Stephanie C. Hill
Senior Vice President, Enterprise Business Transformation
Lockheed Martin
Bethesda, Md.
As a teenager, Stephanie C. Hill wanted to be a psychiatrist. Today, she is the senior vice president of Enterprise Business Transformation at Lockheed Martin, developing strategies and implementing solutions that transform operations through technology, culture, and processes. She considers herself an “accidental engineer.”
An elective course in programming while studying economics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, led to several more computer science courses and ultimately engineering. “I fell in love with the engineering field because it was challenging and fun,” she reveals. She graduated with high honors with a degree in computer science and economics. Hill worries about the thin pipeline for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) students.
“Our industry requires top talent in engineering and science, and our nation right now is facing a critical shortage of STEM workers,” she explains. “We have to encourage as many young people as possible to pursue STEM careers. Underrepresented minorities, including African Americans and Latinos, are particularly underrepresented in the STEM fields, and this motivates me to shout from the rooftops that careers in STEM are incredibly exciting and rewarding.” After 33 years at Lockheed Martin, Hill knows the importance of relationships.
“Trust is a key business enabler,” she notes. “If we can have relationships of trust, then we can have open conversations; we can disagree without being disagreeable, and we can get the best ideas from the whole team.” Upon retirement, this mother of three hopes to care for her grandchildren so that her children can pursue their dreams without worrying about the well-being of their own children. Says Hill, “My mother and mother-in-law watched my children while I worked and this was such a special gift, not only because of the peace of mind it gave me, but also because of the close bonds formed between grandmothers and grandbabies.”
