Security company Northrop Grumman Corporation has appointed Michael Hardesty as corporate vice president, controller and chief accounting officer, effective immediately. Hardesty succeeds Kenneth Bedingfield, who has been appointed vice president, business management and chief financial officer for the company's aerospace systems sector.

Hardesty joined Northrop Grumman in 2004 and most recently served as vice president of business management and CFO for the company's information systems sectors, responsible for all sector business management areas encompassing finance, accounting, contracts, pricing, procurement, regulatory and export compliance, real estate and facilities. In his new role, Hardesty will serve as a financial advisor to senior management and the audit committee of the board of directors. He will lead all aspects of corporate accounting operations and oversee the financial data and reporting.

During his tenure at Northrop Grumman, Hardesty has held various leadership positions at the corporate and sector levels, including vice president of internal audit and vice president and CFO of the company's enterprise shared services and information technology solutions organizations. Prior to joining the company, he spent 10 years at public accounting firm Deloitte.