On August 5, 2004, Stevens was elected chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin by its board of directors, succeeding Vance D. Coffman.
On April 26, 2012, it was announced that he would be retiring in December 2012 with then president and COO Chris Kubasik being promoted to CEO effective January 1, 2013.
During 2001 and 2002, Stevens served on President Bush’s Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry.
[6] He has been recognized by the National Management Association as Executive of the Year, by Government Computer News as the Industry Executive of the Year, by the Partnership for Public Service with the Private Sector Council Leadership Award, and by the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation with the Globe and Anchor Award.
[7][8] In 2010, he received the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s inaugural LeJeune Recognition for Exemplary Leadership, and in 2011 he was recognized by the National Defense Industrial Association with the James Forrestal Industry Leadership Award and inducted into the Washington Business Hall of Fame.