WASHINGTON — L3Harris has removed Chris Kubasik from his role as chairman and chief executive after a company investigation found he had violated its code of conduct, L3Harris announced today.
Effective immediately, defense industry veteran Sam Mehta — who currently leads L3Harris’s space business — will step in as the company’s CEO, while Lewis Hay, its lead independent director, will become chairman of the board.
The leadership change unnerved some investors, as L3Harris shares fell a modest 3 percent on Monday morning, though analysts don’t expect the leadership shuffle to have a lasting impact.
L3Harris did not provide specifics on what led to Kubasik’s ouster, but said in a press release that the company “became aware” of conduct by Kubasik “that was not consistent” with its code of conduct.
“This conduct was unrelated to the Company’s financial reporting, controls, customer relationships or operational performance,” the company said in a statement. “Following its investigation of these matters with the assistance of independent counsel, the Board determined that it would be in the best interests of the Company to enter into a separation agreement with Kubasik.”
Kubasik joined L3 Technologies as its chief operating officer in 2015 after resigning from Lockheed Martin in 2012 when Kubasik — then Lockheed’s CEO-elect — was found to have had an improper relationship with a subordinate.
He became L3’s CEO in 2018, telling Defense News at the time that his goal was to transition the company from a merchant supplier that sold electronics and other mission systems to major defense firms to a “sixth prime” that interacted directly with the Pentagon.
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When L3 Technologies merged with Harris Corporation in 2019 — becoming L3Harris — Kubasik became the new company’s chief operating officer before ascending to the CEO job in 2021. Under his leadership, L3Harris acquired solid rocket motor manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne in 2023.
The surprise change in leadership comes weeks after the company declared its second quarter earnings, where Kubasik and other executives announced plans to postpone the spin off of its missile solutions business from 2026 to 2027, citing “market conditions.”
In its statement today, L3Harris reaffirmed its financial projections for 2026 and said it “remains committed to its previously announced $3 billion capital buildout to increase solid rocket motor production and strengthen its supply chain to address our nation’s urgent and critical needs.”
While investors will speculate over the reasons for Kubasik’s departure, L3Harris’s underlying businesses are unlikely to be impacted by the change in management, Robert Stallard, an analyst with Vertical Research Partners, wrote in a note this morning.
“Whatever the reason for this surprise news, we think investors will no doubt conclude that the underlying business is not impacted by this management change. However, it has also not escaped investors’ attention that LHX has underperformed its US defense peers under Kubasik’s leadership,” he said, referring to L3Harris’s ticker symbol. “We have high regard for Sam Mehta, who in our experience has been an effective manager and a good communicator. He may be a catalyst for closing LHX’s performance gap.”
Mehta, who replaces Kubasik as L3Harris’s chief executive, has had a long career in the defense industry among the top primes, including as president of advanced structures for RTX’s Collins Aerospace and president of defense systems for Lockheed’s Sikorsky helicopter unit.
Mehta joined L3Harris in 2023 as the president of its communications unit, before being elevated earlier this year to the president of the space and mission systems and communications and spectrum dominance business units.
“I am honored by the opportunity to serve as President and CEO of L3Harris,” Mehta said. “Today, L3Harris has a portfolio purpose-built for the future of warfare, and we are well-positioned to continue executing our focused growth strategy as The Trusted Disruptor.”
Lauren Barnes, currently the president of the company’s spectrum superiority division, has been appointed the president of space and mission systems. Christopher Aebli, currently the president of mission critical communications, has been appointed president of communications and spectrum dominance.