Proxy Statement—Table of Contents

 

 

 

2021 Proxy Statement Summary			1
General Information About the Annual Meeting and Voting			10
Items of Business to be Considered at the Annual Meeting			10
Appointment of Proxy Holders			10
Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials			10
Record Date and Voting			11
Quorum, Vote Required and Method of Counting			13
Item 1—Proposal to Elect Directors			13
Item 2—Proposal to Approve Executive Compensation on an Advisory Basis			13
Item 3—Proposal to Ratify Appointment of Our Independent Auditors			14
Item  4—Proposal to Amend Our Restated Certificate of Incorporation to Eliminate Remaining Supermajority Voting Requirements			14
Important Reminder of Effect of Not Casting Your Vote if You Are a Street Name Stockholder			14
Soliciting and Tabulating Votes			14
Electronic Access to Proxy Statement and Annual Report			14
Householding Information			15
Governance of the Company			16
Overview of Corporate Governance			16
Responsibilities of the Board of Directors			16
Criteria for Board Membership			16
Director Nomination Process			18
Majority Vote Director Resignation Policy			19
Stockholders Right to Nominate Proxy Access Nominees			20
Director Independence			21
Board Leadership Structure			21
Board Committee Functions and Membership			22
Board Structure			24
Executive Sessions of Non-Employee Directors			25
The Board’s Role in Risk Oversight			25
Board and Committee Evaluations			28
Director Education			28
Policy Against Hedging and Pledging Company Securities			28
Code of Ethics and Business Conduct			28
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation			29
Meetings and Attendance			29
Indemnification			29
Communications and Company Documents			30
Communications and Company Documents			30
Future Stockholder Proposals and Nominations of Directors			30

Corporate Responsibility			32
Company Values			32
Company Commitments			33
The Board of Directors			34
Director Compensation			41
Director Compensation Program			41
2020 Director Compensation Table			42
Executive Compensation			43
Introduction			43
Named Executive Officer Biographies			43
Compensation Discussion and Analysis			45
Compensation Committee Report			64
Executive Compensation Tables			65
Audit Committee Matters			84
Audit Committee Report			84
Principal Accountant Fees and Services			85
Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures			85
Stock Ownership Information			86
Stock Ownership of Officers and Directors			86
Stock Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners			87
Item 1—Proposal to Elect 11 Directors			88
Item 2—Proposal to Approve Executive Compensation on an Advisory Basis			89
Item 3—Proposal to Ratify the Appointment of Independent Auditors			90
Item 4—Proposal to Amend Our Restated Certificate of Incorporation to Eliminate Remaining Supermajority Voting Requirements			91
Other Information for Stockholders			93
Attending the Annual Meeting			93
Related Party Transactions			94
Annex A—Definitions of Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to GAAP Financial Measures			96
Annex B—Proposed Amendment to Restated Certificate of Incorporation			98

 

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2021 Proxy Statement Summary

 

RATIFY THE APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS

The Board is asking you to ratify the selection of Deloitte & Touche LLP as our independent auditors for 2021. The following table contains summary information with respect to fees billed to us in 2020 by Deloitte & Touche for professional services.

 

($ in thousands)			2020
Fees Billed:
Audit Fees			7,070
Audit-Related Fees			634
Tax Fees			96
All Other Fees			54
Total			7,854

 

APPROVE AN AMENDMENT TO OUR RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION TO ELIMINATE REMAINING SUPERMAJORITY VOTING REQUIREMENTS

You are being asked to consider a proposal to amend our Restated Certificate of Incorporation to eliminate remaining supermajority voting requirements. The Board is recommending a vote for this proposal.

 

2021 Notice and Proxy Statement    9

 

General Information About the Annual Meeting and Voting

 

The Board is providing you with these proxy materials in connection with its solicitation of proxies to be voted at our 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and at any postponement or adjournment of the annual meeting. In this proxy statement, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. may also be referred to as “we,” “our,” “us,” “HII” or “the company.”

You will be able to attend the annual meeting, as well as vote and submit questions during the meeting, by following the instructions set forth under the headings “Record Date and Voting,” on page 11, and “Attending the Annual Meeting,” beginning on page 93, of this proxy statement.

The meeting will begin promptly at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time. If you encounter difficulties accessing the virtual meeting, please call the technical support number that will be posted at www.meetingcenter.io/247295942.

ITEMS OF BUSINESS TO BE CONSIDERED AT THE ANNUAL MEETING

The Board is asking you to vote on the following items at the annual meeting:

 

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elect 11 directors;

 

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approve the company’s executive compensation on an advisory basis;

 

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ratify the appointment of our independent auditors; and

 

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approve an amendment to our Restated Certificate of Incorporation to eliminate remaining supermajority voting requirements.

APPOINTMENT OF PROXY HOLDERS

The Board asks you to appoint Chad N. Boudreaux and Charles R. Monroe, Jr. as your proxy holders to vote your shares at the annual meeting. You make this appointment by submitting your proxy using one of the voting methods described below.

If appointed by you, the proxy holders will vote your shares as you direct on the matters described in this proxy statement. If you received a proxy card and you complete and return the proxy card but do not provide voting directions, they will vote your shares as recommended by the Board on all of the matters described in this proxy statement that are presented at the annual meeting.

The Board is not aware of any business that may properly be presented at the annual meeting other than those matters described in this proxy statement. If any other matters are properly presented at the annual meeting, your proxy gives discretionary authority to the proxy holders to vote the shares in their best judgment.

NOTICE OF INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS

Pursuant to rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), we are permitted to furnish our proxy materials to our stockholders over the Internet by delivering a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials. The Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials instructs you on how to access and review the proxy statement and 2020 Annual Report over the Internet. The Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials also instructs you on how you may submit your proxy over the

 

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General Information About the Annual Meeting and Voting

 

Internet. We believe this e-proxy process expedites receipt of proxy materials by stockholders, while also lowering our costs and reducing the environmental impact of our annual meeting. We have used this e-proxy process to furnish proxy materials to certain of our stockholders over the Internet.

If you received a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials in the mail and would like to receive a printed copy of our proxy materials, you should follow the instructions for requesting these materials provided in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials.

RECORD DATE AND VOTING

Stockholders owning our common stock at the close of business on March 5, 2021, the record date, or their legal proxy holders, are entitled to vote at the annual meeting. The Board strongly encourages you to vote. Your vote is important. Voting early helps ensure we receive a quorum of shares necessary to hold the annual meeting. Many stockholders do not vote, meaning the stockholders who do vote influence the outcome of the matters on which they vote in greater proportion than their percentage ownership of HII shares.

We have two types of stockholders: stockholders of record and “street name” stockholders. Stockholders of record are stockholders who own their shares in their own names on the company’s books. Street name stockholders are stockholders who own their shares through a bank, broker or other holder of record.

Voting by Stockholders of Record. If you are a stockholder of record, you have four voting options. You may vote:

 

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over the Internet at www.envisionreports.com/HII, the web address included in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials and in the proxy card (if you received a proxy card);

 

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by telephone through the number included in the proxy card (if you received a proxy card);

 

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by signing and dating your proxy card (if you received a proxy card) and mailing it in the prepaid and addressed envelope; or

 

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by virtually attending the annual meeting and voting (there is no physical location for the annual meeting).

If you have Internet access, we encourage you to vote over the Internet. It is convenient, and it saves us significant postage and processing costs. In addition, when you vote by proxy over the Internet or by telephone prior to the meeting date, your proxy vote is recorded immediately and there is no risk that postal delays will cause your proxy vote to arrive late and therefore not be counted.

Internet and telephone voting facilities for stockholders of record are available 24 hours a day. The Internet and telephone voting procedures verify you are a stockholder of record by use of a control number and enable you to confirm your voting instructions have been properly recorded. If you vote by Internet or telephone, you do not need to return your proxy card (if you received a proxy card).

You will also be able to attend, participate and vote your shares electronically at the annual meeting online by visiting: www.meetingcenter.io/247295942. The password for the meeting is HII2021. If you are a stockholder of record (i.e., you hold your shares through our transfer agent, Computershare), you do not need to register to attend the annual meeting virtually on the Internet. Please follow the instructions on the notice or proxy card that you received.

Whether or not you plan to attend the virtual annual meeting, we urge you to have your proxy vote recorded in advance of the meeting. If you attend the annual meeting and vote at the annual meeting,

 

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General Information About the Annual Meeting and Voting

 

any prior proxy votes you submitted, whether by Internet, telephone or mail, will be superseded by the vote you cast at the annual meeting. In any event, the method by which you vote your proxy will not limit your right to vote at the annual meeting if you decide to virtually attend.

Revoking Your Proxy for Stockholders of Record. If you are a stockholder of record and you vote by proxy using any method, you may revoke your proxy later and change your vote at any time before the polls close at the annual meeting. You may do this by:

 

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sending a written statement to that effect to Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., Attn: Corporate Secretary, 4101 Washington Avenue, Newport News, Virginia 23607, provided we receive your written statement before the annual meeting date; or

 

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voting again over the Internet or by telephone; or

 

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signing and returning another proxy card with a later date, provided we receive the later proxy card before the annual meeting date; or

 

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virtually attending the annual meeting and voting.

Only the most recent proxy vote will be counted, and all others will be discarded regardless of the method of voting.

Voting by Street Name Stockholders. If your shares are held in “street name” through a broker, bank or other nominee, please refer to the instructions they provide regarding how to vote your shares or to revoke your voting instructions. The availability of telephone and Internet voting depends upon the voting processes of the broker, bank or other nominee.

If you are a street name stockholder, you must register with Computershare no later than 5:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, on April 26, 2021, to participate in the annual meeting. To do so you must submit proof of your proxy power (legal proxy) reflecting your HII share holdings, along with your name and email address, to Computershare. Requests for registration must be labeled as “Legal Proxy.” You will receive a confirmation of your registration by email after we receive your registration materials. Requests for registration should be directed to us as follows:

By email: Forward the email from your broker, or attach an image of your legal proxy, to legalproxy@computershare.com

By mail:

Computershare

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. Legal Proxy

P.O. Box 505008

Louisville, KY 40233-9814

Whether or not you plan to attend the virtual annual meeting, we urge you to have your proxy vote recorded in advance of the meeting. If you attend the annual meeting and vote at the annual meeting, any prior proxy votes you submitted, whether by Internet, telephone or mail, will be superseded by the vote you cast at the annual meeting. In any event, the method by which you vote your proxy will not limit your right to vote at the annual meeting if you decide to virtually attend.

Confidential Voting. We treat your vote as confidential to protect the privacy of our stockholder votes. Proxies and voting instructions provided to banks, brokers and other holders of record are kept confidential. Only the proxy solicitor, the proxy tabulator and the inspector of elections have access to the proxies and voting instructions.

 

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General Information About the Annual Meeting and Voting

 

QUORUM, VOTE REQUIRED AND METHOD OF COUNTING

At the close of business on the record date, 40,299,975 shares of our common stock were outstanding and entitled to vote at the annual meeting. Each outstanding share is entitled to one vote.

A quorum must be present to transact business at the annual meeting. A quorum will be present if a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote as of the record date are present, in person or by proxy. If you indicate an abstention as your voting preference on all matters, your shares will be counted toward a quorum but will not be voted on any matter. If you are a street name stockholder and do not vote your shares, your bank, broker or other holder of record may vote your shares on the proposal to ratify the appointment of our independent auditors, which is known as a routine matter. Votes by a bank, broker or other holder of record on any routine matter will count for purposes of determining a quorum. In the absence of a quorum, the chairperson of the meeting may adjourn the meeting, and, at any reconvened meeting following such an adjournment at which a quorum is present, any business that might have been transacted at the original meeting may be transacted.

If you are a street name stockholder and do not vote your shares, your bank, broker or other holder of record can vote your shares in its discretion only on Item 3 described in this proxy statement. If you do not give your bank, broker or other holder of record instructions on how to vote your shares on Items 1, 2 and 4 described in this proxy statement, your shares will not be voted on those matters. Such “broker non-votes” will have no impact on the results of the vote on Items 1 and 2 and will have the effect of a vote against Item 4.

If you hold shares through an HII employee benefit plan, you cannot vote your shares directly. Instead, you can provide voting instructions to the plan trustee, who will vote the shares on your behalf. HII employee benefit plans that hold HII shares provide for pass-through voting to plan participants and designate that plan participants are “named fiduciaries” under ERISA for purposes of voting their shares and shares for which plan participants do not provide voting directions. If you are a plan participant and do not vote your shares, your trustee will vote your shares in accordance with the terms of the relevant plan. As such, your trustee may vote your shares in the same proportion as shares held by the plan for which voting instructions have been received from other participants, which are “named fiduciaries,” unless contrary to ERISA.

The required vote and method of calculation for the matters to be presented at the annual meeting are as follows:

Item 1—Proposal to Elect Directors

Directors will be elected by a plurality of the shares present in person or by proxy at the annual meeting or any adjournment thereof and entitled to vote on the election of directors. Plurality voting means the 11 director nominees receiving the most votes will be elected to the Board. If you do not want your shares to be voted with respect to a particular director nominee, you may “withhold” your vote with respect to that nominee. If a director nominee receives a greater number of votes “withheld” for his or her election than votes cast “for” his or her election, such nominee will be required under the majority vote director resignation policy included in our Corporate Governance Guidelines to submit an offer of resignation to the Board for its consideration. If you are a street name stockholder and do not vote your shares, your bank, broker or other holder of record cannot vote your shares on this item, and broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of the vote.

Item 2—Proposal to Approve Executive Compensation on an Advisory Basis

The executive compensation of our NEOs will be approved as an advisory recommendation to the Board if the number of shares voted in favor exceeds the number of shares voted against. Abstentions will have no effect on the results of the vote. If you are a street name stockholder and do not vote your

 

2021 Notice and Proxy Statement    13

General Information About the Annual Meeting and Voting

 

shares, your bank, broker or other holder of record cannot vote your shares on this item, and broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of the vote. Although the vote on this item is non-binding, the Compensation Committee will review the results of the vote and consider it in making future decisions concerning executive compensation.

Item 3—Proposal to Ratify Appointment of Our Independent Auditors

Ratification of appointment of our independent auditors will be approved if the number of shares voted in favor exceeds the number of shares voted against. Abstentions will have no effect on the results of the vote. If you are a street name stockholder and do not vote your shares, your bank, broker or other holder of record can vote your shares at its discretion on this item.

Item 4—Proposal to Amend Our Restated Certificate of Incorporation to Eliminate Remaining Supermajority Voting Requirements

The proposal to amend our Restated Certificate of Incorporation to eliminate remaining supermajority voting requirements requires the affirmative vote of 66²⁄₃% in voting power of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock. Abstentions will have the effect of a vote against this proposal. If you are a street name stockholder and do not vote your shares, your bank, broker or other holder of record cannot vote your shares on this item, and broker non-votes will have the effect of a vote against this proposal.

IMPORTANT REMINDER OF EFFECT OF NOT CASTING YOUR VOTE IF YOU ARE A STREET NAME STOCKHOLDER

If you are a street name stockholder, it is critical you vote your shares if you want your vote to count on Items 1, 2 and 4. Your bank, broker or other holder of record is not permitted to vote your shares on Items 1, 2 or 4, unless you instruct them how you wish to vote. Such “broker non-votes” will have no impact on the results of the vote on Items 1 and 2 and will have the effect of a vote against Item 4.

SOLICITING AND TABULATING VOTES

The Board has made these materials available to you in connection with its solicitation of proxies for use at our annual meeting. We will bear the costs of soliciting and tabulating your votes. Our employees, personally, by telephone, by email or otherwise, may solicit your votes without additional compensation. In addition, we have retained MacKenzie Partners, Inc. to assist in the solicitation of proxies for the 2021 annual meeting for a fee of $15,000, plus associated costs and expenses.

We will reimburse banks, brokers and other holders of record for reasonable, out-of-pocket expenses for forwarding these proxy materials to you, according to certain regulatory fee schedules. See “Electronic Access to Proxy Statement and Annual Report” below for information on how you can help reduce printing and mailing costs.

ELECTRONIC ACCESS TO PROXY STATEMENT AND ANNUAL REPORT

You can elect in advance to receive future proxy materials by email. If you choose to receive future proxy materials by email, you will receive an email with instructions containing a link to the website where those materials are available, as well as a link to the proxy voting website.

If you are a stockholder of record, you may enroll in the electronic delivery service by going directly to www.envisionreports.com/HII. You may revoke your electronic delivery election at this site at any time and request a paper copy of the proxy statement and annual report.

 

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General Information About the Annual Meeting and Voting

 

If you are a street name stockholder, you may also be able to receive copies of the proxy statement and annual report electronically. Please check the information provided in the proxy materials you received from your bank, broker or other holder of record concerning the availability of this service.

HOUSEHOLDING INFORMATION

We have adopted a procedure called “householding.” Under this procedure, stockholders of record who have the same address and last name and do not participate in electronic delivery of proxy materials will receive only one copy of the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or the printed proxy materials, unless we have received contrary instructions from one or both such stockholders. This procedure reduces our printing costs and postage fees and is environmentally friendly.

If you and another stockholder of record with whom you share an address are receiving multiple copies of the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or the printed proxy materials, you can request to receive a single copy of the printed proxy materials in the future by calling our transfer agent, Computershare, at 1-888-665-9610, or writing to us at Investor Relations, 4101 Washington Avenue, Newport News, VA 23607. If you and another stockholder of record with whom you share an address wish to receive a separate Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or separate printed proxy materials, we will promptly deliver them to you if you request them by contacting Computershare by phone or Investor Relations in writing in the same manner described above.

Stockholders who participate in householding and who receive printed proxy materials will continue to receive separate proxy cards. If you are a street name stockholder, you can request householding by contacting your bank, broker or other holder of record through which you hold your shares.

 

2021 Notice and Proxy Statement    15

Governance of the Company

 

OVERVIEW OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Corporate governance addresses the relationships among the Board, company management and the company’s stockholders, with the objectives of promoting the company’s long-term success, improving corporate performance, strengthening Board and management accountability and promoting the long-term interests of our stockholders. The Board and senior management are committed to corporate governance best practices. We believe governance best practices are important not only to our stockholders, but also to our customers, employees, suppliers and other stakeholders.

The following sections provide an overview of our corporate governance model and practices. Among other topics, we describe the responsibilities of the Board, how directors are selected and certain important aspects of Board operations.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

We believe the foundation of sound corporate governance is a board of directors whose independence, skills, experience and judgment enable the board to effectively oversee management of the company and to provide constructive advice and counsel to management. The Board and its committees perform a number of important functions for the company and its stockholders, including:

 

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overseeing and providing advice on the company’s strategic plan developed by management;

 

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assessing the significant enterprise risks to which the company is subject and overseeing management of those enterprise risks;

 

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selecting our chief executive officer and evaluating the performance of the chief executive officer and other executive officers;

 

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overseeing development and succession plans for our executive officers;

 

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monitoring the company’s financial performance and evaluating and approving significant corporate actions;

 

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overseeing processes that protect the integrity of the company, including the integrity of the company’s financial statements and compliance with legal requirements and the company’s ethics and business conduct standards; and

 

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evaluating the effectiveness of the Board and its committees.

The Board’s oversight role is also effected through the Board’s five standing committees—the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, the Cybersecurity Committee, the Governance and Policy Committee and the Finance Committee. Each of these committees operates under a separate written charter to promote clarity in their responsibilities and to ensure the committees function in coordination with each other and with the full Board. Our committees are discussed in greater detail beginning on page 22 of this proxy statement.

CRITERIA FOR BOARD MEMBERSHIP

The Board believes all director candidates must possess certain fundamental qualifications and that specialized skills and experiences should be contributed to the Board by individual directors. The Board and the Governance and Policy Committee consider the qualifications of directors and director

 

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Governance of the Company

 

candidates individually and in the broader context of the Board’s collective skills and experiences measured against the current and future needs of the Board.

Qualifications for All Directors. The Board believes all its members must possess the following fundamental qualifications:

 

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high personal and professional integrity and ethical standards;

 

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significant educational, business, military or professional achievements in leading organizations;

 

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ability to represent the best interests of all stockholders; and

 

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demonstrated leadership ability and sound judgment.

Prospective directors must also be willing to submit to a background check necessary for a security clearance.

Selection of Individual Candidates. In addition to the qualifications applicable to all director candidates, the Board and the Governance and Policy Committee consider, among other matters, a candidate’s experience and skills in such areas as:

 

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senior leadership

 

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corporate development and strategy

 

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corporate governance

 

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global operations

 

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finance, accounting and capital markets

 

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government relations

 

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human resources

 

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legal and regulatory matters

 

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manufacturing operations

 

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mergers and acquisitions

 

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military and government

 

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risk management

 

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technology

 

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the industries in which the company competes

We also consider whether a candidate can commit sufficient time and attention to Board activities, as well as any potential conflicts with the company’s interests. Our objective is to have the collective skills, experiences and perspectives that create an outstanding, dynamic and effective Board and strengthen the Board’s ability to oversee the company’s business, enhance its performance and represent the long-term interests of stockholders. All of our non-employee directors are expected to serve on Board committees, supporting the Board’s mission by providing expertise to those committees, and the needs of those committees are considered when evaluating director candidates. The Board and the

 

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Governance of the Company

 

Governance and Policy Committee also consider diversity factors when selecting director nominees, seeking representation of a range of experiences, backgrounds and perspectives.

Service on Other Boards. In accordance with our Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Board considers the number of boards of other public companies and audit committees of those boards on which a director candidate serves. Under our Corporate Governance Guidelines, directors should not serve on more than five boards of publicly traded companies, including our Board, and our directors who also serve as chief executive officers or in equivalent positions of other companies should not serve on more than two other boards of publicly traded companies, in each case without the approval of the chairman of our Governance and Policy Committee. A director who is a full-time employee of our company may not serve on the board of directors of more than two other publicly traded companies, unless approved by the Board. No member of our Audit Committee may serve on the audit committees of more than three publicly traded companies (including our company) without the approval of the Board, which must determine annually that such simultaneous service would not impair the ability of the member to effectively serve on our Audit Committee.

Retirement Policy. Under the retirement policy of our Corporate Governance Guidelines, a director will not be re-nominated at the annual meeting following the earlier of his or her 76th birthday or 15 years of service on the Board. Upon the recommendation of the Governance and Policy Committee, the Board may waive either of these requirements as to any director, if the Board deems a waiver to be in the best interests of the company. In addition to our retirement policy, when a director’s principal occupation or business association changes substantially during his or her tenure as a director, the Board expects the affected director to tender his or her resignation for consideration by the Governance and Policy Committee and the Board, as provided in our Corporate Governance Guidelines.

Conclusion. Satisfaction of the foregoing criteria for Board membership is implemented and assessed through a continuous director succession process by the Governance and Policy Committee and the Board, as well as through the Board’s self-evaluation process. The Board and the Governance and Policy Committee believe that, individually and collectively, the company’s current directors possess the necessary qualifications, skills and experiences to provide effective oversight of the company’s business and contribute constructive advice and counsel to the company’s management.

DIRECTOR NOMINATION PROCESS

The Governance and Policy Committee is responsible under its charter for recommending to the full Board director nominees for election by our stockholders and for identifying and recommending candidates to fill any vacancies that may occur on the Board. The Governance and Policy Committee may use a variety of sources to identify candidates, including recommendations from independent directors or members of management, search firms, communications with other persons who may know of suitable candidates to serve on the Board and stockholder recommendations.

Evaluations of director candidates who would be new to the Board (other than nominees recommended by our stockholders, as described below) include evaluations of the candidate’s background and qualifications by the Governance and Policy Committee, interviews with the Chairman of the Board, members of the Governance and Policy Committee and one or more other members of the Board, and deliberations of the Governance and Policy Committee and the full Board. The Governance and Policy Committee then recommends the candidate(s) to the full Board, with the full Board selecting the candidate(s) to be nominated for election by our stockholders or to be elected by the Board to fill a vacancy.

In connection with its recommendations to the Board of director nominees for election at each annual meeting, the Governance and Policy Committee considers the size of the Board and the criteria set

 

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forth above to recommend nominees who, individually and as a group and collectively with directors who are already serving on the Board, the Governance and Policy Committee believes comprise the skills, experiences and qualifications the Board needs to achieve its mission. Accordingly, the Governance and Policy Committee annually reviews the composition of the Board as a whole and makes recommendations, if necessary, to achieve the optimal mix of experience, expertise, skills, specialized knowledge, diversity and other factors.

Stockholders who wish to recommend director candidates for consideration by the Governance and Policy Committee must submit the name and relevant information about the candidate in writing to the Corporate Secretary. All director candidates recommended by stockholders are required to meet the criteria for directors described above, and candidates who meet such criteria will be evaluated by the Governance and Policy Committee. In accordance with our Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Governance and Policy Committee will evaluate director candidates recommended by stockholders in the same manner as candidates identified through other means.

Stockholders who wish to nominate a person for election as a director at an annual meeting must follow the procedures set forth in our bylaws, as described beginning on page 30 of this proxy statement. Additionally, our bylaws include a proxy access right, which enables a stockholder or a group of up to 20 stockholders owning continuously for at least three years an amount of shares that constitutes 3% or more of our outstanding common stock as of the date of nomination to nominate and include in our proxy materials director candidates constituting up to the greater of 25% of the number of directors then in office or two directors, subject to the requirements specified in our bylaws. Stockholders who wish to nominate director candidates for inclusion in our proxy materials under our proxy access bylaw provisions must satisfy the requirements in our bylaws, as described under the heading “Communications and Company Documents—Future Stockholder Proposals and Nominations of Directors” of this proxy statement. The Board expects to evaluate any director candidates nominated through the proxy access process in a manner similar to that applied to other director candidates.

MAJORITY VOTE DIRECTOR RESIGNATION POLICY

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines include a majority vote director resignation policy. Under such policy, any nominee for director who receives a greater number of votes “withheld” from his or her election than votes “for” such election (a “Majority Withhold Vote”) in an uncontested election of directors must tender to the Board his or her offer of resignation within five days following certification of the stockholder vote. The Governance and Policy Committee will promptly consider the resignation offer and make a recommendation to the Board to accept or reject the tendered offer of resignation. The Board will act on the Governance and Policy Committee’s recommendation within 90 days following certification of the stockholder vote. The Board will then promptly disclose its decision to accept or reject the director’s resignation offer, including its rationale, in a report furnished to or filed with the SEC.

The Governance and Policy Committee in making its recommendation, and the Board in making its decision, will consider the best interests of the company and our stockholders and may consider any other factors or other information that it considers appropriate and relevant, including but not limited to:

 

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the stated reasons, if any, why stockholders withheld their votes;

 

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possible alternatives for curing the underlying cause of the withheld votes;

 

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the director’s tenure;

 

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the director’s qualifications;

 

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Governance of the Company

 

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the director’s past and expected future contributions to the company; and

 

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the overall composition of the Board and its committees, including whether, if the offer of resignation is accepted, the company will no longer be in compliance with any applicable law, rule, regulation or governing document.

Any director who tenders his or her offer of resignation under our majority vote director resignation policy will not participate in the Governance and Policy Committee deliberation or recommendation or Board deliberation or action to accept or reject the resignation offer. If a majority of the Governance and Policy Committee received a Majority Withhold Vote at the same election, then the independent directors (other than those who received a Majority Withhold Vote in that election) will instead appoint a committee among themselves to consider the resignation offers and recommend to the Board whether to accept them. If, however, the independent directors who did not receive a Majority Withhold Vote constitute two or fewer directors, all independent directors may participate in the action to accept or reject the resignation offers, except that each director who has tendered his or her offer of resignation will recuse himself or herself from the deliberations and voting with respect to his or her individual offer to resign.

If a director’s resignation offer is not accepted by the Board, that director will continue to serve for the term for which he or she was elected and until his or her successor is duly elected, or his or her earlier resignation or removal. If a director’s resignation offer is accepted by the Board, then the Board, in its sole discretion in accordance with our bylaws, may fill any resulting vacancy or may decrease the size of the Board.

STOCKHOLDERS RIGHT TO NOMINATE PROXY ACCESS NOMINEES

Our bylaws provide our stockholders proxy access rights. Under Section 2.15 of our bylaws, we are required to include in our proxy materials for an annual meeting any stockholder nominee who is nominated by an “Eligible Stockholder.” An “Eligible Stockholder” is any stockholder or group of up to 20 stockholders that has beneficially owned continuously for at least three years an amount of shares that constitutes 3% or more of our outstanding common stock as of the date of nomination. Eligible Stockholders must provide proof of ownership of the requisite amount of stock for the three-year time period and represent that the shares were acquired in the ordinary course of business and not to change or influence control of the company. Eligible Stockholders must also provide certain other written representations, warranties and agreements to the company, including an agreement to assume liability from any legal or regulatory violation arising out of the Eligible Stockholder’s communication with our stockholders and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, as described in more detail in Section 2.15 of the bylaws.

The maximum number of directors who can be nominated by Eligible Stockholders, referred to as “Stockholder Nominees,” at any annual meeting is the greater of 25% of the number of directors then in office or two directors. Section 2.15 of our bylaws includes procedures to prioritize nominations if the number of Stockholder Nominees exceeds the maximum number of Stockholder Nominees we are required to include in our proxy materials for any annual meeting. Stockholder Nominees must provide written notice to the company, which must include specific information, including information similar to the information required from stockholders to propose business and director nominations through the advance notice provisions included in Section 2.08 of our bylaws. As described in Section 2.15 of our bylaws, this notice must include an express consent to be named as a director nominee in our proxy materials and to serve as a director if elected, as well as required disclosures and information about, and representations, undertakings and consents by, the Stockholder Nominee to enable the Board to determine whether the Stockholder Nominee meets the independence and other general requirements for directors set forth in our bylaws and our Corporate Governance Guidelines.

 

20    Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.

Governance of the Company

 

Stockholders who would like to nominate candidates using proxy access should refer to Section 2.15 of our bylaws, which sets forth all the requirements for proxy access nominations. The Board may exclude any Stockholder Nominee from our proxy materials if the Stockholder Nominee or Eligible Stockholder(s) fail to meet the requirements or provide the undertakings set forth in our bylaws or Corporate Governance Guidelines and for other reasons set forth in our bylaws. See “Communications and Company Documents—Future Stockholder Proposals and Nominations of Directors.”

DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

The Board makes determinations regarding the independence of our directors on an annual basis, based upon the Governance and Policy Committee’s evaluation of director independence and related recommendations to the Board. Under our Corporate Governance Guidelines, to be considered independent: (i) a director must be independent as determined under Section 303(A).02(b) of the NYSE Listed Company Manual and (ii) in the Board’s judgment, the director must not have a material relationship with the company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company).

The Board has considered relevant relationships between the company and each non-employee director to determine compliance with the independence requirements included in our Corporate Governance Guidelines. Based upon its review, the Board has determined that Mr. Bilden, General Collins, Admiral Donald, Ms. Harker, Ms. Kelly, Ms. McKibben, Ms. O’Sullivan, Mr. Schievelbein, Mr. Welch and Mr. Wilson, who comprise the Board’s non-employee directors, are independent. The Board has also determined that each current member of the Audit Committee satisfies the additional SEC independence requirements applicable to audit committee members, and that each current member of the Compensation Committee satisfies the enhanced independence requirements of the NYSE listing standards.

BOARD LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE

The Board believes one of its primary responsibilities is to evaluate and determine from time to time the optimal Board leadership structure to provide effective oversight of the company. Our bylaws establish the position of Chairman, and our Corporate Governance Guidelines state that the Board believes it is in the best interests of the company and its stockholders for the Board to have the flexibility to determine the best director to serve as Chairman. The independent directors address the Chairman role on at least an annual basis, comparing the advantages and disadvantages of a combined chairman and chief executive officer role and separate chairman and chief executive officer roles in the context of our operating and governance environment over time.

Non-Executive Chairman. The Board has considered Board leadership and determined an independent, non-executive chairman is the optimal model for the company at this time. A non-executive chairman provides the Board with independent leadership and allows the chief executive officer to focus on the company’s business operations. The Board elected Admiral Donald as our non-executive Chairman of the Board in April 2020, to succeed Admiral Thomas B. Fargo, who served as our Chairman from the time the company began operating as an independent stand-alone company in 2011 until his retirement from the Board in 2020.

Our non-executive Chairman has the following responsibilities under our Corporate Governance Guidelines:

 

•

chair all Board and stockholder meetings, including executive sessions of the independent directors;

 

•

serve as a liaison between the chief executive officer and the independent directors;

 

2021 Notice and Proxy Statement    21

Governance of the Company

 

•

ensure the quality, quantity and timeliness of the flow of information from management to the Board; although management is responsible for the preparation of materials for the Board, the non-executive Chairman may specifically request the inclusion of certain materials;

 

•

prepare the agendas of the Board meetings and assist the chairperson of each standing committee with preparation of agendas for the respective committee meetings, taking into account the requests of other Board and committee members;

 

•

set an appropriate schedule for Board meetings to assure there is sufficient time for discussion of all agenda items;

 

•

along with the chair of the Governance and Policy Committee, interview all Board candidates and make recommendations to the Governance and Policy Committee and the Board;

 

•

have the authority to call meetings of the Board and meetings of the independent directors; and

 

•

if requested by the chief executive officer, be available for consultation and direct communication with stockholders.

Conclusion. All of our directors play an active role overseeing the company at both the Board and committee levels. The Board is currently comprised of one non-independent director who serves as our Chief Executive Officer and ten independent directors. Our independent directors are skilled and experienced leaders in business, industry, the military and government. Our independent directors are effective in collaborating with management and thoroughly evaluating proposals made by management, and an independent Board leader facilitates this relationship. We therefore believe a non-executive Chairman of the Board, along with nine other strong independent directors, is an appropriate and effective model at this time to oversee the company and to provide advice and counsel to the Chief Executive Officer and other executive management of the company.

BOARD COMMITTEE FUNCTIONS AND MEMBERSHIP

The Board has five standing committees: Audit, Compensation, Cybersecurity, Governance and Policy and Finance. Each of the Audit, Compensation and Governance and Policy Committees is constituted and operated in accordance with SEC requirements and the NYSE’s corporate governance listing standards; the Cybersecurity and Finance Committees are not subject to any such requirements or standards. Each Board committee is governed by a written charter, which sets forth the responsibilities of the committee, including the responsibilities described in this section. Each charter can be viewed on our website at www.huntingtoningalls.com and is available in print to any stockholder requesting a copy. All members of each Board committee are independent, as determined under the corporate governance listing standards of the NYSE.

Audit Committee. The Audit Committee’s responsibilities include:

 

•

Overseeing HII’s relationship with its independent auditor, including (i) reviewing and pre-approving each service and related fees considered to be auditing services and non-prohibited non-audit services and (ii) meeting with the independent auditor to review, among other things, all critical accounting policies, all material alternative accounting treatments discussed with management, and all material written communications with management

 

•

Overseeing our internal audit function

 

•

Overseeing financial statement and disclosure matters, including meeting with management, the internal auditors and the independent auditor to review and discuss the content of our periodic reports, including financial information, and management’s assessment of internal control over financial reporting

 

•

Overseeing other matters, including our major financial risk exposures and our compliance program.

 

22    Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.

Governance of the Company

 

The members of the Audit Committee are Mr. Wilson (chairman), General Collins, Mr. Schievelbein and Mr. Welch. The Board has determined, in accordance with NYSE requirements, that each member of the Audit Committee is financially literate and that Mr. Wilson possesses accounting or related financial management expertise. The Board has also determined that Mr. Wilson qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert,” as defined under applicable SEC rules.

Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee’s responsibilities include:

 

•

Establishing annual and long-term performance goals and objectives for the Chief Executive Officer and all other elected officers, and evaluating those officers against their goals and objectives

 

•

Reviewing, approving and submitting for ratification by the independent members of the Board the Chief Executive Officer’s compensation

 

•

Reviewing and approving the direct and indirect compensation of all other elected officers

 

•

Reviewing and recommending to the Board matters concerning compensation of Board members

 

•

Reviewing the succession of qualified executive management

 

•

Identifying, in consultation with management, the appropriate peer group for competitive comparisons and relative position of pay levels versus peers

 

•

Overseeing our policy regarding the recovery of performance-based short- or long-term cash or equity incentive compensation payments in certain circumstances.

The members of the Compensation Committee are Ms. Harker (chairwoman), Mr. Bilden and Ms. Kelly. The Board has determined that each member of the Compensation Committee qualifies as a non-employee director under SEC Rule 16b-3. None of our executive officers served as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving as a member of our Board or our Compensation Committee. Accordingly, no interlocks with other companies, within the meaning of the SEC’s proxy rules, existed during 2020.

Cybersecurity Committee. The Cybersecurity Committee’s responsibilities include:

 

•

Reviewing the company’s enterprise cybersecurity strategy and framework, including the company’s assessment of cybersecurity threats and risk, data security programs and the company’s management and mitigation of cybersecurity and information technology risks and potential breach incidents

 

•

Reviewing any significant cybersecurity incident that has occurred, reports to or from regulators with respect thereto and steps that have been taken to mitigate against reoccurrence

 

•

Evaluating the effectiveness of the company’s cyber risk management and data security programs measured against the company’s cybersecurity threat landscape

 

•

Assessing the effectiveness of the company’s data breach incident response plan

 

•

Reviewing and assessing the company’s information technology disaster recovery capabilities

 

•

Reviewing the company’s assessment of cybersecurity threats and risk associated with the company’s supply chain and actions the company is taking to address such threats and risks.

The members of the Cybersecurity Committee are Mr. Bilden (chairman), General Collins, Admiral Donald, Ms. O’Sullivan and Mr. Wilson. Ms. O’Sullivan was appointed to the Cybersecurity Committee in January 2021 upon her election to the Board.

 

2021 Notice and Proxy Statement    23

Governance of the Company

 

Governance and Policy Committee. The Governance and Policy Committee’s responsibilities include:

 

•

Developing and recommending to the Board criteria for Board membership

 

•

Identifying and reviewing the qualifications of director candidates

 

•

Assessing the contributions and independence of incumbent directors in determining whether to recommend them for reelection to the Board

 

•

Identifying and recommending committee member appointments to the Board

 

•

Reviewing stockholder proposals and recommending any Board response

 

•

Considering and making recommendations to the Board regarding transactions with related persons and corporate governance matters generally

 

•

Overseeing the evaluation of the Board

 

•

Generally monitoring the Board’s oversight of risk management.

The members of the Governance and Policy Committee are Mr. Welch (chairman) and Mses. Kelly and McKibben.

Finance Committee. The Finance Committee’s responsibilities include:

 

•

Overseeing and reviewing our financial affairs, strategies and policies

 

•

Reviewing and making recommendations to the Board regarding:

 

•

our financial policies and strategies, capital structure and financial condition

 

•

our issuances of debt and equity securities and significant borrowing transactions

 

•

strategic transactions

 

•

employee benefit plan assets

 

•

our dividend policy and stock repurchase programs

 

•

significant capital expenditures

 

•

Providing oversight to ensure that our financial policies and strategies are consistent with our capital budget, annual operating plan and strategic plan

 

•

Overseeing discrete operational matters that could have a significant impact on the company.

The members of the Finance Committee are Mr. Schievelbein (chairman), Mr. Bilden, Admiral Donald and Mses. Harker, McKibben and O’Sullivan. Ms. O’Sullivan was appointed to the Finance Committee in January 2021 upon her election to the Board.

BOARD STRUCTURE

We phased out the classification of our Board, beginning with our annual meeting held in 2016 and ending with our annual meeting held in 2018. Accordingly, the 11 directors nominated to stand for election at our 2021 annual meeting will be voted upon to serve one-year terms.

 

24    Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.

Governance of the Company

 

EXECUTIVE SESSIONS OF NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTORS

In accordance with our Corporate Governance Guidelines, our directors, with no members of management present (including directors who are also officers of the company), have the opportunity to meet in executive session at each regularly scheduled Board meeting. In addition, our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that at least one executive session of independent directors will be held each year. In 2020, all of our directors, other than our Chief Executive Officer, were independent under NYSE corporate governance listing standards. The independent directors met in executive session at all six regular Board meetings during the year. Our non-executive Chairmen, Admiral Fargo until his retirement and then Admiral Donald, as Admiral Fargo’s successor as Chairman, presided over the executive sessions.

The Audit Committee meets at each of its regular meetings in separate executive sessions with management, our independent auditor, our Vice President of Internal Audit and committee members only. The Compensation Committee, the Cybersecurity Committee, the Governance and Policy Committee and the Finance Committee also meet in executive session on a routine basis, with only members of the committee and other attending Board members present.

THE BOARD’S ROLE IN RISK OVERSIGHT

The Board’s responsibilities include oversight of risk management, which includes overseeing our system of financial and operational internal controls, our compliance with applicable laws and regulations, data and cybersecurity risks and our processes for identifying, assessing and mitigating other significant risks that may affect the company. To discharge these responsibilities, the Board must understand the significant risks to which the company is subject. Risks are an inherent element of business operations, and our business strategy creates risks. The Board understands it is neither possible nor prudent to eliminate all risk. Indeed, purposeful, appropriate and managed risk-taking is essential for the company to be competitive and profitable and successfully execute its business strategy. The Board’s objective in overseeing risk management is to confirm management is identifying and appropriately managing and mitigating our significant risks.

Management has implemented a robust enterprise risk management (“ERM”) program, which includes annual risk assessments, risk analyses, the development of risk plans for enterprise risks, which include risk mitigation activities for enterprise risks, monitoring of enterprise risks, both existing and emerging risks, and periodic reports on enterprise risks and ERM program activities to executive management and the Board. Our ERM process is managed by an Enterprise Risk Committee, comprised of management from across business units and programmatic and functional disciplines within the company. The Enterprise Risk Committee is responsible for overseeing the enterprise risk assessment process, overseeing development of, and monitoring, enterprise risk mitigation plans, assessing risk correlations, monitoring emerging and evolving risks and generating data and reports to facilitate management decision-making and the Board’s risk oversight function. While the Board and its committees oversee risk management, management is responsible for identifying, assessing, managing and mitigating risks.

The Board and its committees are responsible for understanding and evaluating the company’s ERM processes to determine whether they are achieving their objectives. Management briefs the Board on an annual basis on the company’s overall ERM program, which includes a report on the company’s annual enterprise risk assessment process, a review of the company’s latest roster of enterprise risks, assessments of the probabilities of such risks occurring and their potential severity and assessments of management’s capability of mitigating individual enterprise risks. Management also briefs the Board or a Board committee on a periodic basis on individual significant risks, which includes a report on the risk by management’s risk owner and the related risk mitigation plan. The Board is updated on an interim basis on any changes to the company’s enterprise risk roster and any other material developments affecting the company’s ERM program.

 

2021 Notice and Proxy Statement    25

Governance of the Company

 

The Governance and Policy Committee is responsible under its charter for developing and recommending to the full Board a methodology for the Board’s oversight of risk management and for monitoring the Board’s oversight of risk management. In connection with this responsibility, the Governance and Policy Committee evaluates the enterprise risk roster generated from the company’s enterprise risk assessment, allocates oversight responsibilities among the full Board and individual standing Board committees and develops a risk briefing schedule, based upon management’s relative prioritization of enterprise risks.

Risks are inherent in the company’s strategic decisions, and oversight of risk management is a continuous process. The Board and its committees facilitate open communication between management and the directors and foster an appropriate culture of integrity and risk awareness. The Board and its committees engage in communications throughout the year with management regarding risk assessment and management, and directors are encouraged to communicate directly with senior management, which they do on a routine basis.

While the full Board has ultimate responsibility for the oversight of risk management, Board committees oversee certain individual enterprise risks relating to matters within the scopes of their respective responsibilities and report to the full Board with respect to this oversight. In December 2019, in response to the increasing risk exposure presented by data and cybersecurity, the Board formed a standing Cybersecurity Committee of the Board. The Board believes that dedication of a standing committee to cybersecurity facilitates: a deeper understanding by members of the Cybersecurity Committee of the company’s data and cybersecurity risk exposure; the opportunity for committee members to have a deeper data and cybersecurity knowledge base; and closer Board oversight of the company’s management and mitigation of data and cybersecurity risks. Prior to formation of the Cybersecurity Committee, an ad hoc cybersecurity committee of the Board played a role in the Board’s oversight of cybersecurity.

 

26    Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.

Governance of the Company

 

In addition to the Cybersecurity Committee, the other four standing Board committees play significant roles in the risk management oversight function. Board oversight of certain significant risks arising from the business and activities of HII is coordinated generally among Board committees as follows:

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Audit

Compensation

Finance

Governance and Policy

Cybersecurity

Oversees:

Oversees:

Oversees:

Oversees:

Oversees:

•  System of internal controls

•  Compensation principles and practices

•  Financial policies and strategies

•  Governance risk, including board composition and governance practices

•  The company’s enterprise cybersecurity strategy and framework

•  Integrity of financial statements

•  Process for identifying and mitigating compensation risks

•  Capital structure and financial position

•  Director succession planning

•  Significant cybersecurity incidents that occur

•  Financial reporting process   •  Internal and external audit function   •  Legal risk   •  Compliance program, including Code of Ethics and Business Conduct   •  Enterprise risk associated with business system compliance

•  Executive management compensation   •  Executive management succession planning   •  Performance of CEO and other executive officers   •  Enterprise risk associated with leadership development

•  Strategic transactions   •  Dividend policy and stock repurchase programs   •  Significant capital expenditures   •  Enterprise risks associated with:   ○  business model disruption   ○  contracting   ○  pricing discipline   ○  business continuity and crisis management   ○  hurricane impact and recovery   ○  a radiological event   ○  government customer relations

•  Policies and practices regarding significant public policy and corporate responsibility matters

•  Effectiveness of the company’s cyber risk management and data security programs   •  Effectiveness of the company’s data breach incident response plan   •  The company’s information technology disaster recovery capabilities   •  The company’s assessment of cybersecurity threats and risk associated with the company’s supply chain   •  Enterprise risks associated with data and cybersecurity and information technology platforms

 

2021 Notice and Proxy Statement    27

Governance of the Company

 

BOARD AND COMMITTEE EVALUATIONS

In accordance with our Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Board (under the oversight of the Governance and Policy Committee) conducts an annual evaluation of the performance of the full Board and delegates to the chairpersons of the individual Board committees the responsibility to conduct evaluations of the performance of the respective committees. The Board and committees utilize a mix of self-evaluation processes from year to year, ranging from written narrative responses to written questions regarding Board and committee matters to individual interviews with directors conducted by the Chairman of the Board and the respective committee chairpersons. Following the collection of information from individual directors, the Board evaluation results are reviewed by the Board and the respective committee evaluation results are reviewed by the related committee.

DIRECTOR EDUCATION

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that all directors are encouraged to periodically attend director continuing education programs, and the Board has adopted an informal policy encouraging each director to attend at least one external director education program every other year. We maintain a roster of continuing director education programs offered by leading director education organizations, facilitate registrations for directors to attend such programs and reimburse directors for expenses incurred to attend such programs.

In addition to encouraging director attendance at external programs, the Board incorporates a “Board Development” topic into the agenda for most Board meetings. The Board Development topics are generally presented by internal counsel, external counsel or other experts from outside the company. We track the education programs, both external and internal, that individual directors attend, and the Governance and Policy Committee reviews those reports on at least an annual basis.

POLICY AGAINST HEDGING AND PLEDGING COMPANY SECURITIES

Our insider trading policy prohibits Board members, officers, director-level employees and certain other designated employees from engaging in any of the following transactions:

 

•

speculative transactions in company securities (including trades in puts, calls or other derivative securities or short sales of company securities),

 

•

holding company securities in a margin account or pledging company securities as collateral for a loan or other transaction, or

 

•

hedging transactions involving company securities (including zero cost collar transactions and forward sale contracts).

CODE OF ETHICS AND BUSINESS CONDUCT

Our Board of Directors has adopted a Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, which applies to our directors, officers and employees. This code identifies core values, standards and behaviors that guide our officers, directors and employees in the discharge of their duties and responsibilities on behalf of HII. The code also includes the commitments the company has made to its employees, customers, stockholders, communities and suppliers. The code addresses, among other matters, conflicts of interest, corporate opportunities, trading in company securities, political contributions and confidential information. Employees are required to report any conduct they believe in good faith is an actual or apparent violation of the code. The Code of Ethics and Business Conduct includes provisions applicable to our senior financial officers, as required by SEC rules.

 

28    Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.

Governance of the Company

 

Our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct is available on our website at www.huntingtoningalls.com and available in print to any stockholder requesting a copy. We post any amendments to our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct on our website and/or disclose the amendments in a filing with the SEC. If we waive a provision of the Code of Ethics and Business Conduct with respect to our chief executive officer, chief financial officer or principal accounting officer, we will post information about the waiver at the same location on our website.

COMPENSATION COMMITTEE INTERLOCKS AND INSIDER PARTICIPATION

None of our executive officers served as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving as a member of our Board or our Compensation Committee. Accordingly, no interlocks with other companies, within the meaning of the SEC’s proxy rules, existed during 2020.

MEETINGS AND ATTENDANCE

The Board held 17 meetings in 2020, including six regular meetings and 11 special meetings held primarily to facilitate the Board’s oversight of the company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. All of the regularly scheduled meetings included an executive session of independent directors. In addition, the Board held 29 committee meetings, comprised of six Audit Committee, five Compensation Committee, six Cybersecurity Committee meetings, five Governance and Policy Committee and seven Finance Committee meetings. Each director attended 75% or more of the meetings of the Board and the committees on which he or she served during 2020.

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines include an expectation that all directors will attend our annual meetings of stockholders. All of our directors who were directors or nominees at the time of the 2020 annual meeting of stockholders attended the annual meeting.

INDEMNIFICATION

We indemnify our directors and our elected officers to the fullest extent permitted by law, so they can be free from undue concern about personal liability in connection with their service to HII. Our bylaws require this indemnification, and we have also entered into agreements with each director and elected officer contractually obligating us to provide this indemnification to him or her.

 

2021 Notice and Proxy Statement    29

 

Communications and Company Documents

 

 

We welcome communications from our stockholders and other stakeholders, and we make information important to our stockholders and other stakeholders available on our website. The following sections describe: how stockholders and other stakeholders can communicate with the Board; the information we make available to our stockholders and other stakeholders and where you can find that information; and the procedures that stockholders must follow to propose matters for consideration at our annual meetings or to nominate persons for election as directors at our annual meetings.

COMMUNICATIONS AND COMPANY DOCUMENTS

Stockholders and other stakeholders can communicate with the Board, our non-executive Chairman, our independent directors as a group, individual directors or any of the standing Board committees in care of the Corporate Secretary, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., 4101 Washington Avenue, Newport News, Virginia 23607. At the direction of the Board, all mail received may be opened and screened for security purposes.

Communications from stockholders and other stakeholders are distributed to the Board, the applicable Board committee or an individual director or directors, as appropriate, depending on the facts and circumstances of the communication. The Board has requested that certain items unrelated to the duties and responsibilities of the Board be excluded or redirected, as appropriate, such as: business solicitations or advertisements; junk mail and mass mailings; resumes and other forms of job inquiries; and surveys. In addition, communications that are unduly hostile, threatening or similarly unsuitable will be excluded. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any communication will be made available to any director upon his or her request.

Our website contains our Restated Certificate of Incorporation, Certificates of Amendment of Restated Certificate of Incorporation, Restated Bylaws, Corporate Governance Guidelines, standing Board committee charters and Code of Ethics and Business Conduct. To view these documents, go to www.huntingtoningalls.com, click on “Investors,” the “Company Information” drop-down box and then “Leadership & Governance.” We post any amendments to our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct on our website and/or disclose the amendments in a filing with the SEC. If we waive a provision of the Code of Ethics and Business Conduct with respect to our chief executive officer, chief financial officer or principal accounting officer, we will post information about the waiver at the same location on our website. To view our SEC filings and Forms 3, 4 and 5 filed by our directors and executive officers, go to www.huntingtoningalls.com, click on “Investors,” the “Financial Information” drop-down box and then “SEC Filings.”

We will promptly deliver free of charge to any requesting stockholder a copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 (without exhibits), Corporate Governance Guidelines, standing Board committee charters and Code of Ethics and Business Conduct. Requests should be directed to: Corporate Secretary, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., 4101 Washington Avenue, Newport News, Virginia 23607.

You can also print copies of these documents from our website at www.huntingtoningalls.com. The information on our website is not a part of this proxy statement.

FUTURE STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS AND NOMINATIONS OF DIRECTORS

Stockholders may present proposals for consideration at a future meeting of stockholders only if they comply with the requirements of the proxy rules established by the SEC and the requirements of our bylaws.

 

30    Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.

Communications and Company Documents

 

Under SEC Rule 14a-8, if a stockholder wants us to include a proposal in our proxy statement and form of proxy for presentation at our 2022 annual meeting of stockholders, the proposal must be received by us by November 19, 2021, at our principal executive offices located at Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., 4101 Washington Avenue, Newport News, Virginia 23607. The proposal should be sent to the attention of the Corporate Secretary.

Article II, Section 2.08 of our bylaws contains the procedures that a stockholder must follow to nominate persons for election as directors or to introduce an item of business at an annual meeting of stockholders outside of SEC Rule 14a-8. Assuming that our 2022 annual meeting is held within 30 days before or after the anniversary of the 2021 annual meeting (April 29, 2021), we must receive the notice of your intention to introduce a nomination or to propose an item of business at our 2022 annual meeting not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days in advance of the anniversary of the date on which we first mailed the proxy materials for our 2021 annual meeting (March 19, 2021), or between November 19, 2021 and December 19, 2021.

The notice must be submitted in writing to our principal executive offices located at Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., 4101 Washington Avenue, Newport News, Virginia 23607. The notice should be sent to the attention of the Corporate Secretary. Our bylaws specify the information that must be contained in the notice. Our bylaws are posted on our website, www.huntingtoningalls.com, and can be accessed by clicking “Investors,” the “Company Information” drop-down box and then “Leadership & Governance.”

Article II, Section 2.15 of our bylaws contains the procedures eligible stockholders must follow to nominate persons for election as directors and to have those candidates included in our proxy materials (proxy access). Assuming that our 2022 annual meeting of stockholders is held within 30 days before or after the anniversary of the 2021 annual meeting (April 29, 2021), we must receive the notice of your intention to make a proxy access nomination not less than 120 days nor more than 150 days in advance of the anniversary of the date on which we first mailed the proxy materials for our 2021 annual meeting (March 19, 2021), or between October 20, 2021 and November 19, 2021.

 

2021 Notice and Proxy Statement    31

 

Corporate Responsibility

 

 

COMPANY VALUES

HII is guided by the following values, which describe our company as we want it to be. We want our decisions and actions to demonstrate the highest standards of professional and ethical behavior, and we believe that putting our values into practice creates long-term benefits for our employees, customers, stockholders, communities and suppliers.

Integrity

Integrity is at the heart of who we are and what we do. We are each personally accountable for the highest standards of ethics and integrity, and we strive to fulfill our commitments as responsible citizens and employees. We are committed to consistently treating customers and company resources with the respect they deserve.

Safety

We greatly value our employees and will not compromise on maintaining a safe and healthy work environment for them. We expect everyone to actively participate and take responsibility for their own safety and the safety of those around them. Employees can report safety concerns without fear of reprisal and are empowered to stop work if an operation presents significant risk or danger. We continuously evaluate and improve our operations to understand and mitigate safety risk.

Respect

We value people, knowing we must show fairness and equal treatment for all. We will continuously build a collaborative culture of inclusion, where treating each other with empathy, dignity and compassion is the expected behavior. We do this by actively listening to all perspectives and treating everyone in a courteous and professional manner.

Engagement

We are committed to an engaged workforce. Our employees are very engaged in their work and take ownership of their work and their work processes. Engagement is a heightened level of ownership whereby employees endeavor to do whatever they can for the benefit of their internal and external customers, and for the success of the organization as a whole.

Responsibility

We seek and accept personal responsibility for our actions and results. We keep promises and commitments made to others. We are responsible for ensuring quality is a component of everything we do. We take pride in providing outstanding customer service.

Performance

We hold ourselves to a very high standard of performance. We are committed to improving our company performance while upholding our strong values. Superior performance and quality ensure future trust and confidence in our products. We promote continuous improvement, innovation and creativity.

 

32    Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.

Corporate Responsibility

 

COMPANY COMMITMENTS

As a company, HII is committed to:

 

•

Our Employees: We are committed to a work environment that encourages employees to raise concerns, speak up and report suspected misconduct without fear of retaliation. Our employees demonstrate their integrity, dedication and commitment to quality in their daily work and are committed to improving performance and creating success.

 

•

Our Customers: We are committed to supporting our ever growing customer base. It is a job we take very seriously, and we are intently focused on meeting or exceeding our customer commitments.

 

•

Our Stockholders: We are committed to sustaining long-term value growth in our company through improved performance and intense focus on delivering excellent results.

 

•

Our Communities: We are committed to being a visible and positive corporate citizen in every community in which we do business.

 

•

Our Suppliers: We are committed and engaged with our suppliers. They are an integral part of our team and essential to our ability to achieve our business objectives.

We have a long and distinguished history of corporate responsibility, including corporate sustainability and corporate citizenship. HII’s motto of “Hard Stuff Done Right” is directed at the difficult work we do, but, even more importantly, it conveys our commitment to always do the right thing. Doing the right thing includes being a responsible corporation that prioritizes operating in a manner that is consistent with our values and considering the interests of all of our stakeholders. We are committed to a culture that provides a mutually beneficial relationship with our suppliers, a culture that gives back while still meeting the expectations of our stockholders and a culture dedicated to delivering products of exceptional quality to our customers. We are also committed to the health, welfare and development of our employees and the continuous improvement and transformation of our communities.

We encourage you to review our Corporate Sustainability Report, available on our website at https://huntingtoningalls.com/csr, to learn more about our approach to human capital management, diversity and inclusion, ethics and compliance, product safety and quality, data and cyber security, energy management, hazardous waste management, supply chain management and community engagement. Our website also provides related performance metrics. The information on our website is not a part of this proxy statement.

 

2021 Notice and Proxy Statement    33

 

The Board of Directors

 

We believe the qualifications, skills and experiences of our directors are consistent with our criteria for the selection of directors and that, collectively, our directors have functioned effectively overseeing the business of the company over the last year.

Ms. O’Sullivan was elected by the Board on January 15, 2021, to fill a vacancy created when the Board increased its size to 11 directors. She was recommended as a candidate for director by a non-management director. The remaining ten directors nominated to stand for election at our 2021 annual meeting have served on the Board since our last annual meeting. All 11 director nominees will be voted upon to serve one-year terms expiring at our 2022 annual meeting.

2021 DIRECTOR NOMINEES

 

PHILIP M. BILDEN Director since November 2017

Mr. Bilden, age 56, is a private equity investor and recently retired co-founding member of HarbourVest Partners, LLC.   Positions Held: Mr. Bilden retired in June 2016 as Senior Advisor and co-founding member of the private equity firm HarbourVest Partners, a leading global private equity investment management firm with institutional assets under management in excess of $42 billion. He began his career in Boston in 1991 and relocated to Hong Kong in 1996 to establish the firm’s Asian subsidiary. For 15 years, Mr. Bilden was responsible for the firm’s investment strategy and execution, capital-raising and client service activities throughout the Asia Pacific region, managing personnel and partnerships in multiple countries and cultures. Throughout his 25-year tenure at HarbourVest Partners, he served in senior leadership roles in the firm’s global management, including the firm’s six-person executive committee responsible for governance. Mr. Bilden served ten years in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Military Intelligence Officer from 1986 to 1996.   Other Directorships and Memberships and Education: Mr. Bilden currently serves on the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel; the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee as Chairman of the Naval War College Foundation and inaugural Chairman of the Center for Cybersecurity Conflict Task Force; a member of the Navy League of the United States, Palm Beach Council; and a member of Business Executives for National Security. He previously served on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Naval Institute, the Board of Visitors, Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service, and the Dean’s Board of Advisors and Asia Pacific Advisory Board, Harvard Business School. Mr. Bilden also has extensive prior board service as chairman or a member of numerous global private equity organizations.   Mr. Bilden graduated with a B.S. in Foreign Service (magna cum laude) in 1986 from Georgetown University as a Distinguished Military Graduate, Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. He received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1991.

 

34    Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.

The Board of Directors

 

AUGUSTUS L. COLLINS Director since November 2016

General Collins, age 63, has served as Chief Executive Officer of MINACT, Inc. since September 2016.

Positions Held: From January 2012 to August 2016, General Collins was a Major General in the Mississippi National Guard, serving as Adjutant General of both the Mississippi Army National Guard and the Mississippi Air National Guard. From July 2010 to January 2012, General Collins served as Executive Vice President for Strategic Planning of MINACT. From August 2007 to July 2010, he served on Mississippi’s Workers’ Compensation Commission as the commission’s representative of labor. General Collins served more than 35 years in the U.S. Army and Mississippi National Guard, which included command of the 155th Brigade Combat Team of the Mississippi National Guard, deploying to Iraq, where he was responsible for security operations in the southern and western provinces.

Current Public Company Directorships: General Collins serves on the board of directors of Trustmark Corp and its Audit & Finance Committee and its Enterprise Risk Committee.

Other Directorships and Memberships and Education: General Collins serves on the board of directors of MINACT, Inc., a privately owned corporation in Mississippi, Trustmark National Bank, and Armed Forces Benefits Association 5Star Life Insurance. He also serves on the Friends of Mississippi Veterans, a nonprofit entity serving veterans in Mississippi. He is Past President of the University of Mississippi Alumni Association. General Collins received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Mississippi, an M.B.A. from Jackson State University and a Master’s Degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.

 

 

Qualifications, Experience, Attributes and Skills: We believe General Collins is qualified to serve as a director based upon his 35 years of senior military experience with the U.S. Army and Mississippi National Guard and his experience as a senior executive and then chief executive officer of a company that contracts with the U.S. government, as well as private sector customers.

 

 

KIRKLAND H. DONALD Director since January 2017

Admiral Donald, age 67, is Chairman of the Board and has served in that capacity since April 2020.

Positions Held: Prior to serving as Chairman of the Board and from January 2013, Admiral Donald worked as a business consultant and served on the executive advisory board of Moelis Capital Partners LLC/NexPhase Capital, LP. He serves as a technical advisory board member for NuScale Power, LLC, a CFIUS Security Monitor for LANXESS AG and a member of the Submarine Advisory Committee for the Government of Australia. From January 2014 to October 2015, Admiral Donald served as President and Chief Executive Officer, and from June 2013 to January 2014 as Chief Operating Officer, of Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. Prior to that, Admiral Donald served 37 years in the U.S. Navy. In his last assignment, he served as director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program from November 2004 to November 2012.

Current Public Company Directorships: Admiral Donald has served on the board of directors of Entergy Corporation since June 2013. He is Chairman of its Nuclear Committee and a member of its Finance Committee.

Other Directorships and Memberships and Education: Admiral Donald currently serves on the boards of directors of Battelle Memorial Institute, CyberCore Technologies, LLC and the Naval Submarine League. He is also an outside director of Rolls-Royce North America. Admiral Donald is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, holding a B.S. in Ocean Engineering. Admiral Donald also received an M.B.A. from the University of Phoenix and completed Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Fellows Program.

 

Qualifications, Experience, Attributes and Skills: We believe Admiral Donald is qualified to serve as a director based upon his 37 years of senior military experience with the U.S. Navy, the last eight years of which he served as director of the naval nuclear propulsion program, his experience serving on the boards of directors of other public and private companies and his experience serving as a senior operating officer and chief executive officer of a private company that provides services primarily to the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

 

2021 Notice and Proxy Statement    35

The Board of Directors

 

VICTORIA D. HARKER Director since August 2012

Ms. Harker, age 56, is an Executive Vice President and the Chief Financial Officer of Tegna, Inc. (“Tegna”).

Positions Held: Ms. Harker began serving in her current position in June 2015, when Tegna separated from Gannett Co., Inc. (“Gannett”). Prior to that and from July 2012, she served as Chief Financial Officer of Gannett. Ms. Harker served as Chief Financial Officer from 2006 to 2012 and as President of Global Business Services from 2011 to 2012 of The AES Corporation (“AES”), a multinational power company. Before joining AES, she was the acting Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of MCI, Inc. from November 2002 through January 2006, and Chief Financial Officer of MCI Group, a unit of Worldcom, Inc., from 1998 to 2002.

Current Public Company Directorships: Ms. Harker serves on the board of directors of Xylem, Inc. (formerly ITT Corporation), a global water infrastructure company, and as Chair of its Audit & Finance Committee and a member of its Nominating and Governance Committee. She also serves on the board of directors of Stride, Inc. and on its Audit Committee.

Prior Public Company Directorships: Ms. Harker served on the board of directors and as a member of the Finance and Audit Committees of the Board of Darden Restaurants, Inc. from 2009 to 2014.

Other Directorships and Memberships and Education: Ms. Harker is a member of the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors, where she chairs the Finance Committee and serves as a member of the Executive Committee, the Special Committee on Governance and the Committee on the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. She is a trustee of the University of Virginia Alumni Association’s $250M Jefferson Trust and participates as an emeritus society member of the Board of Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. Ms. Harker received a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from American University.

 

Qualifications, Experience, Attributes and Skills: We believe Ms. Harker is qualified to serve as a director based upon the significant experience in business and finance she has accumulated serving as chief financial officer and in other senior management positions with large publicly traded companies, as well as her experience serving on boards and board committees of other publicly traded companies.

 

ANASTASIA D. KELLY Director since March 2011

Ms. Kelly, age 71, is Executive Director of Client Relations and U.S. Managing Partner Emeritus of DLA Piper.

Positions Held: Ms. Kelly has served as Executive Director of Client Relations and U.S. Managing Partner Emeritus of DLA Piper since April 2020. Prior to that, she served as Managing Partner of DLA Piper Americas from 2018, as Co-Managing Partner from 2013 to 2018 and as a partner since 2010. Prior to joining DLA Piper, Ms. Kelly was an executive officer of American International Group, Inc. from 2006 to 2010, serving as Executive Vice President and General Counsel from 2006 to January 2009 and as Vice Chairman until December 2009, positions for which she was responsible for addressing legal, regulatory, corporate governance and risk management issues. Prior to joining American International Group, Ms. Kelly was an executive and general counsel of several large, publicly traded companies, including MCI WorldCom, Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Fannie Mae.

Current Public Company Directorships: Ms. Kelly serves as a director and Chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee and member of the Risk Committee of Owens-Illinois, Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of glass containers.

Other Directorships and Memberships and Education: Ms. Kelly serves on the boards of numerous philanthropic organizations and serves as a director of George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates. She is also past Chair of Equal Justice Works and a director of Lawyers for Children America. She was a director of Saxon Capital from 2005 to 2007. Ms. Kelly received a B.A., cum laude, from Trinity University and a J.D., magna cum laude, from The George Washington University Law School. She is a member of the Texas Bar and the District of Columbia Bar and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

 

Qualifications, Experience, Attributes and Skills: We believe Ms. Kelly is qualified to serve as a director based upon her many years of experience as a senior executive and general counsel of several large, publicly traded companies, her experience as a director of another public company, and her varied business and legal experience.

 

36    Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.

The Board of Directors

 

TRACY B. MCKIBBEN Director since December 2018

Ms. McKibben, age 51, is the founder and has been the Chief Executive Officer since 2010 of MAC Energy Advisors LLC, an investment and consulting company that serves clients in the alternative energy, renewable energy, clean technology, water and energy efficiency markets.   Positions Held: Prior to her current position, Ms. McKibben served as Managing Director and Head of Environmental Banking Strategy at Citicorp Global Markets from September 2007 to August 2009. She served on the National Security Council at the White House from July 2003 to August 2007 as Director of European Economic Affairs and European Union Relations and as Acting Senior Director for European Affairs. Before joining the National Security Council, Ms. McKibben served in various senior advisory roles in the U.S. Department of Commerce from March 2001 to July 2003. Prior to her work in the public sector, she practiced law at Akin, Gump, Strauss & Feld LLP.   Current Public Company Directorships: Ms. McKibben serves on the board of directors of Ecolab Inc. and serves as a member of its Audit Committee and Finance Committee. She also serves on the board of directors of ECP Environmental Growth Opportunities Corp. and as chair of its ESG Committee and a member of its Compensation Committee.   Other Directorships and Memberships and Education: Ms. McKibben serves on the Board of Directors of United Services Automobile Association (USAA) and the Board of Trustees of the New York Power Authority. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Ms. McKibben graduated from West Virginia State University and received a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Qualifications, Experience, Attributes and Skills: We believe Ms. McKibben is qualified to serve as a director based upon her experience as the founder and chief executive officer of an investment and consulting company operating in the energy market and her senior leadership experience at a leading investment banking firm, as well as her experience in senior leadership positions in a presidential administration. We also believe Ms. McKibben’s experience serving on the board of directors and as a member of the audit committee and finance committee of the board of another public company complements her qualifications to serve on our Board.

 

STEPHANIE L. O’SULLIVAN Director since January 2021

Ms. O’Sullivan, age 61, has served as an independent business consultant since January 2017.   Positions Held: Prior to serving as an independent business consultant, Ms. O’Sullivan served as Principal Deputy Director of the Office of National Intelligence from February 2011 until January 2017. In that position, she assisted the Director of National Intelligence in the management of day-to-day operations of the intelligence community. From December 2009 until February 2011, Ms. O’Sullivan served as the Associate Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Prior to that appointment, she held several management positions in the agency’s Directorate of Science and Technology, working to develop and deploy innovative technology in support of intelligence collection and analysis.   Other Directorships and Memberships and Education: Ms. O’Sullivan currently serves on the boards of directors of The Aerospace Corporation, Battelle Memorial Institute, HRL Laboratories (formerly Hughes Research Laboratories) and the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation. She has also served on advisory boards at Google, Adobe and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and continues to serve on advisory boards at Noblis, Peraton and Booz Allen Hamilton. Ms. O’Sullivan has been an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology and continues to support study activities for the Department of Defense and the CIA. She was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2019. Ms. Sullivan received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Missouri Science and Technology University.

Qualifications, Experience, Attributes and Skills: We believe Ms. O’Sullivan is qualified to serve as a director based upon her extensive experience with our primary customer as a long-served senior civilian in the U.S. government and her highly successful career culminating in assignments in the most senior levels of government. We believe she also adds to the Board broad experience in the fields of command, control and intelligence for the U.S. government, which are areas of importance to our Defense and Federal Solutions business unit in our growing Technical Solutions business segment. In addition, Ms. O’Sullivan is a demonstrated governance professional from her experience in the board environment.

 

2021 Notice and Proxy Statement    37

The Board of Directors

 

C. MICHAEL PETTERS Director since March 2011

Mr. Petters, age 61, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. and has served in such capacity since March 2011.   Positions Held: Mr. Petters served as President of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding from 2008, when it was formed, until 2011, when it was spun off to form HII. Prior to that, he was President of Northrop Grumman Newport News beginning in 2004. Since joining Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in 1987, his responsibilities have included oversight of the Virginia-class submarine program, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier programs, aircraft carrier overhaul and refueling, submarine fleet maintenance, commercial and naval ship repair, human resources and business and technology development. During his service in the U.S. Navy, Mr. Petters served aboard the nuclear-powered submarine USS Bancroft, and he spent five years in the Naval Reserve.   Other Directorships and Memberships and Education: Mr. Petters serves as Vice Chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association and as a trustee of the Committee for Economic Development. He also serves on the boards of directors of the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation. Mr. Petters is a member of the Board of Advisors to the Center for a New American Security. He received a B.S. in Physics from the U.S. Naval Academy and an M.B.A. from the College of William and Mary.

 

 

38    Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.

The Board of Directors

 

Additional Information. Mr. Welch is the retired President and Chief Executive Officer of Centrus Energy Corp. (formerly USEC Inc.). Centrus Energy filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code on March 5, 2014. On September 30, 2014, Centrus Energy emerged from Chapter 11, prior to Mr. Welch’s retirement from the company.

 

2021 Notice and Proxy Statement    39

The Board of Directors

 

STEPHEN R. WILSON Director since October 2015

Mr. Wilson, age 74, is an independent business consultant and retired Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of RJR Nabisco, Inc.   Positions Held: Mr. Wilson has served in general management, finance and planning capacities at major companies for nearly 30 years. Since 2015, he has served as an independent consultant at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., a global insurance brokerage and risk management services firm. Prior to that, Mr. Wilson was an independent consultant at Brock Capital Group LLC, an investment bank, from 2010 until 2014. He was a partner at Camelot Equity Partners from 2007 until 2010. Mr. Wilson has also served in various executive roles, including as: Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of RJR Nabisco, Inc.; Chief Financial Officer of Pepsi Cola USA; Chief Financial Officer of Frito-Lay International and President of Frito-Lay Brazil; Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and, later, President of Cadbury Beverages North America; and Executive Vice President, Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer and, later, Chief Administrative Officer of Footstar, Inc.   Prior Public Company Directorships: Mr. Wilson served on the board of directors of Newport News Shipbuilding, Inc. from 1996 until the company was acquired by Northrop Grumman Corporation in 2002. He also served as chairman of the Audit Committee and as a member of the Compensation and Executive Committees. Mr. Wilson served on the board of directors of Majesco Entertainment Company from 2006 through 2015 and as chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee and the Audit Committee.   Other Directorships and Memberships and Education: Mr. Wilson previously served: on the board of directors of Blue Man Productions; as Finance Director and on the board of directors of Reckitt & Colman PLC; on the statutory board of Natwest Bancorp North America; on the board of directors of Middlesex Mutual Assurance; on the national advisory board of LEK Consulting; on the national advisory board of Chase Bank; on the national advisory board of Parson Consulting; and on the board of directors of Knobias, Inc. Mr. Wilson currently serves on the board of directors of Blue School and previously served on the boards of the South Bronx Educational Foundation and the Manhattan Theatre Club. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.

Qualifications, Experience, Attributes and Skills: We believe Mr. Wilson is qualified to serve as a director based upon his experience as chief financial officer, and chief executive officer of significant operating units, of several large public companies and his prior service on the board of directors of Newport News Shipbuilding, prior to its acquisition by Northrop Grumman, and more recently on the board of another public company.

 

40    Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.