Chris Kastner is president and CEO of HII, America’s largest military shipbuilder and global all-domain defense technologies provider. He is also a member of HII’s board of directors.
Kastner was named to the position in March 2022. He previously served as HII’s chief operating officer where he oversaw HII’s three operating divisions and worked closely with the division presidents to drive execution on HII’s historic backlog. Prior to that, he was HII’s executive vice president and chief financial officer since March 2016.
As CFO, Kastner’s responsibilities included directing HII Corporate Strategy and processes in support of business growth and profitability goals. In the position, he oversaw corporate business management functions, including investor relations, treasury, internal audit, contracts, accounting, financial reporting, planning and analysis, rates and budgets, and mergers and acquisition. He also provided oversight for segment business management, contracts, and estimating and pricing.
Prior to his role as CFO, Kastner served as vice president and CFO for HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division. He also served as HII’s corporate vice president and general manager, corporate development, where he was responsible for strategy and development activities, including the development and integration of strategic planning efforts as well as the analysis and entrance into new adjacent markets. Before joining HII, he served in various capacities at Northrop Grumman, including as vice president, business management, and CFO for Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding-Gulf Coast; and as vice president, contracts and risk management, for Northrop Grumman Ship Systems.
Kastner is on the board of directors of New York Life Insurance Company and is a trustee emeritus for the Eastern Virginia Medical School Foundation. He is a member of the Aeropsace Industries Association and is vice chair of the Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct. He also is a member of the Business Roundtable board of directors.
Kastner has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California at Santa Barbara and an MBA from Pepperdine University.
