Christopher Kastner, most recently chief operating officer of Huntington Ingalls Industries, officially assumed responsibilities as president and CEO of HII on Tuesday and plans to continue transforming HII from a shipbuilding company into a provider of defense technologies across the globe, Defense News reported.
“HII’s unique capabilities are critical to America’s security, and we have a responsibility to do more. We will continue to respect tradition and leverage innovation as we build and deliver great ships,” Kastner wrote in a memo to employees obtained by the publication.
“And we will support a growing set of national security customers through technologies and solutions essential to their missions,” he added.
In January, Kastner was selected by HII’s board to succeed Mike Petters as president and CEO of the company.
Petters, a previous Wash100 Award winner, will continue to serve as executive vice chairman of the board and support leadership transition until the end of 2022.