Matt Needy

Vice President, Charleston Operations

Matt Needy is vice president of Charleston Operations for Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of HII. Named to this position in late 2024, he is responsible for NNS’ 45-acre site in Goose Creek, South Carolina, that features advanced production facilities, equipment and tooling to support construction of nuclear-powered submarine modules and aircraft carrier structural units for U.S. Navy programs.

Needy began his shipbuilding career in 1987 as an engineering co-op and was hired in 1991 as a full-time engineer on the Seawolf-Class Submarine Program. Since then, he has served in positions of increasing responsibility in systems engineering, process improvement, corporate office, manufacturing, the Virginia-class Submarine Program and Fleet Services, Operations, and Navy Programs. He most recently served as NNS’ chief transformation officer where he was responsible for NNS’ strategy development and execution, enterprise-wide continuous improvement and operational health, and future business growth programs – including the next generation attack submarine SSN (X) and AUKUS.

Needy earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Clemson University. He is active in the community and serves on the Trident Technical College Foundation Board, the Charleston Metro Chamber executive committee and Clemson University’s College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences advisory board.