Caitlin Hayden is senior vice president of Communications for BAE Systems, Inc., which employs more than 34,000 employees in the United States, United Kingdom, and Sweden, and generated 2021 revenues of nearly $12.5 billion.
With her national security expertise and extensive communications experience, Hayden is responsible for driving the global narrative around our broad portfolio of innovative products and services. She leads all external and internal communications activities for BAE Systems, Inc. — developing and executing communications strategies and delivering compelling messages across an array of communication media and channels. As a member of the U.S. headquarters senior leadership team and the BAE Systems plc Global Communications Council, she directs media relations, employee engagement, marketing communications, and community investment activities to shape perceptions among customers, other external stakeholders, and employees.
Prior to joining BAE Systems, Hayden had accumulated nearly two decades of experience, to include serving as vice president of Communications for the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), leading the organization’s outreach and engagement with AIA member companies to tell the aerospace and defense industry’s story in the U.S. and around the world. Previously, Hayden was executive vice president and Media Group director in Edelman’s Washington, D.C. office, where she worked with a range of clients to develop comprehensive communications strategies to meet their business objectives, including protecting and promoting their brands and navigating regulatory, policy, and crisis issues.
Preceding her tenure with Edelman, Hayden spent close to 15 years in the federal government as a civil servant, including as a Special Assistant to President Barack Obama, Senior Director for Strategic Communications and Press, and spokesperson for the National Security Council. In this role, she led White House messaging around foreign policy, defense, intelligence, cybersecurity, and counterterrorism. Prior to her work with the White House, Hayden served with the U.S. Department of State in policy and communications assignments that spanned embassies and offices in Washington, D.C., Afghanistan, Iraq, and the United Kingdom.
Hayden holds a bachelor's degree in public relations from the University of Alabama and a master’s degree in mass communications from the University of Georgia. She also sits on the Steering Committee for the Leadership Council for Women in National Security.