Huntington Ingalls Industries names new board member

Published March 2, 2015 by Robert Powell, III

The former head of Centrus Energy Corp. has been elected to the board of directors of Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc.

John K. Welch retired in October after nine years as president and CEO of Centrus, formerly USEC Inc., a major supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. Centrus is based in Bethesda, Md.

Welch previously was executive vice president at General Dynamics' Marine Systems Group, and he held other leadership positions at Falls Church-based General Dynamics.

Welch also held engineering and management positions with General Physics Corp. and Advanced Technology Inc.

He served for seven years in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear submarine officer and retired from the Naval Reserve.

Welch received a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School and a master's degree in business administration from Loyola College.

He is chairman of the board for Battelle Memorial Institute and serves on the board of Precision Custom Components.