10 Things You Didn’t Know about Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson

Marillyn Hewson is the current CEO of Lockheed Martin. As a result, it is no exaggeration to say that she is one of the most influential businesswomen in the entire world, which is something that has been acknowledged by a number of publications over the course of her career. With that said, Hewson has experienced her share of struggle when it comes to her job, meaning that her experiences can make for interesting reading for people who are fascinated by that particular part of the business world. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Marillyn Hewson:

1. Marillyn Combines Mary and Lynn

Origin-wise, Marillyn and its numerous variants come from exactly what most people would expect. In other words, it is a combination of Mary and Lynn, which winded up becoming rather popular in the 1930s to the 1950s.

2. Hewson Is Patronymic

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hewson is a patronymic name that means “son of Hugh.” Curiously, it is said to have come from either the western coast of Scotland or the Hebrides Islands, which are situated off of that particular stretch of coastline.

3. Born in Junction City, KS

Hewson was born in Junction City, which is of course, a city situated in the state of Kansas. It is named thus because it is founded at the point where the Republican and Smoky Hill Rivers meet, which had an impact on its growth over the course of its existence.

4. Studied at University of Alabama

Education-wise, Hewson went to the University of Alabama for both her Bachelor of Science and her Master of Art degrees. Said institution would be the biggest of the public universities that can be found in the state of Alabama, serving as the flagship of the system of the same name. Besides the University of Alabama, Hewson has gone through the executive development programs at other schools as well.

5. Joined Lockheed Martin in 1983

Hewson has been at Lockheed Martin for a long time. After all, she became a part of the corporation in 1983 before rising through the ranks to reach her current position as the CEO in 2013. On the way, Hewson served in a number of other executive positions as well, with examples ranging from President to the Executive Vice-President of Electronic Systems.

6. Has Doubled Market Capitalization

Under her leadership, Lockheed Martin has seen a doubling of its market capitalization. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, market capitalization is the value of the corporation on the stock market, which can be calculated through the very simple method of multiplying the share price by the number of outstanding shares.

7. Serves on the Board of Directors for Two Other Organizations

Besides her role at Lockheed Martin, Hewson serves on the Board of Directors of two other organizations. One would be DuPont, which is involved in a number of businesses but started up as a gunpowder mill of all things. Meanwhile, the other would be Sandia National Laboratories, which is responsible for the reliability of the United States’s nuclear weapons as well as a number of other important tasks.

8. Bought Out Sikorsky Aircraft

In 2015, Hewson oversaw Lockheed Martin buying out Sikorsky Aircraft. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sikorsky Aircraft is an aircraft manufacturer. However, what is interesting is that it is responsible for manufacturing Black Hawk helicopters, thus providing Lockheed Martin the ability to build its own helicopters.

9. Has Focused on Building Military Hardware

Lockheed Martin is famous for offering a wide range of aerospace products for both civilian and military clients, which are in addition to other products for other sectors as well. However, it is interesting to note that under Hewson’s leadership, the corporation has seen a shift in focus to more military hardware, which remains a valuable market in the United States.

10. Experienced Self-Doubt

When interviewed, Hewson has stated that she has struggled with self-doubt at certain points in her career, which held her back from reaching her full potential as soon as possible. According to her, she would have liked it if someone had told her that taking risks was sometimes necessary for people to grow because in the end, would-be leaders need experience to turn into something more.