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 34 early- and mid-career level NNS leaders representing 14 NNS divisions.

“The NNS Lead Forward program is a great investment in training future leaders,” said Dave Bolcar, vice president of Engineering and Design. “Leadership is not just about managing people and projects and achieving goals; it’s also about stewardship. Steward-leaders inspire people not because of their authority but because of their commitment to service and responsibility.”

The program, now in its seventh 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.

“Lead Forward is a truly unique program designed to help rising shipyard leaders sharpen leadership skills and harness them to positively impact our company and the world around us,” said Xavier Beale, vice president of Human Resources.

Carrie Breeden (O19), a manager in Contracts and Pricing, said “In my 26 years of shipbuilding, the Lead Forward Program was the most enjoyable leadership training opportunity I’ve had. It involved hands-on, real-life experiences with other leaders at NNS and leaders outside of the NNS community. It taught me to leverage my personal strengths to be successful and brought to light the fact that we’re all just ordinary people, but when we come together and use our unique strengths, we can do extraordinary things and become successful leaders.”