Chief Executive magazine announced today that Marillyn A. Hewson, chairman, president and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp., has been named 2018 Chief Executive of the Year, an honor bestowed upon an outstanding corporate leader, nominated and selected by peer CEOs.

Ms. Hewson joined Lockheed Martin more than 30 years ago as an industrial engineer and has led the company as CEO since January 2013. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a $51 billion (sales) global security and aerospace giant. "It is a tremendous honor to be named Chief Executive of the Year," said Hewson. "This honor is ultimately a tribute to the 100,000 women and men of Lockheed Martin—and all they do each day to protect lives, drive innovation and press forward the frontiers of human knowledge and understanding."

The selection committee cited her performance leading the company through an era of profound political and technological change—which has had an outsized impact on Lockheed's operations. They also highlighted her work to improve STEM education, grow the nation's pipeline of highly skilled labor and improve diversity in the technology industry.

"It's been a year of strong candidates," said Mark Weinberger, CEO of EY and a member of the selection committee, "but Marillyn has demonstrated exceptional leadership, proving to be an exceptional role model and exceptional person—something we need in business, especially today."

Tamara Lundgren, CEO, Schnitzer Steel, added: "Marillyn has led her company with tremendous vision and integrity, and the results have shown through both financial and operation performance as well as the diversity and loyalty of the people she leads."

"She is absolutely a beacon of excellence in an industry that hasn't had many good stories," said Fred Hassan, former chairman, Bausch & Lomb, and partner, Warburg Pincus. "She has displayed a lot of courage in dealing with the many complexities in running a business of Lockheed's size and scope."

Prior Chief Executive of the Year winners represent a who's who of American business leaders, including Bill Gates, Jack Welch, Michael Dell, A.G. Lafley, John Chambers, Bob Iger, Anne Mulcahy, Larry Bossidy, Andy Grove and Herb Kelleher, among others.

Judging and selection of a winner is done by a committee of distinguished peer CEOs in a meeting held in March at the Nasdaq MarketSite. The 2018 committee consists of Stanley Bergman (CEO, Henry Schein and 2017 CEO of the Year), Dan Glaser (CEO, Marsh & McLennan), Fred Hassan (former chairman, Bausch & Lomb; partner, Warburg Pincus), Tamara Lundgren (CEO, Schnitzer Steel), Bob Nardelli (CEO, XLR-8), Tom Quinlan III (CEO, RR Donnelley), Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (CEO, The Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute) and Mark Weinberger (CEO, EY). Ted Bililies, Ph.D., chief talent officer, managing director, AlixPartners, is the exclusive advisor to the 2018 Selection Committee.

Hewson's selection as 2018 CEO of the Year will be celebrated at an invitation-only event hosted by the Chief Executive Group at the United Nations building in New York in late July.

About Chief Executive / Chief Executive Group

Chief Executive Group is the leading community for business leaders worldwide. It publishes Chief Executive magazine (published since 1977), chiefexecutive.net, Corporate Board Member and boardmember.com, as well as conferences and roundtables that enable CEOs to discuss key subjects and share their experiences with their peers. The Group also runs the Chief Executive Network, the leading CEO membership organization arranged by industry, and facilitates the annual "CEO of the Year," a prestigious honor bestowed upon an outstanding corporate leader, nominated and selected by a group of peers. Visit www.chiefexecutive.net for more information.