Bethesda Maryland based Lockheed Martin Corporation announced yesterday that James D. Taiclet is to become president and CEO from Marillyn Hewson effective June 15th this year, on which date, subject to her re-election to the board by stockholders at the upcoming annual general meeting, Hewson will become executive chairman of the board.
Popular, well known internationally, very hard working and never forgetting that customer satisfaction is what really matters Marillyn Hewson is a CEO who stands out as well for the manner and respect she shows fellow employees. She will without doubt be a very hard act for James Taiclet to follow and I wish him well in the task ahead.
As chairman, president and CEO of Lockheed Martin since 2014 and the corporation’s president and CEO since 2013, Marillyn Hewson has in my view done a quite brilliant job of work in pushing the group forward to meet customer and investor objectives. Speaking yesterday in regard of the senior management change announcement she said “I know it is the right time to transition the leadership of Lockheed Martin. The corporation is strong, as evidenced by our outstanding financial results last year and record backlog of business. We have a bright future – particularly with Jim and our outstanding leadership team at the helm,” said Hewson. “I’m pleased the board agreed with my recommendation. As Lockheed Martin’s next CEO, Jim will lead the company forward in its next phase of growth and value creation.”
Prior to joining American Tower in 2001, James Taiclet had been president of Honeywell Aerospace Services, a unit of Honeywell International and prior to that, vice president, engine services at Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corporation. Taiclet had also previously been a McKinsey & Company consultant specialising in telecommunications and aerospace strategy and operations. A former USAF officer and pilot Taiclet holds a master’s degree in public affairs from Princeton University, where he was awarded a fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson School and is a distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Academy with degrees in engineering and international relations.
Speaking yesterday James Taiclet said that “I’m honoured to be asked to succeed one of the most respected CEOs in America. While serving on Lockheed Martin’s board, I’ve not only been impressed by the company’s continued growth as a leader in aerospace & defense but also by the dedication and commitment of Marillyn and Lockheed Martin employees to deliver for its customers. As a military veteran, I understand the mission of this great company to provide global security and innovative solutions for the brave men and women who protect our freedom.”
I am personally very pleased that Marillyn Hewson who I have known for many years is to become chairman of the Lockheed Martin board. Once described by ‘Industry Week’ as “not just smart and organized but friendly, thoughtful and ready to listen” Marillyn Hewson can be both as tough as nails when conditions demand it but is by the same token to be regarded as having been an exceptionally capable and very well-liked CEO. Above all else, she has in each and every year achieved significant value creation.
Having joined the legacy Lockheed Corporation back in 1983 as an industrial engineer some ten years before the company merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin Corporation, Hewson worked her way up through the company by never saying ‘no’ to an assignment and rarely failing in the task of sorting the issues out and achieving what she set out to do. She would go on to hold senior management positions including that of President of Lockheed Martin Systems Integration; Executive Vice President of Global Sustainment for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics; and President and General Manager of Kelly Aviation Center, L.P before eventually taking charge of the vast Lockheed Martin Electronic Systems business activities and where, to put it mildly, she achieved excellent results.
Marillyn Hewson also served in a number of key Lockheed Martin corporate executive roles, including that of Senior Vice President of Corporate Shared Services; Vice President of Global Supply Chain Management; and Vice President of Corporate Internal Audit. She is a former chairman and current Executive Committee member of the Aerospace Industries Association, a member of the Board of Directors of the Business Roundtable, a Director of the Atlantic Council’s International Advisory Board and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. She is also an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and serves on the Board of Trustees of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and also the Khalifa University for Science and Technology in the United Arab Emirates.
Worth noting that last year ‘TIME magazine identified Marillyn Hewson as being one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World” while FORTUNE magazine ranked her as being No. 1 on its list of its “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” for the second year in a row. In 2018 Hewson had been named the “CEO of the Year” by Chief Executive Magazine together with being a Top 10 “Businessperson of the Year” by FORTUNE magazine and by Forbes as one of the “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women”. Born in Junction City, Kansas, Ms. Hewson earned her Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and her Master of Arts degree in economics from The University of Alabama and has completed executive development programs at Columbia Business School and Harvard Business School.
In other senior management announcements Lockheed Martin said that Frank A. St. John, current executive vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS) business had been elected by the board to serve as chief operating officer and that Stephanie C. Hill, currently senior vice president Enterprise Business Transformation had been appointed to succeed St. John as executive vice president, RMS.
CHW (London – 17th March 2020)
Howard Wheeldon FRAeS
Wheeldon Strategic Advisory Ltd,
M: +44 7710 779785
Skype: chwheeldon
hwheeldon@wheeldonstrategic.com
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