Michael Petters

Former President and Chief Executive Officer of HII

Mike Petters is former president and CEO of HII, America’s largest shipbuilder, and provider of manned and unmanned maritime systems and all-domain mission technologies.

Petters served as HII’s president and CEO until March 1, 2022. As president, Petters steered the company’s spin-off from Northrop Grumman in 2011 and oversaw the expansion of HII’s portfolio.

Previously, Petters served as president of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding and as president of Northrop Grumman’s Newport News sector. He joined Newport News Shipbuilding in 1987 in the Los Angeles-class submarine construction division. He held a number of increasingly responsible positions throughout the organization, including production supervisor for submarines, marketing manager for submarines and carriers, vice president of aircraft carrier programs, vice president of contracts and pricing, and vice president of human resources.

Mike has served as the Chairman of the Virginia Business Council, as Chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association, and on the William and Mary Board of Visitors and the Center for a New American Security Board of Advisors. He continues to serve on the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation Board of Directors and on the U.S. Naval Institute Board of Directors. Among numerous awards and recognition, Mike has received the Lone Sailor Award from the Navy Memorial Foundation, the Owen B. Butler Education Excellence Award from the Committee for Economic Development, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. A lifelong supporter of early childhood education, Mike also established HII’s Scholarship Fund in 2016, which supports the educational needs of its employees through scholarships for pre-K and secondary education and continues through today, having served 1900 students and counting.

A native of Florida, Petters earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1982, served aboard the nuclear-powered submarine USS George Bancroft (SSBN 643) and spent five years in the U.S. Naval Reserve. In 1993, he earned an MBA from the College of William and Mary.