HII [HII] on Wednesday said that Michael Lempke has been put in charge of the company’s business in Australia, including supporting the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) trilateral partnership.
Lempke, who is also president of the Nuclear and Environmental Services group within HII’s Mission Technologies operating segment, succeeds Jeff McCray, who retired at the end of December. Lempke will oversee the company’s work related to AUKUS, which includes a pillar focused on helping Australia gain a nuclear-powered attack submarine capability and another pillar around cooperation on advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, unmanned and space systems, and cybersecurity.
Lempke joined HII in 2016 as president of energy programs at the Newport News Shipbuilding segment, and before that was vice president of integrated strategic decision support for Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. He has also worked at the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Navy’s Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.
In 2017, Lempke became president of HII’s Nuclear and Environmental Services group, leading the company’s nuclear stewardship efforts for Energy Department projects related to national security and protecting people and the environment, HII said. He also oversaw programs to educate and train a nuclear workforce in local communities, an initiative that HII is also working on with the private sector and universities in Australia to develop a skilled workforce for the AUKUS nuclear submarine program.
“This is an important next step in our international growth initiative, enhancing coordinate between AUKUS Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 efforts, enabling an efficient in-country operating model, and providing a unified business approach in Australia,” Andy Green, president of Mission Technologies, said in a statement. “2024 will be a pivotal year for the AUKUS program, for the Commonwealth of Australia, and for HII.”
The Mission Technologies segment does work in unmanned systems and autonomy, cybersecurity, C5ISR, and other areas. Lempke will leverage these capabilities and HII’s nuclear shipbuilding expertise in support of AUKUS.