Infidelity Brings Down CIA Director, Lockheed Martin CEO, in Same Afternoon

Infidelity Brings Down CIA Director, Lockheed Martin CEO, in Same Afternoon

The first news of the afternoon was shocking enough — CIA Director David Petraeus resigned after admitting to an extramarital affair.  The dust had not begun to settle on that news when Lockheed Martin announced that its Board had demanded the resignation of Vice Chairman, President and COO Chris Kubasik after an inquiry confirmed he had a “lengthy and close personal relationship with a subordinate.”

The Petraeus announcement stunned Washington.   The highly respected former Army General who took the post as CIA Director just 14 months ago said in a letter to CIA employees that yesterday he asked President Obama to allow him to resign for personal reasons.   “After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair.  Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours,” Petraeus said in the letter.   The President accepted the resignation today, praising Petraeus for his “extraordinary service” to the country and saying his “thoughts and prayers are with Dave and Holly Petraeus, who has done so much to help military families through her own work.  I wish them the very best at this difficult time.”    Holly Petraeus is a long time advocate for military families and currently serves as the Assistant Director for the Office of Servicemember Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

As the airwaves heated up with the Petraeus news, another story broke.    Lockheed Martin CEO Bob Stevens announced that the company’s Board of Directors asked Kubasik to resign after an ethics investigation confirmed that he had a close personal relationship with a subordinate that “violated the company’s Code of Ethics and Business Conduct.”    Kubasik was slated to replace Stevens as CEO in January.  Instead, the Board today elected Marilyn Hewson to become president and COO immediately, and president and CEO in January.  She currently is Executive Vice President of the Electronic Systems business area.

Scandals are hardly new to Washington, but having two powerful men resign because of marital infidelity in one afternoon was jolting.   Naturally some are skeptical that these are the real reasons the men are being replaced.   Time, undoubtedly, will tell.

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