Page 7: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2011)

June 2011www.marinelink.com 7INTERVIEWFIVE MINUTES WITH MIKE PETTERS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, HUNTINGTON INGALLS INDUSTRIES (HII)How would you describe your management style?Petters I believe that you should work very hard at making sure that all of the lines of authority, accountability and re- sponsibility are aligned. And that there is clear understanding in the organization about where authority and responsibilityreside, and whos accountable. I think when you have that in your organization, you can have a very efficient organization and very clear communication. I guess its more of a philosophy of making sure that folks know who is accountable for particular areas of responsibility, and then, give them the authority to go and execute. How did the recent creation of HII create a stronger shipbuilding company? Petters I think that, in general, when abusiness unit of a large corporation sepa- rates from that corporation, youre trying to really accomplish a couple of things.First of all, you are trying to create morefocus inside the organization towards customers, employees and the owners of the business. Second, you want to create more agility in the business. You end up with an organization that is much more focused and agile in responding tochanges.Northrop Grumman was a very good owner of this business, but over time the philosophy of total systems inte- gration and platform integration changed, and towards the end of the decade there was not a lot of synergy between the shipbuilding piece of the business and the rest of Northrop Grumman. The business of building Navy ships has obviously changed since you started at Newport News in 1987: in your opinion, how has this business changed most sig- nificantly for the positive? Petters I think that the capability thatwe are putting into these ships is incred-ible. When you think about the missions that the navy is being called on to execute today, if you were to compare A day in the life of the United States Navy? yes- terday and 25 years ago, you would see an incredibly more diverse set of mis- sions going on today, and I think that is a direct result of the capabilities that arebeing put into those platforms. We are the major super power on the planet today, and were the only one that sits on two oceans, and so our success over the next period of time will depend on how well we are able to manage those common areas at sea. And I think we are going to need a very strong naval pres- ence to do that. I think you are seeing thatin real time right now. Over the course of your career, what do you consider to be the most significant technological development or evolution that has worked to make the construction of military ships more efficient, and why? Petters I think that it almost sounds tritebecause weve made it look so easy, but I think modular construction and designfor affordability have been tools that have been brought to bear in this program thathave really been the productivity im- provements that have driven the capabil- ity improvements. Mike PettersPresident and CEO, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Mike Petters leads Americas largest military shipbuilder, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), which began operations in March 2011, when Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding began operating as the newly formed and publicly owned HII. Petters spent time last month with Maritime Reporter & Engineering News to discuss challenges ahead. ? by Greg Trauthwein, Editor Mike Petters talks with Ingalls shipbuilders (l to r) Kevin Jarvis, director, busi- ness development, Willie Williams and Kenny Tolar, hull department. (Photo by Ron Elias)The amphibious transport dock ship, Green Bay (LPD 20) , the fourth ship of the San Antonio-class built on sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico, July30, 2008. The legend around the shipyard is that when you buy your second set of steel toes thats when it becomes a career for you. ? Mike Petters(Photo by John Whalen)Shipbuilders pour rudder castingfor the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford (CVN 78) at Newport News Shipbuilding.