Mike Petters, a former CEO of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), is returning to the company’s board of directors as the shipbuilder says its working to expand capacity to meet growing U.S. Navy demand.
HII announced Oct. 20 that Petters, who served as the company’s first president and CEO, has been elected to its board. Petters led HII through its 2011 spin-off from Northrop Grumman and remained CEO until stepping down in 2022.
“There are few people with as much experience in shipbuilding as Mike Petters,” Kirkland Donald, HII’s chairman of the Board of Directors, said in the company’s release. “We are proud to be able to continue to leverage his expertise as HII ramps the nation’s capacity to deliver for the U.S. Navy.”
Petters joined Newport News Shipbuilding in 1987 in its Los Angeles-class submarine construction division and rose through the shipyard’s leadership ranks before becoming president. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the U.S. Naval Academy, served aboard the nuclear-powered submarine USS George Bancroft and later earned a master’s in business administration from the College of William & Mary.
Petters also has held leadership positions with the Aerospace Industries Association and Virginia Business Council. He continues to serve on the boards of the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation and U.S. Naval Institute.
