How HII’s Jaime Orlando Builds Connection, Culture, and Momentum Inside a Legacy Brand

Q: Jaime, for those who might not know HII Mission Technologies, can you give us a quick overview of what your team does?

Jaime Orlando 

Absolutely. HII as a company has an incredible legacy. It’s America’s largest shipbuilder, with more than 135 years of experience. About 75% of HII’s business comes from shipbuilding at our Newport News and Ingalls shipyards.

But the other 25%—and growing—is Mission Technologies. We’re a $3 billion business with around 7,000 employees worldwide. This is where HII develops and delivers advanced defense and national security solutions, everything from cyber and AI/ML to autonomy, C5ISR, and high-energy weapons systems. It’s the future-facing part of the company, and it’s an exciting place to be.

Q: You’ve built a culture that clearly celebrates people. Tell me about Mission Technologies’ Impact Awards.

Jaime Orlando

The Impact Awards ceremony is one of my favorite events of the year. This is where we go all-in on recognizing the employees who are shaping our culture for the better. And when I say recognize, I mean spoil. This isn’t a quick “congratulations and here’s your certificate” kind of thing; it’s a real celebration.

We honor people who make a meaningful impact across the business. One standout example was a team deployed in Africa that provided critical technology support to a combatant command. Their work directly advanced mission success and kept people safe. Recognizing contributions like that reminds everyone what it means to be part of HII Mission Technologies.

Q: You also have a campaign called “Mission Starts at Home.” What’s that all about?

Jaime Orlando

Mission Starts at Home is about connection—connecting employees to the brand and to each other. Our teams are hyper-focused on the mission —serving our customers, innovating for the military, but we wanted to bring that same sense of pride and belonging here, to our people.

So, we made an unconventional investment: HII sponsors suites for professional sports teams in seven cities, and they’re exclusively for employees to use. It’s a chance for people to take a night off, see the HII name up in lights, and meet teammates they might only know over email.

It’s been a huge success. Every HR metric—retention, engagement, satisfaction—has improved. And our customers notice, too. They appreciate knowing that HII teammates are supported, connected, and genuinely proud to represent the company. It reflects directly on the quality of our work and partnerships.

Q: That sense of pride seems to extend into how you communicate about innovation, too. How are you balancing the legacy of HII with the new story you’re telling?

Jaime Orlando

That’s exactly the challenge and the opportunity. HII is known and respected for shipbuilding, and rightly so. But today, we’re also a leader in next-generation defense technologies.

A great example is our recent investment in a new integration and test facility to support the U.S. Army’s High-Energy Laser (HEL) Weapon System. It’s an entirely new capability that will strengthen national defense and showcases how HII is advancing beyond its traditional base.

Communications plays a key role here by helping connect that legacy of engineering excellence with the innovation happening today. We’re showing that HII isn’t just building ships; we’re building the future of defense technology.

Q: Speaking of innovation, you hosted your first Defense Tech Live event this year. What was that experience like?

Jaime Orlando

It was incredible. We held Defense Tech Live in Arlington, Virginia—our first-ever technology showcase. We demonstrated 23 different technologies across multiple domains, hosted customer panels, and welcomed between 200 and 300 attendees.

We partnered with GovExec on the event, and the feedback was phenomenal. People were blown away by the depth and variety of what HII is developing, everything from autonomous systems to cyber solutions. We’re already planning next year’s event; it will be bigger, better, and even more interactive.

Events like this let us bring the innovation to life. They help people see HII Mission Technologies not just as part of a legacy company, but as a vital, forward-leaning force in defense and national security.

If you’re a B2G brand looking to better connect with customers and employees, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to our team to learn how REQ helps organizations like yours maximize the impact of your communications investments.