New president named for Battelle, operator of PNNL in Richland

A new president and chief executive officer has been named for Battelle, the Ohio-based company that has held the contract to operate Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland since 1965.

Lewis “Lou” Von Thaer will become the ninth chief executive in the company’s 87-year history when he starts work on Oct. 1.

He comes to Battelle from DynCorp International, where he has served as chief executive since July 2015. Previously he was president of Leidos’ National Security Sector and a corporate officer of General Dynamics.

Von Thaer will succeed Jeff Wadsworth, who has been Battelle’s president and chief executive since January 2009. Wadsworth served two additional years beyond his planned retirement date to help implement a long-term growth strategy and allow time to find a replacement.

Wadsworth called Von Thaer “an innovative problem solver who brings nearly 35 years of engineering and management experience in technology development and deployment to solve complex national security and societal issues.”

This story was originally published July 15, 2017 at 8:52 AM with the headline "New president named for Battelle, operator of PNNL in Richland."