“Being in charge of a missile operation, I don’t know as I’d characterize my job as skipper, but fair enough, whatever you call it, it’s an awesome responsibility,” says the 45-year-old Stanford University graduate with a doctorate in applied physics.
Lawrence, who had been vice president of Engineering, Technology and Mission Assurance overseeing more than 40,000 engineers from Raytheon’s headquarters in Waltham, Mass., took over as president of the Missile Systems division on July 1, 2008. He replaced Louise Francesconi, who retired after 33 years with the company.
 Taylor W. Lawrence |
“We’re proud of the role we play in the company and the community,” Lawrence said. “If you go back to 1951 when Hughes Aircraft chose Tucson as the site for its missile business, it was picked strategically as an inland facility and a place to build a good connection with the community, so being located here alongside Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, there’s good infrastructure here to support our business.”
In a fast-paced interview, Lawrence said he enjoys Tucson as a place to live and work.
“The community is nice, the people are great, and the city is both vibrant and laid-back,” he said. “After growing up in the south, triple digit heat here doesn’t bother me. In Alabama, 90 degree days with 90 percent humidity can be pretty brutal, so heat here — without the humidity — is actually quite refreshing, and allows me to play tennis in the evening on an outdoor court with skies clear enough to watch the stars.”
Calculating the specific economic impact of Raytheon’s Missile Systems Division making its home headquarters here is almost impossible, but factors including the employment base, competitive wages, home and vehicle purchases, and taxes paid make it a welcome member of the region.
“Even in a down market, we’re hiring because we need a steady flow of talent,” Taylor says. “I’ve had conversations with both Gov. Jan Brewer and U of A President Robert Shelton about funding education, especially skills in math and science, engineering and computers, and I’ve strongly encouraged both government and university leaders to continue their focus on these fundamental skills.
“We’re continuing to grow. We’ve got a bright future, and our products, both in the U.S. and globally, are going to need the kinds of individuals trained in sciences and related disciplines to support that growth.We need to continue to invest in the future to help us all grow out of this current economic climate,” he said.
Lawrence feels that his division’s positive ledger entries continue because “we produce high quality products that support the national security infrastructure globally and sustain our core market. At the end of the day, it’s all about security.”
He says much thought is also being given to utilizing technology in new markets.
“We’re always looking for opportunities to grow and take our technology into new areas, like moving into the arena of unmanned systems that can be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, i.e., missiles that don’t blow up, but come back for re-use — that’s a natural technology extension for us,” he said. “Or security systems that use non-lethal means — high-powered microwaves as crowd deterrents or lasers to protect military bases and airfields from mortar attacks. Clearly with threats to energy pipelines and resources around the world, there’s a lot of applications here — what I call ‘critical infrastructure protection markets’ — that come out of our core and become growth fields for us.”
Warming to future possibilities, Lawrence continues: “Our technology can be transferred into other areas, like NASA. The technology we employ to build missiles to intercept in space could support low-cost satellites that could help exploration craft on the moon. We’ve already helped the University of Arizona with some of the systems engineering for their Mars mission. So we’re looking at future opportunities in these fields as well as areas such as directed energy and solar power.”
In the business world, Lawrence has been a very rapidly rising star. He’s had stints with Northrop Grumman, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, and top spots in governmental intelligence and defense committees.
He’s already accomplished a lot. So where does he go from here?
“I’ve been very fortunate in my career, lots of great mentors, and lots of great opportunities,” he said. “Right now, my focus is on doing a good job in the missile field in Tucson and carrying this business to the next level.”
And what is that next level?
“Our second 50 years in Tucson should look even better than the first half century. As long as we have the infrastructure in this state to support our growth and our needs for trained talent, we have a fantastic opportunity to grow as a business here and I’m excited about that.”
Taylor W. Lawrence, 45, president Raytheon Missile Systems
• 2006 - 2008 was vice president of Raytheon Co. Engineering Technology and Mission Assurance.
• 1999 - 2006 worked for Northrop Grumman Corp. as sector vice president and general manager of C4ISR Systems Division (2005-2006); sector vice president and general manager for the Electronic Systems Division (2004-2005); sector vice president and general manager for Systems Development & Technology Division (2001-2004); and vice president of products and technology for Systems Development & Technology Division (1999-2001).
• Previous positions include staff director for the Select Committee on Intelligence for the U.S. Senate; deputy director of the Information Systems Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; deputy program leader of the Advanced Imaging, Imaging & Detection Program of the Lasers Directorate at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; senior staff scientist of the Research & Development division of Trex Enterprises; and research assistant and undergraduate research fellow in the physics department at the California Institute of Technology.
• Holds bachelor’s degree in physics from the California Institute of Technology, master’s degree in applied physics from Stanford University and Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford (1992).
• 2008 compensation: $383,237
Lee Allen is a Tucson-based freelance writer.
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