Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), an IT-services company, has announced the appointment of Michael W. Laphen as its CEO. Laphen, 56, succeeds Van B. Honeycutt, 62, who will remain as chairman and a CSC employee through his current term, which expires on July 30, 2007. Laphen, who retains the position of president, will become chairman at that time.

Laphen joined the company in 1977, and has held a number of senior positions that have provided a comprehensive mix of technical, financial and general management experiences in diverse commercial, public sector and international markets. Before being named president and COO in April 2003, he served as the chief executive of CSC’s European Group. Prior to his European assignment, Laphen served as president of the company’s Federal Sector — Civil Group, where he was responsible for all CSC business with U.S. federal government civil agencies. Earlier, as president of CSC’s Integrated Systems Division, he led CSC’s activities in providing large-scale systems integration, systems engineering and software development projects to the aerospace and defense markets.

Van Honeycutt will retire from his role as CEO after a 32-year career with CSC, but will continue his service to the company in an ongoing consulting role. He was named CEO in 1995 and chairman of the Board of Directors in 1997. Under his leadership, CSC’s revenue grew from $3.4 billion to $14.7 billion, and the market value increased from $2.6 billion to $9.4 billion, as reported for the fiscal quarter ending December 2006. He is widely credited with CSC’s entrance into the information technology (IT) outsourcing business in 1991.