Some TRW corporate background . . .
TRW took over BDM International Inc. in late December for $1 billion. BDM was an information technology outfit, run by our Mr. Odeen. He had become its CEO in 1991, and then increased BDM's annual revenues from $300 to $1 billion. Odeen, 62, had been a Robert McNamara "whiz kid" in the 1960's, and later worked with Henry Kissinger. Odeen was the point man in negotiating the SALT I treaty. He seems to be big in the strategic defense area still.
When TRW took over BDM, they decided to merge it with their own Systems Integration Group, to form the TRW Systems and Information Group, headed by Odeen. Odeen had been in charge of 9,000 employees generating $1 billion in revenues. Now, he has 18,000 employees generating about $3 billion annually. His goal, according to Newsbytes of April 28, 1998, is to move the TRW division to $6 billion in sales by 2002. Odeen wanted to grow BDM via acquisitions, but when its stock fell last June, he went looking for a buyer. He feels midsized companies are squeezed out in the IT field.
"We want to see a lot of growth, said Odeen, who expects new State and local business and commercial work to lead that expansion. . . . Acquisitions also are part of TRW's growth strategy, especially on the commercial and State and local fronts, Odeen said. The company's top priority is to buy firms in the integrated supply chain area. . . . Added to TRW's federal mix are the combined company's offerings in the State and local marketplace. Those markets are complementary, especially in such areas as law enforcement and health and human services." (Newsbytes, April 28.) Since this new TRW group has two thirds of its revenues coming from the defense side, this makes "commercial acquisitions particularly desirable." (Defense News, May 18.)
Re: Military area. "The combined capabilities of BDM and TRW position the company to be a dominant player in growing markets such as defense logistics, according to Odeen. BDM traditionally has been a strong provider with the Army and the defense agencies, while TRW has several major logistics projects with the Air Force." (Newsbytes April 28.)
Here is some of Odeen's creative thinking on military threats, delivered in Congressional testimony last January in his role as chairman of the National Defense Panel: "While we may find ourselves facing enemies on traditional battlegrounds, it is far more likely that we will face different adversaries and that our conflicts will iclude locations in space [and] throughout our information networks . . . Our adversaries include not just the armed forces of nations, but also international criminals and terrorist groups."
The only thing I could find on Odeen and fingerprinting or biometrics was posted at #8539. I think he is putting together fingerprint biometrics with AFIS systems, Sylvan-type applications, and military security. |
