New VP named at Huntington Ingalls Industries

Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries has named Paul C. Harris as its executive vice president and chief sustainability and compliance officer.

The move represents an expanded role for Harris, who has served as the shipbuilder’s chief compliance officer since 2020. In his new role, Harris will oversee the company’s efforts to formalize and mature its environmental, social and governance program, as well as oversee compliance matters, the company said in an announcement Friday.

As corporate vice president and chief compliance and privacy officer, Harris works with HII’s law department and throughout the enterprise to advance the company’s compliance strategy and execution objectives, and manages a team of compliance and privacy counsel.

Harris previously served as senior vice president of Hampton University, his alma mater. He served with the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division and received a law degree in George Washington University in 1995. He was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1997 and served four years, and worked for the U.S. Department of Justice before going on to compliance-related roles with Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and Sodexo.

“Paul has demonstrated true leadership in enhancing our culture of ethics and compliance at HII,”  President and CEO Chris Kastner said. “We see sustainability as important to long-term growth, built around our values and commitments to our employees, customers and shareholders. I am confident Paul’s leadership will ensure we are making meaningful, measurable progress on environmental, social and governance initiatives and communicating clearly about them going forward.”

HII is the nation’s largest military shipbuilder. The Fortune 500 company 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.