BAE Systems Inc. has promoted Alice Eldridge, a 7½-year in-house lawyer at the major global defense, aerospace and security systems provider, to serve as its new top lawyer.

Eldridge joined BAE in March 2012 as the vice president and chief legal counsel at the platforms and services division. She succeeds Ian Graham, who, according to his LinkedIn profile, left BAE in May to become group general counsel at Ferguson as senior vice president and GC, a news statement announcing Eldridge's promotion said.

Alice Eldridge, SVP, General Counsel & Secretary with BAE Systems.

In her new role, Eldridge also will serve as a member of the board of directors and as its secretary.

“The biggest challenge facing me—and all defense company leaders—is the increasingly complex and rapidly changing environment in which we operate,” Eldridge told Corporate Counsel in an email.  “Today's defense industry is subject to shifting geopolitical dynamics, the changing acquisition patterns of our customers and new laws and regulations, particularly in the area of cybersecurity and privacy.”

Eldridge said the legal department has more than 1,000 professionals, including 40 attorneys. The department oversees the legal, ethics, international compliance, international trade, security, and contracts functions of the company.

“In the coming months, I will be focused on ensuring our department is able to meet the challenges of a complex operating environment and respond in an agile way by anticipating and planning for potential risks,” she said. “I also am looking forward to diving deeper into the broader BAE Systems Inc. enterprise and the talented men and women within the legal department.”

BAE has 33,800 employees across the globe, she added, with international headquarters in London and a U.S. subsidiary based in Rosslyn, Virginia.

Prior to joining BAE, Eldridge, a graduate of The George Washington University Law School, led the legal teams for multiple divisions at Lockheed Martin Corp., where she also was VP of ethics and business conduct for more than four years, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Her promotion is part of a company shake-up that includes the appointment of two other executives: the newly created role of senior vice president and chief information officer and a new senior vice president of strategy and corporate development.