Former Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer was named the new chairman of Australian shipbuilder Austal Limited, parent company of Austal USA.
Spencer took over as chairman on July 1, succeeding the retiring John Rothwell, who has served in the position for 37 years since he founded the company. Rothwell is now moving to be a non-executive director on the Austal board. In this role, Spencer is also joining the board of Austal USA.
The company said Rothwell selected the new chair based on character, strong business acumen, in-depth knowledge of the U.S. defense industrial base and enduring relationships with the Australian and/or U.S. defense sectors.
Those criteria narrowed the field of candidates considerably…“Richard was at the top of the list, and I’m pleased that he was receptive to our approach,” Rothwell said in a statement,
Spencer served as the Trump administration’s first confirmed Navy Secretary, from August 2017 to November 2019. His tenure ended when he was fired by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper over his handling of the Eddie Gallagher case (Defense Daily, Nov. 25, 2019)
Before leading the Navy, Spencer served in investment banks like Goldman Sachs, Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette and Bear Stearns, as well as serving on the Pentagon Defense Business Board and Chief of Naval Operations executive panel.
“The position that Austal has forged in the U.S. and Australian defense sectors in such a short period of time is incredible. I have kept a close watch on the Company’s progress in the USA. Its expansion from a two-ship yard to a multi-program provider, including command deck modules for the United States’ nuclear submarines, has been impressive,” Spencer said in a statement.
Rothwell owns 9.04% of Austal’s shares on issue and plans to remain actively involved in the company in the near future as a regular board member until the transition is complete.
Spencer’s appointment comes after the company rejected an unsolicited bid from South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean shipbuilder to buy Austal for about $662 million (Defense Daily, April 2).
According to a Reuters report, Austal rejected the takeover because Australia and U.S. regulators were unlikely to approve it due to sensitivity of operations
Spencer’s appointment also comes after the Austal USA subsidiary shifts from building aluminum Independence-variant littoral combat ships at its Mobile, Ala., shipyard to building steel ships like the Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ship (T-ATS) and the Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter.
Austal was also selected to build some outsourced parts for Virginia-class attack submarines to help improve submarine construction timelines.
In February, Austal USA revealed the start of plans to build new facilities to expand its steel manufacturing capacity, including a new 192,000 square foot covered space (Defense Daily, Feb. 8).
At the time, the company said this new expansion area will be able to dock Constellation-class frigates, TAGOS-25 class Ocean Surveillance Ships, Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ships, and the U.S. Coast Guard’s Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutters.
Austal USA has also been the exclusive builder of the Saildrone surveyor unmanned surface vehicle since the companies announced a partnership in 2022 (Defense Daily, Aug. 30, 2022).