Exclusive: Lockheed Martin taps former Trump spox Jalen Drummond
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Lockheed Martin has appointed Jalen Drummond as vice president of corporate affairs and international communications, Axios is the first to report.
Why it matters: Drummond is the most recent Trump-adjacent communications hire within corporate America, as the nation's top companies grapple with how best to navigate the new Washington.
Zoom in: Drummond will report to Lockheed's chief communications officer Dean Acosta and will manage corporate communications and public affairs.
Catch up quick: Drummond most recently supported public affairs and corporate communications at GoFundMe, where he focused on building conservative engagement across the platform.
- Prior to GoFundMe, Drummond served as assistant White House press secretary during Trump's first term.
What he's saying: "At a time when our nation and its allies are being tested by unprecedented and emerging threats, I'm honored to help tell the story of how Lockheed Martin and our 120,000 global workforce is accelerating innovation and technology that ensures our warfighters and allies never enter into a fair fight," Drummond said.
The big picture: While Lockheed Martin remains the world's largest defense contractor by revenue, the industry at large is struggling to keep up with the speed of technology and the ever expanding threats abroad.
Yes, but: There's an influx of capital being spend on AI-powered defense, autonomy and cyber, which is making way for more competition.
- According to Colin Demarest, author of the Axios Future of Defense newsletter, Anduril Industries, Palantir Technologies, Applied Intuition, Scale AI and Shield AI are among the buzziest.
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