Leidos has appointed Frank Kendall III, the longest-serving undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, to serve on the company’s board of directors.
Kendall currently serves as executive in residence to aerospace and defense advisory firm Renaissance Strategic Advisors. Kendall, who advanced several iterations of the Defense Department’s Better Buying Power initiatives, was confirmed as undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics in 2012, and was responsible for DOD acquisition, research and engineering, developmental testing, contract administration, logistics and materiel readiness, acquisition workforce, and the defense industrial base.
Before his confirmation to the AT&L position, Kendall served as the principal deputy undersecretary and acting undersecretary from March 2010 to May 2012, according to Leidos.
“Frank brings more than 40 years of experience in national security affairs, acquisition, engineering and the military, further strengthening the breadth and depth of expertise of our board,” said Leidos Chairman of the Board and CEO Roger Krone. “I’m delighted to welcome Frank to the team, and I’m confident he will make an immediate positive impact on the decisions that guide our company.”
With Better Buying Power, first launched in 2010, DOD attempted to codify best practices and principles to improve its purchasing power, improve industry productivity, and generally “do more without more” as budgets began to decline after riding high at the peaks of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Through Better Buying Power 2.0 and 3.0, Kendall sought to increase efficiencies through affordability, cost control, elimination of unproductive processes and bureaucracy, and promotion of competition, and to incentivize productivity and innovation in the industry and government.
Kendall is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, holds a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from California Institute of Technology, a Master of Business Administration degree from the C.W. Post Center of Long Island University, and a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Kendall also spent 10 years in active duty with the Army serving in Germany, teaching engineering at West Point, and holding research and development positions.