leidos holdings inc has named thomas bell a veteran of aerospace companies rollsroyce holdings plc and boeing co as its next chief executive officer as longtime chairman and ceo roger krone prepares to step down the reston va company said mr bell is expected to take up the new role may 3 while mr krone will retire as chairman at the time of the leidoss next annual meeting of stockholders and as ceo when mr bells appointment becomes effective leidos said its board expects to appoint robert shapard as independent nonexecutive chairman after the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders and plans to nominate mr bell to the board mr bell is currently president of defense at rollsroyce and chairman and ceo of rollsroyce north america inc before this role he was senior vice president of global sales and marketing for defense space and security at boeing before joining boeing in 2015 he was president of rollsroyce defense aerospace and before joining the company in mid2012 he spent more than two decades with boeing in a variety of leadership positions