Xavier Beale, vice president of trades at Huntington Ingalls Industries‘ (NYSE: HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division, will transition to a new role that expands the scope of his current work to include human resources responsibilities.
HII said Wednesday Beale will take over the Newport News HR leadership role from Susan Jacobs, who will join HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division as VP of HR and administration.
“As part of our transition plan, and because our 2022 priorities include hiring and retention, continuous learning and development, and training, we have an opportunity to streamline the ‘people organizations,’” said Jennifer Boykin, president of Newport News Shipbuilding.
“To support this effort, we are combining our human resources and administration and trades organizations.”
Beale started his shipbuilding career as a pipefitter in 1991 and left the industry to work at a behavioral health treatment facility and to serve at the Virginia Army National Guard. He rejoined the shipyard business in 2004 with a focus on HR functions.
As part of the realignment, HII also promoted Dave Horne to a senior director position to help Beale oversee trades processes within the newly formed HR&T organization.
