Bethesda, Md.—Yvonne Hodge, a highly respected technology executive, transformational leader, and former senior vice president and global chief information officer, passed away tragically this week. Her death marks a profound loss for the aerospace, defense, telecommunications, and commercial technology communities she helped shape over a decades-long career.
Hodge was widely recognized for her ability to lead large, complex organizations through enterprise-wide digital transformation while keeping people and purpose at the center of innovation. A Forbes Top 50 CIO, she built a reputation for strategic clarity, operational excellence, and an unwavering commitment to empowering teams to perform at the highest level.
Hodge played a central role in modernizing the company’s digital and business infrastructure. She led an organization of approximately 5,000 employees, overseeing the internal technology systems that support the company’s multi-billion-dollar global aerospace and defense operations. Colleagues often described her as both exacting and deeply supportive, someone who demanded excellence while investing in the growth of those around her.
One of her most enduring achievements was leading the OneLM Transformation Program, a landmark initiative designed to streamline and modernize Lockheed Martin’s enterprise business processes. Under her leadership, the program leveraged digital technologies to standardize systems, improve collaboration, reduce costs, shorten cycle times, and enhance quality across the organization. Those who worked alongside her credit the effort with reshaping how the company operates and collaborates at scale.
In 2020, Hodge was promoted to senior vice president of enterprise business transformation, reflecting her influence on the company’s long-term strategy. Until her passing, she served as vice president of business innovation transformation and enterprise excellence within Lockheed Martin’s space business area, where she continued to champion innovation, operational rigor, and continuous improvement.
Throughout her career at Lockheed Martin, Hodge held a range of senior leadership roles, including vice president and chief information officer for space and vice president of technical operations for enterprise business services. Her expertise spanned information technology, business process reengineering, quality management, data and competitive analysis, and statistical process control. She was known for consistently delivering improvements in customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and organizational performance.
Before joining Lockheed Martin, Hodge spent 24 years at AT&T, rising through managerial and executive positions, including vice president of operations for business customers. Her time at AT&T laid the foundation for the large-scale operational leadership she later brought to the aerospace and defense sector.
Hodge earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Montclair State University, a discipline that informed her analytical, data-driven approach to leadership. Yet those who knew her say her greatest strength was not only her intellect, but her ability to inspire trust and confidence.
Tributes poured in following news of her passing. Former colleagues described Hodge as “a trailblazer who never lost sight of the human side of transformation,” while others remembered her as a mentor who “opened doors, challenged assumptions, and set the standard for what principled leadership looks like.” Many credited her with shaping their careers and redefining what effective, inclusive leadership can achieve in technology-driven organizations.
Yvonne Hodge is remembered as a visionary executive, a dedicated mentor, and a leader whose influence will continue to be felt through the systems she transformed, the organizations she strengthened, and the people she inspired.