HII names new exec VP, CIO

Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries has promoted Chris Soong to executive vice president and chief information officer, the Fortune 500 federal contractor announced Tuesday.

Soong’s promotion is effective April 1. He served as CIO at HII’s Mission Technologies division beginning in August 2021 and is replacing Bharat Amin who is retiring March 31.

Soong will be responsible for establishing HII’s IT and digital strategy with a focus on cybersecurity and will lead corporate IT governance and provide functional oversight in collaboration with HII’s business units.

“I want to thank Bharat for his leadership as HII’s first companywide CIO, specifically in the area of cybersecurity,” HII President Chris Kastner said in a statement. “Going forward, Chris has the experience and familiarity to hit the ground running and ensure a streamlined, secure digital infrastructure that supports the business and adds value for our key stakeholders.”

Soong joined HII with its $1.65 billion acquisition of Alion Science and Technology in 2021, where he served as CIO and senior vice president overseeing Alion’s corporate information technology group. He has more than 25 years of experience in the IT industry and has held leadership positions at several Fortune 500 companies, including Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. and Sprint Corp.

Soong has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech and a leadership certificate from the University of Maryland. He also was a participant in the CIO Institute at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. Soong was named the corporate category winner of the 2020 Capital CIO of the Year ORBIE Awards, was recognized as “One to Watch” by CIO Magazine and was named among the Asian American Business Development Center’s “Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business.”

The nation’s largest military shipbuilder, HII employs more than 44,000 workers and is Virginia’s largest industrial employer. Its Newport News Shipbuilding division is the United States’ only manufacturer of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. HII posted $10.54 billion in annual revenue for fiscal 2022, up from $9.52 billion for fiscal 2021.