William Hart has assumed leadership of the space business of Raytheon Company. Hart, who joined Raytheon in 1975, was named vice president for Space Systems. He succeeds Brian Arnold, who was appointed vice president for space strategy.

"As a proven leader, Bill is uniquely qualified for this position because of his professional experience in program management and execution, all of which have been historically on cost and on schedule," said Jon Jones, president of Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, of which the Space Systems group is a part.

In his new role, Hart will lead and manage the Space Systems suite of programs, establishing plans and strategies, setting the vision and direction of the organization, and leading change-management efforts, Jones said. Before his promotion, Hart had been a program management executive at the company's Integrated Defense Systems business.

Arnold, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general, is a former commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base. In that role, he managed research, design, development, acquisition and sustainment of space launch, command and control, missile and satellite systems.

"Brian's extensive experience on the industry and customer sides makes him the perfect person to lead this important new business effort," Jones said.

In his new capacity, Arnold will be responsible for understanding the future needs of the customer and providing viable solutions to address them. He will drive the development of plans to expand core markets, working closely with the customer and scientific communities.