Phebe Novakovic and Brian Moynihan are two of America’s longest-serving Fortune 500 chief executives, leading General Dynamics and Bank of America respectively. Both hold the chairman title, but they run companies in completely different industries — aerospace and defense versus banking — with no publicly reported business connection between them.
Key Takeaways
- Phebe Novakovic leads General Dynamics, one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the United States.
- Brian Moynihan leads Bank of America, one of the largest banks in the world by assets and deposits.
- Both executives hold the chairman title at their companies and have served as CEO for more than a decade.
- General Dynamics announced in October 2026 that Novakovic will become executive chairman in January 2027.
- The two executives work in different industries and have no publicly reported business relationship.
Who is Phebe Novakovic?
Phebe Novakovic is the business leader who has run American defense contractor General Dynamics for well over a decade.
Washington Technology reported on October 7, 2026 that she will become executive chairman of the board on January 1, 2027, when company president Danny Deep takes over as chief executive. That planned handoff ends a CEO run of nearly 14 years, among the longest in the American defense industry.
For readers, 2026 is her final full year as CEO: board leadership formally changes at the start of 2027.
Who is Brian Moynihan?
Brian Moynihan is the chairman and chief executive officer of Bank of America, a position he has held for more than a decade and a half.
The bank’s November 2025 regulatory filing lists him as chair and chief executive officer, making his run one of the longest of any major American bank chief executive.
He built his reputation on steady execution rather than headline-making deals.
How big is General Dynamics in 2025?
General Dynamics is a major American defense and aerospace company with annual revenue above $50 billion.
General Dynamics’ January 2026 earnings release put full-year 2025 revenue at $52.6 billion. That is roughly ten percent growth on the prior year — a sign that demand for its jets, submarines and land vehicles held up.
How big is Bank of America under Brian Moynihan?
Bank of America is a giant of American banking, earning tens of billions of dollars a year in profit under Moynihan.
Its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings release, published in January 2026, reported full-year net income of $30.5 billion. Compare that with General Dynamics’ $52.6 billion of total revenue: the bank’s profit alone equals nearly three-fifths of everything the defense contractor sold that year.
Readers tracking bank earnings often want help with everyday money decisions too, and Activemyhouse publishes practical guides on household budgeting and home finance topics.
How do Phebe Novakovic and Brian Moynihan compare?
Phebe Novakovic and Brian Moynihan are alike in tenure and title but run fundamentally different businesses. One builds jets, ships and combat vehicles for government customers; the other sells loans, deposits and investment services to tens of millions of people.
| Comparison | General Dynamics (Novakovic) | Bank of America (Moynihan) |
|---|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace and defense | Banking and financial services |
| Headquarters | Reston, Virginia | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Employees | About 117,000 | More than 210,000 |
| CEO since | January 2013 | January 2010 |
| Chairman since | January 2013 | 2014 |
| 2024 revenue | $47.7 billion | $105.9 billion |
Four questions keep any CEO comparison honest:
- Match the years. Compare the same fiscal year for both companies, because a 2025 result against a 2024 result tells you nothing about the leaders.
- Compare roles, not just titles. A chairman title adds board power, but the CEO job is the operating work.
- Adjust for industry. Defense revenue comes from long contracts; bank revenue nets out interest expense, so the two numbers are built differently.
- Weigh tenure against context. A crisis-era CEO gets judged on survival, a boom-era CEO on growth, and both leaders here faced the first kind of test.
One comparison breaks down if you push it too far: judging performance by revenue alone. Moynihan took charge while the bank was still cleaning up the 2008 financial crisis, and Novakovic took charge as defense budgets were being cut under sequestration. A rising revenue line under one and a stabilized balance sheet under the other can both be wins even when the numbers look nothing alike.
FAQ
Who is the current CEO of General Dynamics?
As of October 2026, Phebe Novakovic is still chairman and CEO, but she becomes executive chairman on January 1, 2027.
President Danny Deep, a 25-year company veteran, takes the CEO role that day, capping one of the longest CEO runs in the American defense industry.
Who is the current CEO of Bank of America?
Brian Moynihan is the chairman and CEO of Bank of America, a job he has held for over 15 years.
He is a trained lawyer turned banker, known for a steady, long-term approach pairing profit targets with community and sustainability goals.
Are Phebe Novakovic and Brian Moynihan connected in any way?
No publicly reported business relationship links the two executives.
They lead companies in different industries and have never been reported as business partners. They appear together mainly in discussions of long-tenured American CEOs, so the comparison is about leadership style, not a partnership.
Which company is bigger: General Dynamics or Bank of America?
Bank of America is far larger by revenue and workforce.
The bank’s 2025 profit exceeded half of the defense contractor’s total sales, and it employs roughly twice as many people.
What industries do the two companies operate in?
General Dynamics works in aerospace and defense; Bank of America works in banking and financial services.
GD builds business jets, submarines, combat vehicles and defense technology, while the bank serves consumers, businesses and investors worldwide.
Why do people compare these two CEOs?
Both are rare long-tenured Fortune 500 leaders with the chairman title, so readers often stack such names to compare.
Readers who follow business leadership coverage on Activemyhouse often do this to judge what steady, decade-plus leadership looks like.
Conclusion
Phebe Novakovic and Brian Moynihan prove that great leadership wears more than one uniform — one steered a defense giant through shifting budgets, the other rebuilt a bank after a crisis. Their shared lesson is patience: both stayed the course for well over a decade. Readers of Activemyhouse who follow such leaders can judge any CEO by the same test: did the company come out stronger than it went in?