Amy Gilliland: A CEO Who Puts Employee Well-Being at the Center of Success

Sep 19, 2025

Amy Gilliland, president of General Dynamics Information Technology, shares her inspiring leadership journey from the Naval Academy to the helm of a $9 billion tech enterprise. She highlights the importance of integrating employee well-being into company culture, rather than just offering perks. Her groundbreaking 'How Are You, Really?' campaign has sparked vital conversations about mental health at GDIT. Amy emphasizes that compassionate leadership drives performance and outlines innovative practices that empower managers and elevate employee voices.

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ANECDOTE

From Naval Academy To CEO

Amy Gilliland traced her leadership journey from the Naval Academy to commanding roles on a guided missile destroyer and into General Dynamics.
She credits shipboard responsibilities for teaching accountability, teamwork, and caring for people under pressure.

INSIGHT

Well-Being Is A Performance Driver

Amy connects mission success directly to employee well-being, arguing people must be rested and supported to perform complex tasks.
She believes leaders must prioritize helping employees thrive because business performance follows people thriving.

ADVICE

Sustain Mental-Health Campaigns

Launch regular, visible campaigns that normalize mental health conversations and offer concrete resources to employees.
Commit long-term rather than treating support programs as temporary crisis gestures.

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For the second half of this podcast season, we’ve been focused on employee well-being—why it matters, how to foster it, and what happens when leaders fail to take it seriously. Our new guest, Amy Gilliland, shows what it looks like when a CEO makes well-being a true priority, not a mere slogan.

Amy is president of General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), a $9 billion global technology enterprise with 28,000 employees. Under her leadership, GDIT has achieved four straight years of revenue growth, a 27% increase in operating earnings, and a record $15.4 billion in contract awards in 2024. What makes her stand out isn’t only the results, but how she’s achieved them.

Amy believes compassion and performance go hand in hand. She has been a visible advocate for employee well-being and mental health, launching GDIT’s groundbreaking “How Are You, Really?” campaign in 2021. This initiative opened conversations about mental health, reduced stigma, and ensured people know support is available.

I’ve had the privilege of visiting and speaking at GDIT headquarters outside of Washington D.C., and seeing Amy in action. She’s the real deal, which is why I invited her on the show. In our conversation, we cover:

Her leadership journey from the Naval Academy and Navy service to president of GDIT.
The philosophy guiding her leadership of nearly 30,000 employees.
Why companies must move beyond surveys and perks to embed mental, emotional, and social well-being into culture.
How she’s overcome resistance, educated her team, and built practices that support employees while driving results.
The ways she captures employee voices to evolve wellness initiatives.

Too often, CEOs treat well-being as a nice-to-have while pushing employees to meet goals at any cost. Amy has shown that when leaders make well-being essential to performance, the results are transformative.

Amy delivers a compelling call for leaders everywhere—HR professionals, managers, and executives—to take meaningful action. Her message: when organizations invest in the health of their people, everyone wins.

The post Amy Gilliland: A CEO Who Puts Employee Well-Being at the Center of Success appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.