Phebe Novakovic

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Phebe Novakovic had careers in intelligence, government budgeting, and defense-industry management before becoming CEO of General Dynamics in 2013.

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Phebe Novakovic is the chair and chief executive officer of General Dynamics Corporation (GD), one of the largest aerospace and defense contractors in the United States. A former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operations officer and Department of Defense budget official, Novakovic took over the company in 2013 shortly before it reported its first annual loss in decades. Her tenure has been marked by improved profitability, growth in the company’s defense and aerospace businesses, and an emphasis on operating performance and corporate culture.

Phebe Nevenka Novakovic was born on November 13, 1957, in Frankfurt, West Germany, where her father, Michael Novakovic, served as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force. Her father immigrated to the United States from Serbia as a teenager and spent much of his military career stationed in West Germany, where Novakovic spent the bulk of her childhood during the Cold War. She later said that growing up in Europe during that period helped shape her sense of patriotism and public service.

After returning to the United States, Novakovic attended an Episcopal boarding school in San Antonio, Texas. She later enrolled at Smith College, where she studied government and German, graduating in 1979.

Novakovic later received a master of business administration degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1988. She has said that Wharton gave her a strong foundation in finance, economics, and business operations that later helped shape her management approach at General Dynamics.

After graduating from Smith College, Novakovic worked as an analyst at the McLean Research Center, where she performed operational analyses on Department of Defense weapons systems.

In 1983, she joined the CIA as an operations officer. Novakovic later said she chose the CIA over a military career because she preferred the agency’s less rigid structure. During her years at the CIA, she met Michael Vickers, a former Green Beret and fellow CIA officer whom she married in 1985.

After earning a master of business administration degree from the Wharton School in 1988, Novakovic sought to move into the private sector, believing that a business career would offer more flexibility for raising a family. But she later recalled struggling to find work while pregnant with her second child, including one interview that ended almost immediately after the interviewer saw she was visibly pregnant.

In 1992, Novakovic joined the Office of Management and Budget, where she rose to deputy associate director for national security and managed presidential budgets for the Department of Defense and U.S. intelligence agencies during the administrations of Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. She later became special assistant to the secretary and deputy secretary of defense from 1997 to 2001, overseeing major defense budget and policy processes.

After leaving the Department of Defense, Novakovic joined General Dynamics in 2001 as director of strategic planning. She later said she was drawn to the company’s willingness to elevate leaders with unconventional backgrounds and perspectives.

Over the next decade, Novakovic advanced steadily through the company’s leadership ranks. She held a series of senior planning and development roles before becoming executive vice president for marine systems, overseeing General Dynamics businesses that built submarines, destroyers, and other naval vessels.

In 2012, Novakovic was named president and chief operating officer and joined the company’s board of directors. The following year, she was appointed chair and CEO.

Novakovic became CEO in January 2013. The following month, General Dynamics reported a $332 million loss for 2012, its first annual loss in decades, following a series of acquisitions and management problems.

After taking over, Novakovic focused on improving operating performance, strengthening profitability, and addressing what she described as a “fractured leadership team.” She introduced General Dynamics’ “ethos,” a management philosophy centered on transparency, trust, honesty, and shared organizational goals.

Under Novakovic, General Dynamics expanded its defense and aerospace businesses, including submarine construction, armored vehicles, cybersecurity, information technology services, and Gulfstream business jets. She also emphasized disciplined spending, arguing that strong operations and careful use of company resources would improve profitability and reward long-term investors.

General Dynamics’ financial performance improved significantly during Novakovic’s tenure. By the mid-2010s, the company had returned to profitability, and its market capitalization and stock price had risen sharply.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, General Dynamics continued operating many of its manufacturing facilities after the federal government classified them as critical infrastructure. Novakovic said the company’s leadership team reported to work alongside factory and shipyard employees during the crisis.

Novakovic has emphasized teamwork, operational performance, and loyalty to employees, an approach she calls “servant leadership.” She has also argued that a strong corporate culture is essential to managing large organizations effectively.

Novakovic has frequently spoken about patriotism and national security, themes shaped in part by her upbringing in Cold War–era West Germany and her years in intelligence and defense work. She has defended high levels of U.S. defense spending as necessary for deterrence and national security. Novakovic has generally maintained a low public profile, arguing that corporate performance matters more than executive visibility. Despite her limited media presence, she has regularly appeared on Fortune and Forbes lists of the most powerful women in business.

Novakovic has also been a member of the boards of several companies and nonprofit organizations, including Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Ford’s Theatre.