Phebe Novakovic

Increased military spending and a loosening of policies related to selling arms to foreign governments helped boost U.S. defense contractors in 2018—and General Dynamics was no exception. Under Novakovic’s leadership, GD hit $36.2 billion in revenue last year, a 17% gain over 2017—thanks in part to the acquisition of information tech firm CSRA and an increase in its business servicing aging planes.