BAE Systems poised to hand Woodburn UK's top defence industry job

Britain's biggest defence company is close to anointing a new boss for the first time in nearly a decade, as a veteran oil industry executive prepares to take the helm of the Eurofighter Typhoon and Astute submarines manufacturer.

Sky News has learnt that directors of BAE Systems (LSE: BA.L - news) are weighing a plan to announce next week that Charles Woodburn, its chief operating officer, will replace Ian King, who has run the company since 2008, later this year.

An announcement could come just before or alongside BAE's full-year results, which will be released on 23 February, although a decision on the timing of succession will not be made until next week.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in BAE, which has a market value of nearly £20bn, have enjoyed a double boost from the UK's vote to leave the European Union - which should deliver a profits uplift spurred by the weaker pound - and the election of the new US President, Donald Trump, who has vowed to bolster defence spending.

BAE's US business, which is responsible for roughly one-third of the group's revenues, is expected to deliver strong earnings growth, although there remains uncertainty about the fate of a major deal to build nearly 50 Typhoon combat aircraft for Saudi Arabia, about which discussions have been under way for several years.

In its most recent update to the stock market on current trading, BAE said last October that talks about that contract - which would deliver a major boost to its UK manufacturing operations - were "progressing to define the scope and terms of the next five-year Saudi British Defence Co-operation Programme".

BAE's share price has roughly trebled since Mr King took over in 2008, having joined the board the previous year.

The shares have risen by nearly a third over the last year.

Mr King has broadened BAE's operations since taking charge, diversifying it into cyber security and applied intelligence, as several periods of weakening demand for its core defence products reflected contracting military spending by governments around the world.

He has also overseen thousands of job cuts - many of which took place in the UK - as well as an aborted attempt nearly five years ago to steer through a merger of BAE and the European defence and aerospace group EADS amid opposition from Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor.

An announcement that Mr Woodburn will replace the current BAE boss has been anticipated since the oil executive's recruitment almost exactly a year ago.

Even (Taiwan OTC: 6436.TWO - news) if he is named next week as Mr King's successor, he is unlikely to take over for several months.

At 46 years old, Mr Woodburn would represent something of a generational shift for the company and would make him one of the youngest bosses of a FTSE-100 company.

He worked for 15 years for Schlumberger (IOB: 0CT7.IL - news) , the world's biggest oilfield services company, and subsequently at Expro International, giving him crucial experience of large and complex engineering projects.

BAE's vast swathe of activities include playing a key role in the development of the new fleet of submarines that will carry the UK's Trident (BSE: TRIDENT.BO - news) nuclear warheads.

Theresa May and Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, will be updated on BAE's plans to appoint Mr Woodburn to the top job ahead of any announcement.

Under its articles of association, BAE's chairman and chief executive must be British citizens, owing to the sensitive nature of the company's work.

Previous discussions between the company and Downing Street about whether those obligations could be relaxed have never led to an agreement about how to do so.

BAE's national security clearances mean that its American subsidiary must be run by a US national, with the same principle applying to its UK-domiciled parent.

At Monday's closing share price of 616p, BAE had a market capitalisation of £19.8bn.

The company declined to comment.