BATH — John “Dugan” Shipway announced last week that he will end his nearly six-year tenure as president of Bath Iron Works in April, and that Jeffrey Geiger, senior vice president of operations, would succeed him to become the shipyard’s 13th president.
“Having given serious thought and consideration to the future priorities of BIW, those of my wife, Lynn, and me, I have decided to retire … effective April 1, 2009,” Shipway said in a Feb. 11 prepared statement.
Shipway called Geiger “an individual who is fully capable and ready to lead BIW on the next leg of the journey.”
David Heebner, executive vice president and group executive of General Dynamics Marine Systems, BIW’s parent company, said in a statement that Shipway “has been instrumental in transforming Bath Iron Works into one of the most efficient, productive shipyards in the United States. Since becoming president in 2003, he has implemented an aggressive effort to improve the processes and facilities at Bath, and has created an environment that encourages commitment and teamwork from a skilled workforce.”
Geiger came to BIW in 1984 as a production planner. He became vice president of engineering in 1993 and vice president of operations in 2000. He assumed his current position in 2007.
Currently a member of the executive control board of the National Shipbuilding Research Program, Geiger has served as a National Advisory Board member for the Naval Architecture & Maine Engineering Department of the University of Michigan. Geiger also serves on the board of the United Way of Mid Coast Maine.
Geiger lives in Bath with his wife, Margie, and their two children.
Prior to his appointment in April 2003 as BIW president, Shipway served as vice president for full submarine support at General Dynamics Electric Boat for two years. He put in 35 years of service as a Navy officer, retiring as a rear admiral after a career specializing in submarines and technical and program management.

BIW President Dugan Shipway
BIW Senior Vice President of Operations Jeffrey Geiger