This year’s LEAD Forward program class included 33 shipuilders from across the company. Photo by Ashley Cowan

Shipbuilders Complete LEAD Forward Program

Published November 9, 2021

Newport News Shipbuilding partnered with LEAD Virginia and community leaders to host the three-day LEAD Forward program in September and October. The class included 33 early- and mid-career level NNS leaders representing 18 divisions.

The program, now in its third year, was designed by LEAD Virginia to advance leadership development among NNS professionals. Partnering with Hampton Roads businesses, the LEAD Forward program provides immersive learning experiences. It also exposes participants to the various regional economic and environmental factors that impact various businesses, how business leaders assess and respond to those factors, and the implications of those factors as they relate to NNS.

“The NNS LEAD Forward Program is a great opportunity for current and future leaders to build relationships and understand how NNS leaders influence not only our company, but our Hampton Roads community,” said Brian Fields, vice president of Enterprise (CVN 80) and Doris Miller (CVN 81) Aircraft Carrier Programs and a LEAD Virginia program graduate.

“The LEAD Forward program is one-of-a-kind,” said Susan Jacobs, vice president of Human Resources and Administration. “Participants receive both professional and personal leadership development as they discover more about who they are as leaders – and who they aspire to become. It is my hope that participants completing the LEAD Forward program find their perspectives broadened and leave a little different than when they entered it.”