Marillyn Hewson

Marillyn Hewson
Born	Marillyn Adams 27 12, 1953
Birthplace	Junction City, Kansas, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Business executive
Known for	Chairman, President and CEO of Lockheed Martin
Education	University of Alabama (BS, MA)
Spouse(s)	James Hewson
Children	2
Awards	Fortune Most Powerful Women #1 (2018), Chief Executive CEO of the Year (2018), Edison Achievement Award

Marillyn Adams Hewson (born December 27, 1953) is an American business executive who served as the chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Lockheed Martin, the world's largest defense contractor, from January 2013 to June 2020. Born in Junction City, Kansas, and raised in a family that faced economic hardship after the early death of her father, Hewson rose through the ranks of Lockheed Martin over the course of a career spanning more than three decades with the company. Under her leadership, Lockheed Martin experienced significant revenue growth, expanded its portfolio of defense and aerospace programs, and secured major contracts including the continued development of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program. Hewson was named the number one Most Powerful Woman in the world by Fortune magazine in 2018 and was recognized as Chief Executive magazine's CEO of the Year the same year. Following her tenure as CEO, she transitioned to the role of executive chairman before becoming a strategic advisor to her successor, James D. Taiclet. A Forbes Power Women list regular, Hewson has been described as one of the most consequential executives in the modern defense industry.

Early Life

Marillyn Adams was born on December 27, 1953, in Junction City, Kansas, a small city adjacent to Fort Riley, a major United States Army installation. Her early life was shaped by significant personal adversity. Her father died when she was young, leaving her mother to raise five children largely on her own. In a 2013 interview with Politico, Hewson spoke publicly about the impact of her upbringing, describing the resilience her mother demonstrated in the face of economic hardship and how that experience shaped her own character and professional drive.

Growing up in Kansas, Hewson was one of five siblings in a household where resources were limited. The loss of her father placed considerable financial strain on the family, and her mother worked to provide for the children. Hewson has cited her mother's example as a foundational influence on her work ethic and leadership philosophy, noting that watching her mother navigate difficult circumstances instilled in her a belief in perseverance and self-reliance.

The family's connection to Junction City and proximity to Fort Riley may have provided an early, if indirect, exposure to matters of national defense and military life, though Hewson has not publicly drawn a direct line between her childhood geography and her eventual career in the defense industry. What she has emphasized is the formative role that economic struggle and family solidarity played in her development as a leader.

Education

Hewson attended the University of Alabama, where she earned both a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and a Master of Arts degree in economics. Her academic background in business and economics provided the analytical and strategic foundation that would underpin her career in corporate management. The University of Alabama has subsequently recognized Hewson as one of its most prominent alumni in the business world.

Career

Early Career at Lockheed

Hewson joined Lockheed Martin (then Lockheed Corporation, prior to its 1995 merger with Martin Marietta) in 1983 and spent her entire corporate career at the company, working her way through a succession of increasingly senior roles over more than three decades. Her longevity within a single organization was notable in an era when executive mobility between companies had become commonplace. Over the years, Hewson held positions in a wide range of the company's business areas and functional disciplines, gaining experience across multiple divisions and operational domains.

During her rise through Lockheed's corporate hierarchy, Hewson held a variety of leadership positions that spanned the company's diverse portfolio of defense, aerospace, and technology businesses. These roles gave her broad exposure to the operational, strategic, and governmental dimensions of the defense contracting industry. She held executive positions in areas including electronic systems, information systems, and logistics, among others.

Ascension to CEO

In November 2012, Lockheed Martin announced that Hewson would succeed Robert J. Stevens as the company's president and chief executive officer, effective January 1, 2013. The announcement made Hewson the first woman to lead the world's largest defense contractor. Her appointment came at a challenging time for the defense industry, as the United States government faced sequestration—automatic across-the-board cuts to federal spending, including defense—and the F-35 Lightning II program, Lockheed Martin's largest, was under intense scrutiny for cost overruns and schedule delays.

The selection of Hewson was the culmination of a career that had seen her serve in numerous senior executive roles within the company. Her deep institutional knowledge of Lockheed Martin's operations, relationships with key government customers, and experience managing complex programs were cited as factors in her selection by the board of directors.

Leadership as CEO (2013–2020)

Hewson's tenure as CEO was marked by a period of sustained financial performance and strategic positioning of Lockheed Martin as the dominant player in the global defense market. Under her leadership, the company navigated the uncertain fiscal environment created by sequestration while simultaneously pursuing growth opportunities in both domestic and international markets.

One of the central challenges and achievements of Hewson's leadership was the management and stabilization of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the most expensive weapons system in history. The program had been plagued by cost overruns, technical challenges, and political controversy before and during the early years of her tenure. Hewson worked to reduce the per-unit cost of the aircraft and to expand the international customer base for the F-35, which was designed to be the primary tactical fighter for the United States and numerous allied nations.

During Hewson's time as CEO, Lockheed Martin's revenue and stock price grew significantly. The company's market capitalization increased substantially, and the stock delivered strong returns to shareholders. She oversaw major contract wins and program milestones across Lockheed Martin's four business segments: Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space.

Hewson also emphasized the importance of innovation and technology investment during her tenure. She directed resources toward emerging areas such as hypersonic weapons, directed energy systems, autonomous platforms, and advanced satellite technologies. These investments were intended to position Lockheed Martin for the next generation of defense and national security requirements.

In addition to defense programs, Hewson led the company's expansion into adjacent markets and pushed for international sales growth. International revenues became an increasingly important component of Lockheed Martin's overall business during her tenure, as allied nations sought to modernize their military capabilities and the company pursued foreign military sales opportunities.

Hewson's management style was described as methodical and data-driven, with an emphasis on operational discipline, customer relationships, and talent development. In a 2019 article in Forbes, her approach to leadership was discussed in the context of caring for employees while driving performance.

COVID-19 Response

In the final months of her tenure as CEO, Hewson oversaw Lockheed Martin's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement issued on March 27, 2020, Hewson outlined the steps the company was taking to protect its workforce while maintaining operations that were deemed essential to national security. She emphasized the need to balance employee health and safety with the company's obligations to its government customers. The pandemic created significant operational challenges for the defense industry, including disruptions to supply chains and the need to implement new workplace safety protocols across the company's global footprint.

Succession and Transition

On March 16, 2020, Lockheed Martin announced that Hewson would step down as CEO, effective June 15, 2020, and that James D. Taiclet, then a member of the Lockheed Martin board of directors and CEO of American Tower Corporation, would succeed her as president and CEO. Hewson retained the title of executive chairman of the board following her departure from the CEO role.

The selection of Taiclet, who came from outside the traditional defense industry, was notable and was described by Forbes contributor Loren Thompson as a carefully considered choice. Thompson wrote that Hewson was "the most powerful executive that the modern defense industry has produced" and that her choice of successor reflected strategic foresight about the direction of the company.

In January 2021, Lockheed Martin announced that Taiclet would also assume the role of chairman of the board, effective March 1, 2021. At the same time, the company announced that Hewson would transition to the role of strategic advisor to the CEO, concluding her time as executive chairman. The transition marked the end of Hewson's nearly four-decade career in formal executive leadership at Lockheed Martin.

Post-Retirement Activities

Following her departure from Lockheed Martin's executive leadership, Hewson has remained active as a speaker and advisor. In 2025, it was announced that she would be a featured speaker at the 2026 NextGen luncheon series in Naples, Florida, alongside other notable figures.

Personal Life

Marillyn Hewson is married to James Hewson, and the couple has two children. The family resided in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area during Hewson's tenure as CEO of Lockheed Martin, which is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. In 2018, she purchased a property in McLean, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C., that is home to many senior government officials and business executives.

Hewson has spoken publicly about the influence of her upbringing and her mother's example on her personal and professional life. In her Politico interview, she described how her mother's resilience in raising five children after the death of her father instilled values of hard work and determination that guided her throughout her career.

Recognition

Throughout her career, Hewson received numerous awards and honors recognizing her leadership and business achievements:

• In 2018, Fortune magazine ranked Hewson as the number one Most Powerful Woman in the world on its annual list, reflecting her leadership of the world's largest defense contractor. She was also featured on the 2019 Fortune Most Powerful Women list.

• Forbes ranked Hewson number nine on its 2018 list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women. She was a recurring presence on the Forbes Power Women list during her tenure as CEO.

• Chief Executive magazine named Hewson its 2018 CEO of the Year, citing her strategic leadership of Lockheed Martin, the company's financial performance under her direction, and her management of complex defense programs.

• The Harvard Business Review included Hewson in its 2017 ranking of the best-performing CEOs in the world, a list that evaluated chief executives based on financial returns and other performance metrics over the length of their tenure.

• Hewson received the Edison Achievement Award, which recognizes leaders who have made significant contributions to innovation and business excellence.

• She was a multiple-time honoree on the Wash100 list, which recognizes the most influential leaders in the government contracting sector.

Legacy

Marillyn Hewson's tenure at Lockheed Martin is notable for several reasons within the context of the American defense industry and corporate leadership more broadly. As the first woman to lead the world's largest defense contractor, her appointment and sustained success in the role represented a significant milestone for women in industries historically dominated by men. Her rise from an entry-level position to the chief executive office of a Fortune 50 company over the course of a single, uninterrupted career at one organization demonstrated a model of corporate advancement built on institutional knowledge and progressive responsibility.

Under her leadership, Lockheed Martin solidified its position as the preeminent defense contractor globally, with the F-35 program becoming the backbone of allied tactical air power for decades to come. The financial performance of the company during her tenure, including significant stock price appreciation and revenue growth, was recognized by multiple business publications and rankings.

Forbes contributor Loren Thompson characterized Hewson as "the most powerful executive that the modern defense industry has produced," a characterization that reflected both the scale of Lockheed Martin's operations and the scope of her influence on defense policy and procurement decisions during her tenure. Her management of the F-35 program through its most controversial period, and her success in driving down per-unit costs while expanding the customer base, was considered a defining achievement of her leadership.

Hewson's post-retirement role as a strategic advisor to her successor, James D. Taiclet, provided continuity during the leadership transition at a time when the company and the broader defense sector were navigating the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Her continued visibility as a speaker and public figure after leaving the CEO role reflects her standing as one of the most prominent American business executives of the early 21st century.