HII announces leadership changes at Newport News Shipbuilding
Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced on August 8 leadership changes for its Newport News Shipbuilding division.
Damon Saetre has been promoted to vice president of integrated planning and production control. In this role, he oversees all direct planning, supply chain planning and production control functions across the organization. This includes leading the Navy program work plans, as well as workforce and capacity planning.
Saetre, who assumed his new role this week and reports to Newport News President Jennifer Boykin, brings 23 years of experience in planning and production control and four years of waterfront trades and design experience. He began his career in 1992 as a pipefitter apprentice and has served in positions of increasing responsibility. He most recently served as director of scheduling and capacity planning for all Navy programs. A 1995 graduate of The Apprentice School, Saetre holds an associate’s degree in mechanical engineering from Thomas Nelson Community College and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Averett University.
Saetre succeeds Brian Fields, who, due to an increasing focus on business transformation, is transitioning to vice president of business transformation and chief transformation officer. In this position, Fields will lead the company’s digital shipbuilding program, as well as the information technology division. The IT division will transition to Fields this fall in preparation for the retirement of Bharat Amin, vice president and chief information officer, in early 2020. Fields will continue to work directly for Boykin.
Fields began his shipbuilding career in 1990 as a test engineer in the Los Angeles-class submarine construction program, and has served in a number of leadership roles, including vice president of supply chain management. Fields holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University and an MBA from the College of William and Mary.
Amin joined Newport News in 2014 after serving as chief information officer for BAE's Land & Armaments division. At Newport News he has led the IT department, overseeing all information systems at Newport News and the HII corporate office. He is a mechanical engineer with a master's degrees in industrial engineering and business administration.
“These changes reflect the structure, rigor and operational-focus required to successfully lead our business,” Boykin said. “I have complete confidence in the ability of these leaders to move Newport News Shipbuilding into our next chapter of greatness. I would especially like to thank Bharat for all he has done to lead our digital revolution and redefine how we build ships today and for future generations.”
About Huntington Ingalls Industries
Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII’s Technical Solutions division provides a wide range of professional services through its Fleet Support, Mission Driven Innovative Solutions, Nuclear & Environmental, and Oil & Gas groups. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs more than 41,000 people operating both domestically and internationally.
