Mary L Howell

Howell has served as CEO since Howell Strategy Group's founding in 2010. In 2009 she retired as EVP of Textron Inc., where she spent a nearly 30-year career and was responsible for profits stemming from the company's defense programs. Throughout her career, she was active in programs supporting the U.S. Marine Corps. In recognition of her leadership and support for the Marine Corps mission she was the first women to receive the prestigious Charles Ruch Semper Fidelis Award. In addition, she recently was named an Honorary Marine. Mary L. Howell is executive vice president for Textron Inc., a position she has held since August 1995. Howell oversees Textron's government, strategy development and international, investor relations and corporate communications functions. She serves on Textron's International Advisory Council, Transformation Leadership Team and Management Committee. Howell joined Textron in 1980. In her current role, Howell is actively involved in formulating long-term global business strategies, developing business opportunities for Textron business units in growth markets overseas and establishing marketing and communications initiatives. She chairs the Textron Marketing & Sales Council, an organization of senior executives from Textron Corporate and business segment operations who develop and implement initiatives to improve the Textron enterprise's ability to focus on and meet the objectives of its government and commercial customers. She also directs the Washington, DC-based marketing and government affairs activities for Textron and its business units. In 2007, approximately 19% of Textron’s revenues (about $2.5 billion) were generated by or resulted from contracts with the U.S. government. In addition, she oversees internal and external communication of Textron's strategy and performance to key constituencies such as investors, employees and the media. Howell serves on the board of directors of the National Association of Manufacturers, a leading organization representing the American manufacturing sector. She also serves on the board of directors of FM Global, the world's largest commercial and industrial property insurance and risk management organization. In addition, Howell is a board member of the Atlantic Council of the United States, a non-partisan network of leaders committed to enhancing U.S. leadership through foreign policy projects. She was president of the Business-Government Relations Council and is a member of several other Washington-area professional organizations. Howell is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.