Age: 68. Born in Framingham, Mass. Education: Maine Maritime Academy, bachelor’s in marine engineering, 1967; Babson College, master’s in business administration, 1972. Memberships: Board member, National Academy of Sciences; Transportation Research Board; board member, Shipbuilder’s Council of America; chairman, American Delegation of JECKU. Career: More than four decades in shipbuilding. Design and conversion of the first four Trident ballistic missile submarines to SSGNs. Oversaw the design and construction of the 100-footlong hull section of the SEAWOLF Class Submarine, USS Jimmy Carter. President of General Dynamics NASSCO, credited with the turnaround of the U.S. Navy’s TAKE aximilary program.
Frederick J. Harris will serve as the new president of Bath Iron Works, General Dynamics announced Wednesday.
Harris succeeds Jeffrey S. Geiger, who will become president of General Dynamics Electric Boat effective Nov. 4, following the retirement of Kevin J. Poitras. Geiger will continue reporting to John P. Casey, executive vice president of Marine Systems for General Dynamics.
Harris will remain as president of General Dynamics NASSCO, the only major shipyard on the West Coast conducting new construction and repair.
“Fred Harris, as president of NASSCO over the past seven years, has led his team in identifying and implementing creative ways to cost-effectively deliver state-of-the-art surface vessels,” Casey said. “I’m confident that he, Mike Mulligan, Kevin Graney and the teams at Bath Iron Works and NASSCO will find new opportunities to gain additional efficiencies across these already high-performance organizations.”
In a bulletin to his co-workers, Geiger thanked them for a great relationship.
“It has been a true honor and privilege to work with you over the last 29 years,” Geiger said. “I have great respect and appreciation for the excellent and important work you do, and the critical role BIW plays in supporting our Navy and nation.
“I’ll begin my transition with Mike Mulligan in the near future. Mike is no stranger to shipbuilding. He began his career with Electric Boat in 1985 and held key roles on the Sea- wolf and Virginia Programs until 2007 when he became president at GD Armament and Technical Products. Fred and Mike are experienced leaders; please support them as you have supported me.”
The mission at BIW, Geiger said, “remains to design and build ships safely and affordably. These organizational changes are consistent with that mission and will position BIW for the future.”
Bath Iron Works and NASSCO will remain as wholly owned and separate General Dynamics subsidiaries.
Harris, 68, became president of NASSCO in 2006. He had been senior vice president of programs at General Dynamics Electric Boat, where he was responsible for the execution of all submarine design and construction programs. Harris joined the company in 1973 as a senior engineer on the Trident ballistic missile submarine program.
He graduated from Maine Maritime Academy in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in marine engineering and holds a master’s degree in business administration from Babson College.
Michael J. Mulligan, president of General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, will remain a vice president of the corporation and will become vice president and general manager of Bath Iron Works.
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, praised both Geiger and Harris in a statement.
“I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Jeff Geiger for his steadfast leadership of Bath Iron Works over the past three years, and I wish him the very best of luck as he moves into his new position,” King said. “I also want to welcome Fred Harris as the new president of BIW and Mike Mulligan as the new vice president and general manager.
“Their vast depth of leadership experience will surely benefit the shipyard in the years to come, and I look forward to working with them, as well as the rest of BIW’s leadership team, to ensure that the yard continues to be well-positioned to maintain a steady work force and build world-class Navy ships far into the future.”
Geiger, 52, became president of Bath Iron Works in 2009. He joined the shipyard in 1984 as a production planner and held a series of progressively more responsible positions in production, engineering, manufacturing, planning and quality assurance. He has had responsibility for all engineering, design, material procurement, planning, quality control, strategic planning, communications and business development at the shipyard. Geiger is a graduate of the University of Michigan where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in naval architecture.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 90,000 people worldwide.
lgrard@timesrecord.com
Frederick J. Harris
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