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Mr. Neal White

PEO Ships Executive Director for Combatants (Acting)

Mr. White currently serves as the Executive Director, Combatants, Program Executive Office, Ships where he provides executive leadership in complex, new construction shipbuilding programs defining the 21st century surface combatant fleet. Mr. White’s responsibilities span acquisition efforts to design, develop, engineer, produce and deliver the Navy’s current and future combatants. Program offices within this portfolio include: the DDG 51 program (PMS 400D), the DDG 1000 program (PMS 500), the DDG(X) program (PMS 460), and Government Equipment Management.

From 2024 to 2025, he served as the Assistant Program Executive Office for Acquisition within the Program Executive Office for Land Systems (PEO LS) where he provided acquisition expertise across over 60 Marine Corps acquisition programs.

From 2023 to 2024, Mr. White he served as the acting Executive Director for Amphibious, Auxiliary, and Sealift programs within Program Executive Office, Ships where he provided executive leadership to more than 200 personnel and oversees one of the broadest acquisition portfolios in the Navy, including more than $40 billion in complex shipbuilding procurements, four shipbuilding program offices, and six ACAT I programs.

From 2022 to 2023, he served as the Chief of Staff for the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN(RDA)). Prior to that, Mr. White served two years as the Chief of Staff for the Program Executive Office for Ships (PEO Ships) providing executive counsel and leadership for the Navy surface shipbuilding enterprise. 

From 2016 to 2020, Mr. White served as the Deputy Program Manager for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program Office (PMS 501).  As the senior civilian, he led the day-to-day activities of the 60+ person, $18B ACAT 1C shipbuilding program office, overseeing all financial, technical, logistics, post-delivery, production, and program management aspects of both LCS variants.  During his tenure, 13 battle force LCS were delivered to the warfighter.

Mr. White served in a variety of roles in NAVSEA prior to 2016, including as the Corporate Administrative Contracting Officer for Huntington Ingalls Industries within NAVSEA Contracts (NAVSEA 02), Operations Branch Head within the DDG 51 Shipbuilding Program Office (PMS 400D), and Business Manager for PMS 400D.  Prior to entering Government Service in 2008, Mr. White spent 12 years as a support contractor serving the DDG 51, LPD 17 and DDG 1000 Programs. 

Mr. White was awarded the Navy’s Acquisition Excellence Competition Award in 2009 and 2011, and was on the PMS 400D team that was awarded the 2012 David Packard Award in recognition of the DDG 51 class FY2013-2017 multiyear procurement award.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Mary Washington University