McChrystal, 57, will serve as chairman of Siemens Government Technologies, which spans security systems to engineering software for defense equipment, the Munich-based company said in a statement today. Siemens appointed former U.S. Army Lieutenant General John Sylvester and Robert Coutts, a former Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) executive, as board members.

“General McChrystal brings us tremendous knowledge from a soldier’s perspective and from a policy perspective,” Judy Marks, president and chief executive officer of the government technology unit, said in a telephone interview. “He is the perfect fit.”

Siemens set up the unit headed by Marks, a former Lockheed Martin executive, on Oct. 1 to get more contracts for transportation systems, as well as energy and health care equipment. The company partnered with Boeing Co (BA). to jointly develop smart-grid technologies to improve energy access and security for the U.S. Department of Defense. The government technologies unit is based in Arlington, Virginia.