TopVet: Robert J. Stevens, Lockheed Martin

Some of the lessons Robert J. Stevens learned in the Marine Corps have no doubt aided and abetted his subsequent career, now at the top of Lockheed Martin Corporation.

The 49-year-old President and Chief Executive Officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation was promoted to the top job in August, 2004, succeeding Vance Coffman, who retired after 37 years with the company. Among his earlier jobs at Lockheed, Mr. Stevens served chief operating officer as well as president and chief operating officer of the former Lockheed Martin Energy and Environment Sector, during which time he restructured the company’s energy businesses. He also served as chairman of the board of directors of Sandia Corporation, Energy Research Corporation, and Energy Systems Corporation.

Previously, Mr. Stevens was president of Lockheed Martin Air Traffic Management, where he led a significant, and successful, turnaround; and held a variety of key management positions at Loral Systems Manufacturing Company.

Mr. Stevens is a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society, and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He serves on the International Advisory Board of the British-American Business Council, and on the Executive Committee of the Aerospace Industries Association. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is Presiding Director of the Monsanto Company. During 2001 and 2002, Mr. Stevens also served on President Bush’s Commission to Examine the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry.

Born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, Mr. Stevens is a summa cum laude graduate of Slippery Rock University, from which he received the 2003 Distinguished Alumni Award. After earning a master’s degree in engineering from Polytechnic University of New York, he went on to earn a second master’s: in business, from Columbia University, with the aid of a Fairchild Fellowship. He also is a graduate of the Department of Defense Systems Management College Program Management course.

In 2004, he was recognized by the National Management Association as Executive of the Year.