Phebe Novakovic and Heidi Capozzi are prominent American corporate executives whose careers overlap most clearly in the aerospace and defense sector. However, there is no publicly documented direct business partnership, family relationship, shared employer, or shared corporate board role between them in the authoritative records reviewed as of September 2026.
The reason the two names make sense together is their professional history. Novakovic built her career in national security and then General Dynamics, while Capozzi spent years in human resources leadership at defense and aerospace companies including Northrop Grumman, Insitu, and Boeing before moving to McDonald’s and later CVS Health.
Phebe Novakovic and Heidi Capozzi at a Glance
| Detail | Phebe Novakovic | Heidi Capozzi |
|---|---|---|
| Current role | Chairman and CEO, General Dynamics | EVP and Chief People Officer, CVS Health |
| Current industry | Aerospace and defense | Health care |
| Main expertise | Corporate strategy, defense, national security, operations | Human resources, talent, labor relations, organizational leadership |
| Major former organizations | U.S. Department of Defense, OMB, CIA | McDonald’s, Boeing, Insitu, Northrop Grumman, TRW |
| Defense-industry connection | Leads General Dynamics | Previously held HR roles at Boeing, Northrop Grumman and other defense businesses |
| Direct documented relationship | No verified direct relationship found | No verified direct relationship found |
General Dynamics still identifies Novakovic as its chairman and chief executive officer, while CVS Health currently lists Capozzi as executive vice president and chief people officer.
Who Is Phebe Novakovic?
Phebe N. Novakovic is the longtime chairman and CEO of General Dynamics, one of the largest U.S. aerospace and defense companies. She became president and chief operating officer in 2012 and took over as chairman and CEO on January 1, 2013. General Dynamics’ 2026 proxy statement lists her as 68 years old and a company director since May 2012.
Her career is unusual among major public-company chief executives because it combines government national-security work with senior corporate management.
Her National Security Background
Before joining General Dynamics, Novakovic worked in several U.S. national-security positions. She served as special assistant to the secretary and deputy secretary of defense from 1997 to 2001, worked at the Office of Management and Budget, and earlier served in the Central Intelligence Agency.
A more detailed biographical record from the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation states that she served as a CIA operations officer from 1983 to 1986 and later became deputy associate director for national security at the Office of Management and Budget.
She earned her undergraduate degree from Smith College in 1979 and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1988.
Her Rise at General Dynamics
Novakovic joined General Dynamics in 2001 and moved through a series of increasingly senior positions. Her roles included vice president of strategic planning, senior vice president of planning and development, and executive vice president of Marine Systems before becoming president and COO and ultimately CEO.
The Marine Systems position placed her over businesses associated with major naval programs, including Electric Boat, Bath Iron Works and NASSCO. That experience connected strategic planning with the operational side of large, complex defense programs.
Her leadership position remains current. A July 29, 2026 SEC certification for General Dynamics’ quarterly report identifies Novakovic as chairman and CEO, and the company’s current board page does the same.
General Dynamics Under Novakovic
General Dynamics reported a record $52.6 billion in revenue for 2025, along with approximately $4.2 billion in net earnings and a year-end backlog of $118 billion, according to its 2026 proxy statement.
The company remained on a growth trajectory in 2026. For the second quarter of 2026, General Dynamics reported $14.1 billion in revenue, an increase of 8.1 percent from the corresponding period a year earlier, with revenue growth across all four operating segments.
Novakovic also serves as a director of JPMorgan Chase, a position she has held since 2020. General Dynamics’ 2026 proxy notes that she previously served on Abbott Laboratories’ board from 2010 through 2021.
Who Is Heidi Capozzi?
Heidi B. Capozzi is executive vice president and chief people officer of CVS Health. She is responsible for human resources, labor relations, compensation and benefits, and corporate social responsibility. CVS Health’s current leadership pages continue to list her in that position in 2026.
A 2026 CVS filing lists Capozzi as 56 and states that she has held the chief people officer position since September 2024.
Capozzi’s Aerospace and Defense Background
The strongest professional link between Phebe Novakovic and Heidi Capozzi is not a direct relationship. It is Capozzi’s extensive history inside the same broad aerospace and defense ecosystem in which Novakovic has spent much of her career.
Before her later consumer and health-care roles, Capozzi worked in human resources, compensation and communications at Northrop Grumman and TRW. She subsequently held leadership responsibilities at Insitu, the unmanned-aircraft company that became part of Boeing.
Capozzi joined Boeing in 2009. Her early Boeing responsibilities included serving as director of human resources for the Surveillance and Engagement division of Boeing Military Aircraft from May 2009 to April 2011, followed by an HR role within Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
That history means Capozzi worked directly within major U.S. aerospace and defense organizations, including companies operating in markets adjacent to or competitive with General Dynamics. It does not, however, establish that she worked with Novakovic personally.
Becoming Boeing’s Senior HR Leader
Boeing announced in December 2015 that Capozzi would become its senior human resources leader effective March 1, 2016. At the time, Boeing said she had already held senior HR roles across both its commercial-aircraft and Defense, Space & Security businesses.
As senior vice president of human resources, she was responsible for areas including leadership development, talent planning, employee and labor relations, rewards, and diversity and inclusion. Boeing announced in March 2020 that she would leave the company in early April for another opportunity.
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From Boeing to McDonald’s
That next major role was at McDonald’s.
Capozzi joined McDonald’s in April 2020 as executive vice president and global chief people officer. Her responsibilities covered the company’s worldwide human-resources operation, including talent management, learning and development, total rewards and corporate employee relations.
The move represented a significant industry change. She shifted from aerospace manufacturing and defense to one of the world’s largest restaurant systems, while continuing to specialize in workforce strategy and organizational management.
She remained with McDonald’s through August 2024.
Heidi Capozzi’s Move to CVS Health
CVS Health announced on August 14, 2024, that Capozzi would become executive vice president and chief people officer effective September 9, 2024. She succeeded Laurie Havanec and joined CVS Health’s executive leadership team.
At CVS, Capozzi’s portfolio includes human resources, labor relations, compensation and benefits, and corporate social responsibility. Her role also reaches into corporate governance. CVS Health’s 2026 proxy states that the chief people officer participates in executive succession planning and provides information to board committees dealing with workforce, compensation and human-capital matters.
Her educational background includes a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College in political science and East Asian studies and a master’s degree in human resources and industrial relations from the University of Minnesota.
Is There a Direct Relationship Between Phebe Novakovic and Heidi Capozzi?
No direct relationship has been established by reliable public records. Searches of current corporate biographies, SEC disclosures, leadership records and board information do not identify Novakovic and Capozzi as colleagues, business partners, relatives, members of the same public-company board, or participants in a jointly disclosed corporate transaction.
Their careers do have a meaningful industry-level overlap:
Phebe Novakovic built her career around U.S. national security, government defense policy and General Dynamics. Heidi Capozzi spent part of her earlier career at Northrop Grumman, TRW, Insitu and Boeing, including Boeing’s military-aircraft organization.
That places both executives within the broader U.S. aerospace and defense leadership network during overlapping periods, but proximity within an industry should not be confused with evidence of a direct professional relationship.
How Their Careers Differ
Although their early industries overlap, Novakovic and Capozzi ultimately became specialists in very different parts of corporate leadership.
Novakovic’s career has focused heavily on strategy, government programs, operations, capital allocation and overall corporate management. As CEO of General Dynamics, she is ultimately responsible for a company spanning Gulfstream business aviation, shipbuilding, combat systems and defense technology.
Capozzi’s career has centered on people management and organizational systems. Her roles have emphasized talent development, labor relations, compensation, leadership development, workplace culture and large-scale human-resources strategy.
Their career paths can therefore be summarized as an operational and strategic CEO track in Novakovic’s case and a senior human-capital leadership track in Capozzi’s case.
Public Compensation and Financial Information
Public-company disclosures provide reliable information about executive compensation, but they should not be confused with personal net worth.
General Dynamics reported total 2025 compensation of $25,924,082 for Phebe Novakovic. The figure included a $1.7375 million salary, stock and option awards, non-equity incentive compensation and other reported compensation. SEC compensation totals can fluctuate substantially because equity awards are valued according to prescribed disclosure rules.
For Capozzi, CVS Health disclosed that when she joined the company in 2024 her annual base salary was set at $850,000, with an annual cash-incentive target equal to 150 percent of salary and target annual equity compensation of $3.6 million. She also received make-whole compensation associated with awards she gave up by leaving her previous employer.
Reliable corporate filings do not provide a definitive personal net-worth figure for either executive. Estimates published by unsourced celebrity or wealth websites should therefore not be treated as verified financial facts.
Why Phebe Novakovic and Heidi Capozzi May Be Compared
The pairing is most understandable when viewed through executive career history.
Both women reached senior leadership positions at very large U.S. corporations. Both have substantial experience connected to complex, highly regulated organizations, and both have worked within the American aerospace and defense sector. Their responsibilities, however, developed in different directions.
Novakovic remained deeply tied to defense and national security and ultimately became CEO of General Dynamics. Capozzi moved from defense and aerospace HR into enterprise-wide people leadership at Boeing, followed by senior roles at McDonald’s and CVS Health.
There is therefore a legitimate professional comparison between their backgrounds, but no reliable evidence that the two have a special personal or business relationship.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Phebe Novakovic and Heidi Capozzi related?
No credible public source identifies Phebe Novakovic and Heidi Capozzi as relatives. Their connection is best understood as an overlap in professional sectors rather than a family relationship.
Did Phebe Novakovic and Heidi Capozzi work together?
No authoritative public record reviewed shows that they worked for the same company at the same time. Novakovic has spent most of her corporate career at General Dynamics, while Capozzi worked at organizations including Northrop Grumman, Insitu, Boeing, McDonald’s and CVS Health.
What is Phebe Novakovic doing now?
As of September 2026, Phebe Novakovic remains chairman and chief executive officer of General Dynamics. She has held the CEO position since January 2013 and also serves on JPMorgan Chase’s board.
What is Heidi Capozzi doing now?
Heidi Capozzi is executive vice president and chief people officer at CVS Health. Her responsibilities include HR, labor relations, compensation and benefits, and corporate social responsibility.
Did Heidi Capozzi work in the defense industry?
Yes. She held positions at Northrop Grumman and TRW, worked at unmanned-aircraft company Insitu, and later held HR leadership roles within Boeing, including Boeing Military Aircraft and the broader Boeing organization.
What is the main connection between Phebe Novakovic and Heidi Capozzi?
Their clearest connection is their history in U.S. aerospace and defense. Novakovic leads General Dynamics, while Capozzi previously worked across several aerospace and defense companies, particularly Boeing and Northrop Grumman. No direct partnership or shared corporate role has been publicly verified.
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