Lanza had been recovering from surgery two months ago. Robert Millard, lead director of the L-3's board, said in a statement that Lanza had visited his doctors earlier in the week "and it was determined that he was proceeding satisfactorily in his recovery."

"His death was sudden and unexpected," Millard added. The cause of death was not disclosed.

L-3's board was scheduled to meet this week.

Lanza built New York-based L-3, a spinoff of Lockheed Martin Corp., into a top U.S. military contractor through a series of rapid-fire acquisitions. Reports here speculated that Lanza's sudden death could make the $10 billion company a takeover target.

L-3 supplies the military with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance as well as secure communications systems.

Lanza had a long engineering career in the U.S. electronics industry. In 1972, he joined Loral Corp. and quickly rose to become the right-hand man to CEO Bernard Schwartz. He served as Loral's president and chief operating officer from 1981 to 1996. The same year, Lanza joined Lockheed Martin to head its C3I and Systems Integration unit. He found L-3 in 1997.

By: DocMemory
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