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General Dynamics has named company president Danny Deep as its next chief executive, setting a January 1, 2027, start date for the longtime executive to take over from Phebe Novakovic. The board’s October 7 announcement makes Novakovic executive chair, shifting day-to-day leadership at the Reston, Virginia-based defense and aerospace company after she has served as CEO since 2013.
The succession keeps the top job with an internal leader whose career has spanned several of the company’s operating businesses. General Dynamics makes Gulfstream business jets, naval vessels and submarines, combat vehicles, weapons systems and technology services; its leadership transition comes amid continued demand for defense and aerospace products, Reuters reported.
A planned handover at the start of 2027
Deep will remain president until the CEO appointment takes effect. General Dynamics said Novakovic will transition to executive chairman, but its announcement did not outline further changes to board responsibilities or provide details about how duties will be divided between the two executives after January 1.
Novakovic described Deep as an executive with substantial operating experience and said she looked forward to continuing to work with him. Independent lead director Laura Schumacher said the board valued Novakovic’s leadership and expressed confidence in Deep’s ability to lead the company. The company did not disclose financial terms related to the leadership changes.
Deep’s path through the company
Deep has been with General Dynamics for 25 years, according to the company. Before becoming president in 2025, he served as executive vice president of Global Operations and executive vice president of Combat Systems, and led Land Systems, the business responsible for the company’s land-combat operations.
His career progression has included both business-unit and company-wide roles. General Dynamics’ investor information lists him as president from December 2025, following a period as executive vice president of Global Operations; he previously led Combat Systems and Land Systems. He joined the board in 2026, according to the company’s board listing.
The announcement did not detail changes Deep plans to make to strategy or identify new priorities. Nor did it say whether the current structure of General Dynamics’ businesses would change. The company is organized around Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems and Technologies, a broad portfolio that includes commercial aviation as well as major military programs.
Novakovic’s tenure and company scale
Novakovic became CEO on January 1, 2013, after serving as president and chief operating officer. Her move to executive chair ends her tenure as chief executive but keeps her in a senior company role. The announcement’s emphasis on continued collaboration signals continuity, while leaving the precise scope of her ongoing involvement unspecified.
General Dynamics reported $52.6 billion in revenue for 2025, up 10.1% from 2024, and said its year-end backlog reached $118 billion. The company reported employing more than 120,000 people worldwide in its October succession announcement. Its scale means the handover will affect a company serving government customers and commercial aviation markets across multiple operating segments.
Recent results provide business context
In its second-quarter results released July 29, General Dynamics reported $14.1 billion in revenue, up 8.1% from a year earlier, and diluted earnings per share of $4.24, a 13.4% increase. The company said orders totaled $20 billion in the quarter and its overall book-to-bill ratio—orders divided by revenue—was 1.4 to 1.
Those results offer a recent snapshot of the business Deep is scheduled to lead, but the company did not connect the succession announcement to a change in financial outlook. General Dynamics’ July release attributed growth across all four segments to execution and demand, and described investments to increase output. It did not provide a new forecast with the CEO announcement.
What comes next
The only firm date specified for the leadership change is January 1, 2027, when Deep becomes CEO and Novakovic transitions to executive chair. General Dynamics has not announced additional management appointments tied to the handover, or described any changes to its operating structure.
Until the effective date, Deep remains president and Novakovic remains CEO. The transition will put a long-serving insider in charge, while Novakovic’s move to executive chair preserves her presence at the company; the board and company have not yet publicly described further details of how that arrangement will work in practice.
