13, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3725-S3726]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        A TRIBUTE TO KENT KRESA

 Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I would like to take this 
opportunity to recognize an outstanding leader of American industry, 
Kent Kresa, upon his retirement. For the past 13 years, Mr. Kresa has 
presided over Northrop Grumman Corporation as its chairman and CEO.
  Under his guidance, Northrop Grumman grew from a mid-sized defense 
company known primarily for aircraft building to a full-spectrum major 
defense firm. The Northrop Grumman that Mr. Kresa refashioned is home 
to 120,000 employees located in all 50 States and has operations in 25 
foreign countries.
  It is my privilege to commend Mr. Kresa for a career that helped 
modernize our defense industrial base and that significantly bolstered 
our national security.
  Mr. Kresa was born in New York City and raised on Long Island. He 
received his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 
earning a bachelor's degree in 1959 and post-graduate degrees in 1961 
and 1966, all in aeronautics and astronautics.

[[Page S3726]]

  Before joining Northrop Grumman, Mr. Kresa served with the Defense 
Advanced Research Projects Agency, where he was responsible for applied 
research and development programs in the tactical and strategic defense 
arena. From 1961-68 he was associated with the Lincoln Laboratory at 
M.I.T., where he worked on ballistic missile defense research and re-
entry technology.
  During his distinguished career, Mr. Kresa received many of 
industry's and the government's most prestigious honors. In January, 
Forbes Magazine featured him on their cover and named Northrop Grumman 
the Company of the Year. In 2002, Mr. Kresa was awarded the Ellis 
Island Medal of Honor for his significant contributions to our nation's 
heritage. He received the Navy League's Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Award 
for outstanding support of the U.S. Navy.
  Also last year, he was named president for a 1-year term of the 
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. And he was 
presented the California Institute of Technology's Management 
Association's Excellence in Management Award for demonstrating 
extraordinary vision and leadership.
  In 2001, BusinessWeek magazine selected Mr. Kresa as one of the 
Nation's Top 25 managers. That same year he received the Private Sector 
Council's Leadership Award for his commitment to improving governmental 
efficiency. In May 2000, the Aerospace Historical Society presented Mr. 
Kresa with the International von Krmn Wings award for 
his contributions to the industry. And in March of 2000, the California 
Manufacturers and Technology Association named Mr. Kresa and Northrop 
Grumman a Manufacturer of the Century.
  Other honors include Honorary Fellow by the American Institute of 
Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1998; California Industrialist of the 
Year in 1996, by the California Museum of Science and Industry and the 
California Museum Foundation; the Navy League of New York's Admiral 
John J. Bergen Leadership Award in 1995; and the Air Force 
Association's John R. Alison Award for Industrial Leadership in 1994.
  During Mr. Kresa's tenure at DARPA, he received the Arthur D. 
Flemming Award as one of the top 10 people in the U.S. Government in 
1975; the Navy's Meritorious Public Service Citation the same year; and 
Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Medal in 1974.
  While impressive, this partial list of honors only begins to tell the 
story of Mr. Kresa's contributions to the defense industry and this 
country.
  After joining Northrop in 1975, he was responsible for innovations in 
stealth and surveillance aircraft, such as the revolutionary B-2 
stealth bomber. He was named president of the company in 1987, and CEO 
and chairman of the board in 1990.
  Within the next few years, he embarked upon a decade-long effort that 
would not only transform Northrop Grumman but also make the company a 
major force in changing the nature of the defense business.
  He and his staff foresaw that a post-cold war defense establishment 
would require a very different array of products and services, that 
America's military of the future would rely on systems and integrated 
networks to tremendously enhance the capabilities of its platforms. He 
worked tirelessly to help the Department of Defense achieve this vision 
of interconnected platforms working together to greatly increase the 
situational awareness and speed of engagement of our military forces.
  To build a company that could better support the new direction of the 
Department of Defense, Mr. Kresa and his staff acquired 16 other major 
firms, many of them legends in their own right. These included Grumman, 
Westinghouse, Logicon, Litton Industries, Newport News Shipbuilding, 
and, most recently, TRW.
  ``This Amalgamation of great companies,'' to quote Mr. Kresa, created 
a corporate structure that has led to new efficiencies and much 
creative collaboration. Today, for instance, Navy ships can be built 
from top to bottom as well as networked with other platforms simply 
through the joint efforts of Northrop Grumman experts in information 
technology, avionics, satellite communications and other areas.
  Mr. Kresa and was also instrumental in developing and gaining 
Congressional approval for several key platforms that will help form 
the backbone of our 21st century military. These include the Joint 
Strike Fighter, the DDX family of destroyers, cruisers and littoral 
combat ships, and the new generation of Coast Guard ships and aircraft 
known as the Deepwater project.
  As Mr. Kresa moves on to exciting new challenges I wish him, his wife 
Joyce, and their daughter Kiren, every success and happiness.
  For more than 42 years, Mr. Kresa has worked relentlessly in pushing 
for greater innovation, efficiency and readiness within our great 
Nation's defense establishment. My office will remember Mr. Kresa for 
his loyalty, dedicated service, and accomplishments--and we thank 
him.

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