Michael Lempke has been appointed as head of HII Australia, effective Jan. 1. The company operates as a business unit of HII’s Mission Technologies division. The executive is also president of Mission Technologies’ Nuclear and Environmental Services business group.
In his new role, Lempke will specifically oversee HII’s interests in the trilateral security partnership of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. In directing the company’s business in-country, his responsibilities include bringing HII expertise to support AUKUS in shipbuilding, unmanned systems, C5ISR operations, and artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Tempke’s appointment provides an “in-country operating model” to unify HII’s Australian business, said Andy Green, Mission Technologies president and a six-time Wash100 winner.
HII’s initiatives to pursue AUKUS business opportunities manifest in the company’s project with Australia’s Babcock Australasia to establish the AUKUS Workforce Alliance. Announced in November, the project has the University of Adelaide, Curtin University and the University of New South Wales as its partners.
Other HII Australian partnerships include a tie-up with the Babcock International Group to support AUKUS nuclear submarine program requirements and a memorandum of understanding with Babcock Australasia for joint efforts on seeking opportunities in Australia’s nuclear submarine development.