On Friday, defense contractor Cubic (CUB) announced that former Chief Financial Officer and recent interim President and CEO William W. Boyle has been confirmed in his post and is now the company's official CEO. Boyle, a 30-year veteran of the company, took the reins at Cubic when former CEO Walter J. Zable died last June.

Zable was a 1937 graduate of the College of William & Mary in Virginia, and the college named its football stadium in his honor in 1990 in recognition of a $10 million donation. He died of natural causes at 97.

Simultaneous with Boyle's appointment, Cubic's board of birectors appointed Bradley H. Feldmann to the new post of president and chief operating officer and promoted John D. Thomas to take over Boyle's old job as CFO. Transportation systems President Stephen O. Shewmaker was given the additional title of executive vice president for the whole company.

In laying out the appointments, Cubic emphasized its focus on "maintaining the continuity of the management team" -- a key concern among investors, inasmuch as even the new CEO, at age 78, is no spring chicken himself. Accordingly, the stock price responded positively to these announcements, closing up 1.8% on Friday at $47.84.