Fortune 500 science and tech giant Leidos has hired Dan Antal as its next general counsel, replacing current GC Jerry Howe who is stepping down from the role at the end of March.

Antal returns to Leidos after just over three years at Rolls-Royce, where he was GC for the engineering giant’s defence business and North American operations. Bringing with him extensive experience across the defence and aerospace industries, Antal will be responsible for overseeing all of the company’s legal, corporate governance, contracts and risk matters.

Tom Bell, Leidos’s CEO, said: “I’m very proud to welcome Dan back to Leidos and very much look forward to having him on my executive team. With his deep industry knowledge and his thorough understanding of Leidos, Dan is uniquely positioned to hit the ground running and lead our legal team. His expertise will be instrumental in safeguarding our global business.”

Before joining Rolls-Royce in 2021, Antal spent almost eight years at Leidos across a number of senior roles, most recently as GC for its civil group. He also spent time as GC for its defence business and lead counsel for its integration management office, having originally joined as GC for its health and engineering sector business.

Prior to his first spell at Leidos, Antal was a senior counsel at Exp Global Inc. and director of risk management for the Middle East and director of operations at MWH Global, which he initially joined in 2001 as associate GC.

He said: “I look forward to collaborating with Tom and the talented legal team at Leidos. Together, we will navigate the evolving legal landscape, uphold our commitment to corporate governance and compliance, and support Leidos’s strategic goals. Our collective efforts will be dedicated to fostering an environment of legal excellence and ethical integrity, ultimately benefiting all our stakeholders.”

Howe, meantime, is set to retire after almost seven years with Leidos. He will remain at the company as an advisor until March next year. He was previously a partner at Fried Frank and also had in-house roles at TASC and Veridian Corporation.

Bell said: “[Howe’s] legal expertise and unwavering ethical commitment have been essential in navigating complex legal landscapes and reinforcing our strong governance. While we will miss his invaluable counsel, we are thankful that he will remain as an advisor through March 2025, and we wish him the very best in his well-deserved retirement.”

Leidos’s business spans the aviation, defence, energy, government, health, intelligence, science and space markets. Leidos revenue hit $15.2bn in the 12 months to September 2023, a 6.8% increase on the previous 12 month period.