The following biographical sketch was compiled at the time of induction into the Academy in 2021.

 

Marillyn A. Hewson is former chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation, one of the world’s leading aerospace and defense technology companies. As CEO, Hewson led one of the most successful chapters in the company’s history. She instilled a customer-focused culture across the business, strategically reshaped the company’s portfolio to align with future growth opportunities, and significantly increased international sales. Under Hewson’s leadership, Lockheed Martin’s stock price increased by nearly 400 percent and the company set new records in sales, earnings, and other key financial metrics.

Hewson is a graduate of Tuscaloosa County High School.  She earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in commerce and business administration and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Alabama (UA). During her time at the Capstone, she was president of the Omicron Delta Epsilon economics honor society and a member of Beta Gamma Sigma business honor society. As a graduate student, Hewson was an economics instructor and research assistant. She has given back extensively to her alma mater as a member of the UA President’s Cabinet and the Culverhouse College of Business board of visitors. In 2018, Hewson and her husband, James, made the largest one-time financial contribution in UA’s history to help fund the construction of Hewson Hall, a new, state-of-the-art business education and research facility. The couple’s generous gift followed a $5 million donation Hewson made in 2017 to support innovation and education in data analytics and cybersecurity through professorships, fellowships, scholarships, and an on-campus computing and collaboration center that bears her name.

After graduating from UA, Hewson went on to build an illustrious career. She joined Lockheed Martin as an industrial engineer and successfully progressed through roles of increasing responsibility. Her rise through the ranks culminated in her appointment as president and CEO in January 2013. She became chairman of the board one year later. Hewson served in these positions until June 2020. She then became executive chairman of the board, serving until March 1, 2021.

Outside her roles at Lockheed Martin, Hewson has lent her experience and expertise as a board member for several publicly traded companies, charitable organizations, and U.S. government advisory bodies. She currently serves on the boards of directors of Johnson & Johnson, Chevron, and the USO, and is a member of the Trilateral Commission. Hewson is co-chair of the Task Force on National Security and U.S. Manufacturing Base Competitiveness at the Ronald Reagan Institute’s Center for Peace Through Strength.

Hewson’s accomplishments have been widely recognized around the globe. In 2018, she was selected by a group of her peers as Chief Executive magazine’s “CEO of the Year.” Throughout her tenure as CEO, Hewson ranked in the top five on Fortune’s “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” list, receiving the No. 1 spot in 2018 and 2019. Hewson was featured on TIME’s list of the “100 Most Influential People” in 2019 and was No. 9 on Fortune’s “Businessperson of the Year” list in 2017. She was a 2019 inductee into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame and a 2020 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the UA National Alumni Association. In 2021, Hewson received the Philip J. Klass Award for Lifetime Achievement from Aviation Week.  

Marillyn and her husband, James, have two sons, David and Will, and a daughter-in-law, Alison.

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