Former Chairman, President and CEO, Lockheed Martin
As CEO of aerospace and defense technology giant Lockheed Martin from 2013-2020, Marillyn Hewson oversaw one of the most successful chapters in the company’s 100-year history. Her visionary initiatives to instill a customer-focused culture across the business, strategically reshape the company’s portfolio to align with future growth opportunities, and significantly increase international sales led to Lockheed Martin’s stock price increasing by nearly 400 percent during her tenure – and earned her numerous accolades as one of the most powerful and effective business leaders in the world.
"Leaders must exemplify integrity and earn the trust of their teams through their everyday actions. When you do this, you set high standards for everyone at your company. And when you do so with positive energy and enthusiasm for shared goals and purpose, you can deeply connect with your team and customers. - Marillyn Hewson"
Marillyn Hewson is a respected thought leader on the topics of organizational leadership, corporate strategy, global security, technological innovation, international commerce, and workforce development.
Leveraging her decades of corporate leadership experience at Lockheed Martin, Marillyn continues to apply her business acumen on the board of directors of the global life sciences company Johnson & Johnson, multinational energy company Chevron, and green construction technology company Nexii Building Solutions. She previously served on the boards of the chemistry and materials science companies DuPont, DowDuPont, and Carpenter Technology.
She has previously lent her policy expertise as a member of Business Roundtable, the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, the National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group, and the Atlantic Council’s International Advisory Board. Marillyn served as co-chair of the Task Force on National Security and U.S. Manufacturing Base Competitiveness at The Ronald Reagan Institute’s Center for Peace Through Strength. She is a former chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association, and is a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
In 2018, Marillyn was selected by a group of her peers as Chief Executive magazine’s “CEO of the Year.” She received the Philip J. Klass Award for Lifetime Achievement from Aviation Week in 2021. Marillyn was featured on TIME’s list of the “100 Most Influential People” in 2019, and No. 9 on Fortune’s “Businessperson of the Year” list in 2017. Throughout her tenure as CEO, she ranked in the top five on Fortune’s “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” list, and occupied the No. 1 spot in 2018 and 2019. Forbes has also listed Marillyn among “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.”
Marillyn’s story is rooted in humble beginnings. After her father passed away when she was just nine years old, she began to develop a spirit of resiliency and determination that would shape the rest of her life and career. Marillyn earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The University of Alabama while also working full time to pay her way through school. Starting as an industrial engineer in 1983, Marillyn built an illustrious career at Lockheed Martin that spanned nearly four decades, progressing through leadership roles of increasing responsibility and culminating in her appointment as CEO in 2013. She retired from the company in February 2022.
A passionate advocate for creating opportunity for people from all walks of life and for supporting America’s military veterans and their families, Marillyn served as chair of the board of directors at the women’s advocacy organization Catalyst, and as a member of the board at the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation and the USO. Together with her husband, James, Marillyn has personally invested in the success of future generations of students at her alma mater by helping establish the Marillyn A. Hewson Data Analytics Laboratory, endowing cybersecurity faculty and scholarships and camps for high school students, and helping to finance the construction of Hewson Hall – a state-of-the-art business education and research facility. She currently serves on The University of Alabama President’s Cabinet and the Culverhouse College of Business board of visitors.
Marillyn Hewson on the Importance of Listening as a Leader
Marillyn Hewson on Women in Leadership Roles
Marillyn Hewson on Artificial Intelligence & Cybersecurity
Marillyn Hewson on the Qualities of Leadership
Marillyn Hewson on National Security
Marillyn Hewson on Prioritizing Fundamental Core Values
Marillyn Hewson on the Importance of Listening as a Leader
Marillyn Hewson’s Speech Topics
A Conversation with Marillyn Hewson
Hewson’s expertise extends to executive and operational leadership in a global, regulated industry; insight and experience in global business leadership, strategic planning, manufacturing and supply chain; and expertise in government relations and human capital management.
