Executive Vice President & President of Ingalls Shipbuilding Division, Huntington Ingalls Industries
Ingalls Shipbuilding | Inside Ingalls: Episode 1, Kari Wilkinson
Welcome to Inside Ingalls! The first episode featuring Ingalls President Kari Wilkinson is available now. This brand-new monthly video podcast will provide an inside look at the people, community and legacy that make Ingalls Shipbuilding what it is. With more than eight decades of history, there are plenty of stories to tell. This series will feature guests each month who will give an inside glimpse at what makes their experience at Ingalls so unique.
About Kari Wilkinson
Kari Wilkinson, president of Ingalls Shipbuilding, has been discussing the company's role in national defense and workforce development. She described amphibious warships as "part of our national defense strategy" and stated that "we can't build ships fast enough for our customer right now because they need them today." Wilkinson noted that the company secured a $9.6 billion contract to build ships for the military and said "we've got great line of sight, good backlog — but we just need to execute for our customers." She emphasized that "people are the most extraordinary element of our collective industry" and that "investing in developing and retaining people are the absolute lifeblood of this business." Wilkinson has also addressed the company's evolving workforce and technology. She stated that "today we have a more diverse workforce than ever" and that HII is "expanding and growing into digital and ISR solutions" including "big data and artificial intelligence, autonomy and unmanned systems." She described the company's culture as "whatever we want it to be" and said "it's how we treat one another." Wilkinson announced her transition to a new position at Newport News Shipbuilding, stating "I'm excited to join the Newport News team." Her successor at Ingalls, Brian Blanchette, was noted as taking over the role.
Transcript (22 segments)
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Jonathan Brandon0:12
That make Ingalls shipbuilding so special. We are very excited about this series. One of our very first guests for this series needs no introduction. I'm gonna do it anyway. She is an Ingalls shipbuilder first. She also happens to be the president of Ingalls Shipbuilding, the Executive Vice President of HII, Kari Wilkinson.
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Kari Wilkinson0:31
Jonathan, thank you. It's a privilege to be here.
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Jonathan Brandon0:33
Well, I am absolutely honored that you took time to be with us in this series, and we're hoping to do more of these where we get to know the people who make Ingalls great. It's 84, almost 85 year history. You've been known to say that the people are the most important part of our business. So why do you say that?
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Kari Wilkinson0:50
Well, because nothing in this organization is absolutely spectacular.
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Jonathan Brandon1:11
Well, it's fascinating to think about, like you said, the over 11,000 people who come to work here every day. And as a shipbuilder yourself, your dedicated shipbuilder, what gets you excited to get out of bed and come to work each day?
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Kari Wilkinson1:25
So people and the stories. But I will say that I think probably the most exhilarating thing is that no single day is the same. There's never a day without a challenge that you can work with a team and work through a challenge and feel a sense of accomplishment because the business is so complex. What we do is so important, right? So if you connect to the mission and the purpose of what we do here, it's just phenomenal.
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Jonathan Brandon1:48
Why is that important to connect to the mission? I know that's one of the things that we hold at high value here at Ingalls as shipbuilders, connecting to the mission.
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Kari Wilkinson2:10
Connected to that mission. Yeah, well, I think probably because any day there are challenges that you're going to come across. I mean, shipbuilding is not for the faint of heart, right? It's hard. It's hard work. It's hard business. It's so important to the country. It's so important to our community. And I can speak from personal experience, it's always been important to my family. The shipyard has provided for me for 26 years now, over 26 years. And so you know, between paying off student loans and putting food on the table and buying my first car on my own, all of those things were enabled by this organization. And so for that, I have extreme gratitude, right? But even then, it still connects us every single day to something bigger than us. It's important to the country. And there's not a room that I go into where someone doesn't have a story about how the shipyard has provided for their family.
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Jonathan Brandon3:11
The support the shipyard has provided for you and your family, that's not an isolated story. That's all across the shipyard. Shipbuilders have a very similar story. They all have unique stories, but this has built a sense of community here inside the shipyard and outside the shipyard. So what have you seen in that sense of community that has brought such importance to Ingalls?
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Kari Wilkinson3:35
I think that every role is different, but every role is important. And that sort of complexity and bringing all of those pieces together, I think that builds community in and of itself, right? And if you look at a crew or a part of our organization, you sort of have that sense of community in a very small sense, right? But then when you look across the shipyard, a lot of people spend more time here than they do outside. It's really a family, it's a second family. And so when you spend that much time with people and you learn to trust one another, that's family. And that sense of community really is something that I want to keep coming back to. It drives me. I feel compelled to do everything that I can to hold up my end of the bargain for the people that are around me. And so for that reason, I think it's incredibly important.
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Jonathan Brandon4:36
Well, and looking at your leadership style, you have been intentional, it seems, to bring that sense of community even outside the shipyard and go out into the community. You yourself are a very thoughtful, engaged community member, being on several boards, doing what you can in the community. Why is that important to you to bring the shipyard into the community?
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Kari Wilkinson5:11
Because of the work that we do, there's a responsibility. We put food on the table for a lot of families, and we need to do what we need to do to continue that, to perpetuate. And that's part of the legacy, right? There were literally thousands of people that came before us that sacrificed every day to do the hard work that happens here, the very important and purposeful work that happens here. And so holding up our end of the bargain in the community is part of that. We have so many stakeholders. The community that we just talked about is inside the shipyard, but there's those same networks outside of it, right? The people that know, whether it's from a congressional standpoint, whether it's from local community businesses, infrastructure, everything, child care, all of those things work together to enable what we do here. And so we have that responsibility.
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Jonathan Brandon6:10
It makes an impact on their teammates, on their work family, if you will. What do you hope that the legacy that you are bringing to Ingalls will be?
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Kari Wilkinson6:21
I think that years from now, if someone looks back on the time that I spent in the shipyard, I hope that my excitement around the business, my profound respect for the people doing it, I hope that translates. I hope it causes even one person to get as excited about it as I am and to feel as grateful as I do and as connected to the organization, connected to the community. You give so much of your time and your effort over a period of time, whether that's six months or 26 years, and it's an investment, right? And so if nothing else, I hope they look back and have a story. We all have a story. When you put all those together, it's the fabric of Ingalls. And to me, that's part of that legacy, right? We just continue to build it every day with all of the individual stories. And there's not a day that goes by that you don't learn something about somebody that you're around that just makes you think about the world around us differently or even the world inside the shipyard differently.
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Jonathan Brandon7:33
So what are some ways, or maybe just one way, that the legacy of Ingalls has evolved over the 84 years that it's been around that makes you excited about the future of the legacy of Ingalls?
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Kari Wilkinson7:44
Well, I think from the work that we do, there are some things that are very similar to many, many years ago, right? There's some stability and some consistency in that. But with every new shipbuilder that walks through the gate, they bring new ideas, new perspectives, new ways of doing things. I think that's what draws me to it. Not everybody can be a shipbuilder, and I love that, right? It makes me so proud to walk through a gate every day and be able to say that. So I think the opportunities that brings, the opportunities that everybody that joins the team brings to the table, those are really exciting.
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Jonathan Brandon8:26
We're sitting here in front of a gorgeous view of the shipyard. You can see everything laid out, the ships that are being built. When you look at that view and you think about that legacy, what are some things maybe that have stayed constant? We talk about things that have evolved. What are some things that have stayed constant with Ingalls Shipbuilding that make you excited about the future?
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Kari Wilkinson8:47
Every single day you see somebody do something that you didn't know was possible, right? Somebody tells you a story, somebody thinks about a new way to do something. That is so incredibly powerful.
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Jonathan Brandon9:10
What makes you excited to think about what the shipyard is going to look like 5, 10, 20 years down the road?
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Kari Wilkinson9:17
A very exciting time. I again want to say thank you so much for joining us on this, one of our first episodes in this series, Inside Ingalls. And we look forward to doing this a lot more, talking to the people who make this shipyard so great. So amazing, thank you so much for joining us.
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Jonathan Brandon9:33
Thank you for having me, and I am so excited to see the stories you are going to uncover with this series. It's going to be great.
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Kari Wilkinson9:39
It's going to be great. We're excited to make this happen. We want to thank you so much for tuning in for this Inside Ingalls. Until next time, I'm Jonathan Brandon, showcasing the people, community, and legacy that make Ingalls Shipbuilding so great.