{"id":"5c7344b5-1125-4f1a-8c8c-f8f1f436946b","slug":"frank-c-lanza","name":"Frank C. Lanza","bioBrief":"Frank C. Lanza (November 6, 1931 – June 6, 2006) was an American defense industry executive who co-founded [L-3 Communications](/companies/l3harris) in 1997 with Robert V. LaPenta and Lehman Brothers. Born in San Francisco, he began his career as an engineer at Philco Western Development Laboratory and served in the U.S. Coast Guard during the Korean War. He spent over a decade at Loral Corporation and a year at Lockheed Martin before forming L-3, named for Lanza, LaPenta, and Lehman. As Chairman and CEO, he engineered more than 80 acquisitions, building L-3's market value to nearly $9 billion. He served as Chairman and CEO from 1997 until his death in 2006.","priorExits":null,"nationality":"American","verificationPosture":"verified","aliases":[],"sources":[{"url":"https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jun-08-me-passings8.3-story.html","title":"Frank C. Lanza, 74; Headed Defense Firm L-3 Communications","sourceName":"Los Angeles Times"},{"url":"https://www.l3harris.com/company/our-history","title":"Our History — An L3Harris Timeline","sourceName":"L3Harris (official)"},{"url":"https://thedailyrecord.com/2006/06/07/frank-lanza-chief-of-l3-communications-dies-at-age-74/","title":"Frank Lanza, chief of L-3 Communications, dies at age 74","sourceName":"The Daily Record"}],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","createdAt":"2026-08-18T04:02:42.944Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-20T16:59:09.614Z","educations":[],"companyRoles":[{"id":"962ef613-fbb6-4032-877c-1b962ae6b23c","personId":"5c7344b5-1125-4f1a-8c8c-f8f1f436946b","companyId":"8bb7b976-0316-4f53-ae26-a75f55e10470","role":"other","roleTitle":"Co-founder of L-3 Communications (predecessor)","startDate":null,"endDate":null,"currentRole":false,"roleBasis":"verified_secondary","createdAt":"2026-08-18T04:05:27.639Z","company":{"slug":"l3harris","name":"L3Harris"}}],"boardRoles":[],"investorRoles":[],"foundings":[]}