Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: CHRISTOPHER D. KASTNER

Kastner has now completed his first year as head of the nation’s largest military shipbuilding company, Huntington Ingalls Industries, which owns Newport News Shipbuilding, Virginia’s largest industrial employer. He was tapped as HII’s president and CEO in March 2022, after previously serving as chief operating officer and chief financial officer. In fiscal 2022, the company reported revenue of $10.7 billion, a 12.1% increase from 2021, and a total project backlog of $47.1 billion as of Dec. 31, 2022. Kastner said in February he expects to deliver five ships to the Navy this year.

HII’s current history began in 2011, when parent company Northrop Grumman spun out its entire shipbuilding portfolio, which included Huntington Ingalls and Newport News Shipbuilding. The companies have remained together, keeping their original corporate identities intact. Prior to joining HII, Kastner was vice president and CFO for Ingalls Shipbuilding.

HII’s technical solutions division, renamed Mission Technologies in 2022, has grown massively since its establishment in 2016, and the company is now heavily focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity and unmanned systems.

Kastner is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara and Pepperdine University.