Marillyn Hewson has been showing business acumen since she was a child. He attributes his success to his mother, Mary Adams.
“Her tenacity taught me everything I needed to know about leadership,” says Hewson. She was born in Junction City, Kansas on December 27, 1953, and is the daughter of Warren Adams and Mary Adams. Her father died only when she was nine years old, and her mother raised her and her five siblings alone. Hewson has repeatedly acknowledged her mother’s resilience, hard work, and determination when it comes to leadership skills, and even wrote a special article entitled “Mother’s Sustainability” in 2013 for Politico, explaining: “My mother did this, which all great leaders do: It has spurred the growth of future leaders. ” Marillyn herself had to help not only with the housework but also with raising the younger children in the family.
Western publications share another curious detail of Hewson’s relationship with her mother and the lessons she learned from her. Once, as a child, Marillyn Hewson stood in front of a store window with a shopping list for seven dollars. She had only five in her. When she sent shopping, her mother said, “I know you’re going to make the right choice!”
He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Alabama. He also attends the Columbia Business School and Harvard Business School business development programs. He joined Lockheed Martin in 1983 as an industrial engineer, long before the company merged with Martin Marietta. He started his career in an aircraft manufacturing plant, then moved from division to division and worked in eight cities, where Lockheed Corporation has offices. She frankly admits that she has repeatedly doubted her abilities, although her career has always been well developed. According to her, one should not strive to do everything perfectly, the best choice is to work as best as possible and not be afraid of mistakes. He firmly believes that the only way to become a leader is to form your own experience.
She remembers that when she first saw the planes, she was so impressed that she never wanted to work anywhere else. Huson held 18 different positions at Lockheed until she reached the top of the company. In 2013, she took over as CEO following the resignation of Bob Stevens, who has held the post since 2004. Her luck worked, as the place was prepared for the then-president and chief operating officer Christopher Kubasik. However, he was fired for “close personal relations with a subordinate”. From the moment Husson took the helm, the market capitalization of the company he managed doubled.
As chairman, she is directly responsible for a 14% increase in the value of the company and it is no coincidence that a few days ago she was awarded as the best protector of the company according to the ranking of Brand Finance. But this is just another great recognition of Marillyn Hewson’s leadership qualities. Fortune magazine ranked her among the 50 most powerful women in business in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2015, she was named by Fortune magazine, and in 2018 the magazine named her the most influential woman in the world. 2018 is the year in which she received another great recognition – she was also awarded the Edison Award for Leadership Achievement and Achievement for Lasting Contribution to the World of Innovation.
Three times in the rankings of the American magazine Forbes for the most influential women in the world – in 2014, in 2015, and again – in 2018, and last year she was named the ninth most influential woman in the world by Forbes.
It seems that Marillyn Hewson will continue to write the story of Lockheed Martin and women’s leadership.