Leidos Holdings announced that Theodore “Ted” Tanner Jr. will become its chief technology officer, succeeding Jim Carlini on January 5 2026. Tanner brings a decade‑long record of building AI and machine‑learning solutions for defense, intelligence and healthcare customers, having served as chief technology and strategy officer at BigBear.ai and previously at IBM Watson Health, Apple and Microsoft.
Tanner’s expertise aligns closely with Leidos’ NorthStar 2030 strategy, which prioritizes space, maritime, digital modernization, cyber, quantum and managed health services. By placing a leader with deep AI and autonomous systems experience at the helm of technology, Leidos signals a decisive push to accelerate its AI, cyber and quantum capabilities and to embed agentic AI into its product portfolio, including the Skywire grid‑modernization platform and the emerging LAVA platform.
Leidos’ recent financial performance underscores the strategic importance of the appointment. The company reported $16.7 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ended January 3 2025 and 47,000 employees worldwide. In Q3 2025, revenue reached $4.47 billion and earnings per share were $3.05 versus the consensus estimate of $2.71, a beat of $0.34 or 12.6%. Management raised its full‑year 2025 revenue guidance to $4.396 billion–$4.400 billion from $4.14 billion–$4.15 billion, and adjusted operating income guidance to $2.151 billion–$2.155 billion from $2.0 billion–$2.05 billion, reflecting confidence in continued growth and margin expansion.
The appointment is part of a broader effort to strengthen high‑margin, technology‑enabled contracts. Leidos recently acquired Kudu Dynamics for approximately $300 million to bolster its AI‑driven cyber capabilities, a move that complements Tanner’s focus on autonomous systems. The company’s CEO, Tom Bell, said, “Ted is a high‑impact leader who pairs entrepreneurial creativity with execution discipline to solve tough deep‑technology challenges. His track record of delivering bold, disruptive tech to defense, government and healthcare customers is a great fit with our capabilities and NorthStar 2030 growth priorities.” Tanner echoed this sentiment, stating, “I’m thrilled to join Leidos as CTO. Together, we’ll propel this iconic powerhouse into an agentic AI leader, empowering developers to build autonomous systems that orchestrate critical missions for customers across growing markets in defense, health, quantum computing and more.”
These developments reinforce Leidos’ trajectory toward becoming a dominant player in high‑technology defense and government services. The new CTO’s mandate to accelerate AI, cyber and quantum initiatives is expected to drive future revenue growth, enhance margin performance, and solidify the company’s competitive positioning in a rapidly evolving market.
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