I thought it was a new(ish) thing when Weyland mentioned an old friend in Prometheus, but apparently it goes back to Ridley reusing CGI from the Alien Nostromo disengaging sequence in the Spinner docking graphics. Then Captain Dallas is listed on the green screen in Aliens as coming from Tyrell Corp. during Ripley's debrief.
Anyway - with Ridley involved,
it comes full circle.