President (since November 2012) and CEO (effective Jan. 1, 2013)

Age: 59

Birthplace: Junction City, Kan.

Education: Bachelor's degree in business administration and Master of Arts from the University of Alabama.

Career: Hewson joined the old Lockheed Corp. in 1983 as a senior industrial engineer and has risen through 19 management positions, including president and chief operating officer and executive vice president of the Electronic Systems business.

When Lockheed Martin announced in May that Christopher Kubasik would be its new CEO effective Jan. 1, 2013, it promoted Marillyn Hewson to succeed him as president and chief operating officer. And it was a safe bet that Hewson would cap her long career at the company in that No. 2 spot, given that Kubasik was just 51 years old and likely to hold on to the CEO job for a long time. But Lockheed Martin's carefully scripted succession plan blew up in November when Kubasik was forced out for having a “close personal relationship” with a subordinate and Hewson was designated as the next CEO, replacing retiring Robert J. Stevens. She had 53 days to prepare. During a December visit to Aviation Week's Washington bureau, Hewson sat down with outgoing AW&ST Editor-in-Chief Anthony L. Velocci, Jr., and incoming EIC Joseph C. Anselmo to make the case for why she is ready and how she plans to keep Lockheed Martin growing in a challenging defense environment.