General Dynamics names Danny Deep CEO, Phebe Novakovic to become executive chairman
Novakovic, CEO since 2013, moves to executive chairman. Deep, president since December 2025, takes over on Jan. 1, 2027.
General Dynamics Corp. (GD) said Wednesday its board of directors elected President Danny Deep as chief executive, effective Jan. 1, 2027. Chairman and CEO Phebe Novakovic will become executive chairman at that time, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Novakovic has been chief executive since 2013, according to the company's press release. Deep, 56, has been president since December 2025.
Deep was elected to the board of directors on Aug. 5, 2026, the filing said. Before becoming president, he was executive vice president, Global Operations, from June 2025 to December 2025.
He was executive vice president, Combat Systems, from April 2024 to June 2025. He was vice president of the company and president of General Dynamics Land Systems from April 2020 to April 2024.
The release said Deep has been with the company for 25 years. "Danny is a highly skilled executive with rich operating experience," said Novakovic.
Laura J. Schumacher, the independent lead director, thanked Novakovic for her "lasting contributions to General Dynamics."
Deep said he was "profoundly honored to be selected as the next CEO of General Dynamics."
The filing does not give a reason for the transition.
General Dynamics is a global aerospace and defense company based in Reston, Virginia. It employs more than 120,000 people and generated $52.6 billion in revenue in 2025, the release said.