THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 16, 1997 TAG: 9701160277
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 38 lines
Newport News Shipbuilding added four people to its board of directors Wednesday. They include a retired four-star admiral, Hampton University's president, a former Virginia governor and a Reader's Digest executive.
The additions bring the board's membership to seven, including William P. Fricks, the shipyard's president and chief executive.
``Their knowledge of business, government and our industry will be a significant strength for us as we begin operations as an independent company,'' Fricks said.
Newport News Shipbuilding gained independence last month when Tenneco Inc. spun it off to shareholders.
The Peninsula yard builds aircraft carriers and submarines and recently resumed building commercial ships with a line of petroleum tankers. It employs nearly 18,000 people.
The new directors are:
Retired Adm. Leon A. Edney, a former vice Chief of Naval Operations, Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic and Commander in Chief Atlantic Command.
Dr. William R. Harvey, president of Hampton University. The college administrator is also a businessman with ownership in Michigan Pepsi bottler and is a director of Signet Banking Corp., Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield and an insurance company.
Gerald L. Baliles, a former Virginia governor. Baliles, a Richmond lawyer, served as attorney general of Virginia from 1982 to 1985 and as governor from 1986 to 1990. He is also on the board of Norfolk Southern Corp.
Stephen R. Wilson, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Reader's Digest Association Inc. and a Naval Academy graduate.
They join Tenneco Chairman Dana G. Mead and Joseph J. Sisco, an international consultant, on the the shipyard's board. The board's first meeting will be today.
KEYWORDS: NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING BOARD OF DIRECTORS