Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: TOM ARSENEAULT

As head of one of the Pentagon’s 10 biggest prime contractors, Arseneault has spent his career heading complex organizations on challenging missions. BAE Systems Inc. is the U.S. arm of the British defense giant and reported $12.6 billion in revenue in 2022. It has 31,300 employees in the U.S., including more than 5,000 in Virginia.

Arseneault, who has been with BAE for two decades, became chief operating officer in 2014 and added president to his title in 2019 before becoming CEO in 2020.

Previously, he ran BAE’s electronic sensor division, overseeing its operations in the defense and commercial avionics markets. With two degrees in electrical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Boston University, Arseneault originally worked for Sander, a Lockheed Martin company, before it was acquired by BAE in 2000. He also held engineering and program management positions at General Electric and TASC.

Arseneault serves as vice chair of the steering committee for Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct, created by defense companies in 1986 in the wake of allegations of fraud and mismanagement in defense contracting.