Executive Vice President & President of Ingalls Shipbuilding Division, Huntington Ingalls Industries
Outgoing Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson looks back on legacy
Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson looks back on her legacy before moving on to her new position at Newport News ...
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 (14 segments)
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Narrator0:03
Amphibious warships, which is part of our national defense strategy. They are supporting the United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy's ability to project power from sea to shore. So the people here are participating in the national defense strategy. The leader of the United States Marine Corps visiting Ingalls Shipbuilding this week, General Eric Smith, toured warships under construction. His visit happening as the shipyard is preparing for a change in leadership.
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Reporter0:34
That's right. A big change coming for their current leader, Kari Wilkinson. This week, I had a chance to talk with the outgoing president of Ingalls before she moves on to a new role at Newport News Shipbuilding. Wilkinson, she kind of would rather lead and give all the accolades to her team, but she gave us a few minutes to look back on her legacy and what's next at Ingalls. Okay, so first of all, Kari being chairman of the Gulf Coast Business Council this year not only gives you a chance to work with other CEOs and presidents, but also get a feel for business outside of here in Jackson County. A great honor to do that, right?
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Kari Wilkinson1:12
Absolutely. It's been a tremendous honor. And I'll say not just from a business collaboration perspective, because, of course, you would expect that. It's been, from a personal standpoint, professional standpoint, to have that kind of mentorship with local community leaders has been extraordinary.
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Reporter1:25
You're heading up to Newport News. That's a big jump. But 28 years here, this is bittersweet. Have you been reflecting? Has it really hit you? You know, kind of tell me what you're feeling right now.
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Kari Wilkinson1:38
Yeah, I mean, certainly a tremendous honor. And I'm excited to join the Newport News team. I've built family here. The shipyard is my family. And so that's been... I knew it would be hard. It's been a lot harder than I anticipated, probably originally. But getting excited about joining a new team and shipbuilders, they're a tenacious group. And so I think, you know, I'll find family there as well. But I won't be that far away. So I'm going to stay connected to the community and the relationships that we've built here. There's a lot that goes on in Newport News and here, right now, somewhere in the neighborhood of 14 ships being built. And as we saw with the Marine Commandant yesterday, these are all types of ships, Swiss Army knives, if you will, with technology, with all the latest to defend our nation.
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Reporter2:22
That's exciting, isn't it?
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Kari Wilkinson2:24
It is exciting. And I mean, it's kind of scary at the same time, right? We turn on the news and we see what's happening on a global stage. And so the work that gets done right here in Pascagoula, Mississippi is really important work. Like I said, we're humbled to be
Really important work. Like I said, we're humbled to be able to do it for our customers. And we got great line of sight, good backlog. But we just need to execute for our customers. As a president, when you see what these ships can do, not getting too much into the weeds. We don't want our adversaries knowing all the secrets, but seeing what they can do. It's fascinating and challenging at the same time.
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Reporter2:54
Yeah, absolutely.
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Kari Wilkinson2:55
There's complexity in the work that we do. And of course, that has not diminished over time. So we want to make sure we equip our shipbuilders to be able to do the work that has to get done. I will say again, back to the Business Council and those relationships, the pipelines and the community relationships are incredibly important as we think about the future and executing on that backlog.
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Reporter3:13
Right. And so I think we've got some great programs today, but I'm looking forward to seeing what the shipyard works to do to expand my successor. Brian is equally focused on that. So I think it's going to be a good transition. And he's going to bring some really great things. And looking to the future, you have an ever-changing employee base, 11,000. There's a lot of moving parts there with some of the local programs, things like apprenticeships. That's where that next wave of talent comes in.
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Kari Wilkinson3:40
Absolutely. We've got folks in the shipyard that are coming in now that don't know anything about shipbuilding yet, so we're happy to teach them. But we've also got some people that are coming from other skills, other trades. We like to incorporate them all. It's a very diverse workforce. We're proud of that. And there's a lot of opportunity in the shipyard. And last thing, reflecting on your time here as president, is it getting through COVID? Is that the biggest highlight or maybe the relationships? What's been the thing that stands out for you?
I think, you know, one of the very first opportunities to share a perspective with an outside party, if you will, when I first took this role, as I said, it was extraordinary what happens in the shipyard, what people do when they come together and work in teams. So COVID was difficult, but the enterprise writ large. We really just focused on people and my predecessor did a fantastic job with that and kept the organization really focused on how we take care of shipbuilders. But seeing what shipbuilders can do, that's probably the highlight. I've seen some extraordinary things happen in the shipyard, and I look forward to that opportunity, obviously in Virginia as well.
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Reporter4:41
And you, anytime you can secure a $9.6 billion contract to build ships for our military. Pretty solid on the resume, by the way. Wilkinson's been president since 2021 at Ingalls. Yeah, so much happening there at Ingalls and long-time Ingalls veteran Brian Blanchette takes over at the...