Steve Arnette, a senior vice president of Jacobs (NYSE: J), has been appointed to succeed Dawne Hickton, as executive VP and president of the company’s critical missions solutions unit in a move slated to take effect April 1.
Hickton, an inductee into Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 for 2022, has led the CMS line of business since 2019 and her successor will bring more than 25 years of leadership experience to the group, Jacobs said Wednesday.
“Leading the CMS organization over the past three years – through our people, our inclusive culture and the incredible and innovative work we do in solving some of our clients’ biggest challenges – has been an exciting and rewarding opportunity,” said Hickton.
Arnette most recently served as SVP of advanced engineering, research and operations for the CMS segment. In this capacity, he led programs and projects for clients in the aerospace, automotive, defense and telecommunications sectors.
His appointment comes as the company plans to release a new three-year corporate strategy on Monday in the U.S. and on March 15 in the U.K.
Jacobs Chair and CEO Steve Demetriou said the firm aims to capitalize on global trends across the security, space intelligence and energy sectors, and he highlighted Hickton’s achievements and contributions to the business.
“Dawne has overseen a cultural transformation of CMS, while driving a significant increase in exposure to high growth, higher value businesses. Her leadership has been instrumental in establishing a new business portfolio, integrating four key acquisitions and building a new cyber and intelligence unit that serves as a catalyst for our new strategy.” Demetriou added.
