Dr. Ronald D. Sugar, former chairman of the board and CEO of Northrop Grumman Corp. has been appointed to Apple’s Board of Directors. He will serve as the chair of the Audit and Finance Committee.

“Ron is an engineer at heart, who then became a very successful business leader. We are very excited to welcome him to Apple’s Board,” says Apple CEO Steve Jobs. “In addition to having been the CEO of a high-tech Fortune 100 company, Ron has a Ph.D. in engineering and has been involved in the development of some very sophisticated technology.”

Sugar served as Chairman and CEO at Northrop Grumman Corp. from 2003 until his retirement in 2010. Previous to Northrop, he held executive positions at Litton Industries and TRW, where he served as chief financial officer.

He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of both the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Royal Aeronautical Society. He is a director of Chevron Corporation, Amgen Inc. and Air Lease Corporation, and serves as a senior advisor to the private investment firm Ares Management LLC.

Sugae is a trustee of the University of Southern California, where he also holds the Judge Widney Chair as Professor of Management and Technology. He is a member of the boards of UCLA Anderson School of Management, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and several other philanthropic organizations focused on children and education.

Sugar graduated summa cum laude in engineering in 1968 from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he also received master’s and doctorate degrees in the same field. He subsequently completed executive programs at Stanford, Wharton and Harvard.

“I have always had enormous admiration for the people of Apple,” says Sugar. “It is a special privilege to serve on the board of such an amazing company.”