Speaker Bio
Charlene A. Wheeless
Principal Vice President, Corporate Affairs at Bechtel Corporation
Charlene A. Wheeless is principal vice president of Corporate Affairs for Bechtel Corporation, one of the leading engineering, procurement, and construction companies in the world. In this role she is responsible for all aspects of global internal and external communications, issues management, sustainable development and public affairs.
Prior to Bechtel, Charlene was the Vice President of Communications for the Intelligence and Information Systems (IIS) business unit of Raytheon Company as well as the Site Executive for the company's 1,500-employee operation in Northern Virginia. In these positions, she oversaw global public relations, advertising, media relations, marketing communications, employee communications, and community relations for IIS locations throughout the world, as well as the lead executive for Raytheon’s largest facility in Washington, DC metropolitan area. Charlene also served as an internal coach and mentor to employees across the company.
Prior to joining Raytheon, Charlene was Senior Vice President of Global Communications and Marketing for American Management Systems (AMS) where she was responsible for all aspects of the AMS global communications program, including brand management, media relations, advertising, marketing communications, internal communications, and industry relations, as well as sales administration and management of the company’s customer communications and loyalty program.
Wheeless joined AMS from DynCorp, where she was a corporate officer and vice president of Corporate Communications for one of the nation's largest employee-owned technology and service providers.
Earlier, she held positions at PRC, Inc (which later became Northrop Grumman Corporation), Steuart Petroleum Company and IBM Corporation.
Throughout her career, Wheeless has led teams that have received awards from numerous professional organizations, including the International Association of Business Communicators, the International Academy of the Visual Arts, and the Telly Awards.
In 2008, Charlene was named a "Woman Worth Watching" by the nationally known Profiles in Diversity magazine, and a "Women Who Mean Business" honoree by The Washington Business Journal. In 2007, she was a recipient of the annual Raytheon CEO Award given by the company chairman and CEO in recognition of outstanding performance.
An active member of the community, Charlene currently serves as the chairman of the board of Fairfax Futures, Inc., a non-profit group dedicated to the advocacy and development of early learning programs for children in Northern Virginia. Additionally, she serves as a commissioner on the Loudoun County (Virginia) Economic Development Commission and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Reston Hospital Center and Women in Aerospace.
Wheeless graduated from New Mexico State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and public relations. She earned a master's degree in public communications at American University in Washington, D.C., and a master's of business administration from the Keller Graduate School of Management.
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