This Leadership Strategy Session explores reinvention as a leadership strategy, using Bharat Amin’s journey as a living roadmap for how careers evolve across industries, roles, and seasons of life. From engineer to technology executive to corporate board member, Bharat frames leadership not as a straight line, but as an ongoing process of imagination, courage, service, and self-discovery.
The discussion features Bharat Amin, Member of the Board of Trustees at The Aerospace Corporation, Distinguished Fellow at Woxsen University, former EVP and CIO at Huntington Ingalls Industries, and former technology leader across manufacturing, aerospace, defense, and global enterprise environments. Moderated by Asha Saxena with discussion support from Julie Headley, the session translates Bharat’s personal story into practical guidance for senior leaders thinking about career reinvention, board readiness, executive presence, disruption, and life after the C-suite.
Key Takeaways
- Reinvention Is Not a Linear Path: Bharat describes reinvention as moving from “A to anywhere,” not simply from A to B. His journey from engineering to technology leadership to corporate boards shows that careers are shaped by imagination, openness, and the willingness to evolve.
- Imagination Is a Leadership Superpower: Bharat challenges the old idea that “knowledge is power,” arguing instead that imagination is the true superpower. Leaders who can imagine what is next are better positioned to create the future rather than wait for it.
- Passion Must Be Discovered and Practiced: Bharat identifies passion, curiosity, imagination, accomplishment, and driving change as core forces in his career. He encourages leaders to actively discover what drives them, both personally and professionally.
- Travel and Exposure Expand Leadership Perspective: Born in Nairobi, educated in India and the U.S., and shaped by global travel, Bharat credits cross-cultural exposure with broadening his leadership lens. His view: the world is like a book, and those who do not travel have only read the first page.
- Courage Is Built Through Action: Whether ballroom dancing in front of an audience, giving a keynote to thousands, going on a sea trial, or challenging an organizational assumption, Bharat emphasizes that courage is developed by doing hard things repeatedly.
- Know the Product, Know the Mission: As CIO at Huntington Ingalls Industries, Bharat insisted on going to sea on a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier because he believed technology leaders must understand the products, customers, and mission they serve.
- Every Closed Door Can Open Several More: When a leadership change disrupted his plan to retire from Electrolux, Bharat used the moment to pivot into aerospace and defense. His lesson: do not stop when one path closes; stay open to the next opportunity.
- Challenge the Status Quo with Civility: Bharat’s “DISRUPT” framework starts with daring to challenge, but he stresses that disruption must be grounded in facts, data, humility, and respect. Speak up and speak out, but leave ego behind.
- Trust Is Earned by Learning the Business: Bharat took a shipbuilding class as a senior executive to better understand the work of employees and peers. That act built trust because it showed he was serious about becoming a true business partner, not just a technologist.
- Board Readiness Starts Before Retirement: Bharat’s post-C-suite journey into board roles was not accidental. He continued learning, serving, building relationships, contributing to communities, and preparing for the next phase before his full-time executive role ended.
- Leadership Requires Work-Life Integration, Not Perfect Balance: Bharat reframes “balance” as integration. In demanding executive roles, work may not fit neatly into 9-to-5 boundaries, but leaders must still protect health, family, and personal priorities.
- Competition Can Make You Better: In response to a question about being seen as competition, Bharat argues that fair competition is healthy. If you are not picked first, use it as fuel to work harder and make a bigger leap next time.
- Health, Family, and Giving Back Matter Most: Bharat’s current stage of life is defined by continued learning, board service, American Heart Association work, travel, family, and giving back. His philosophy: life has three stages — learn, earn, and give back.
- Courage Does Not Mean Fearlessness: Bharat makes clear that he has had fears throughout his career. The key is learning to control fear, convert it into strength, and use it to act with greater courage.
This session makes it clear that reinvention is not reserved for moments of crisis or retirement. It is a lifelong leadership discipline. Bharat’s story shows that the most durable leaders are those who keep learning, keep challenging assumptions, keep building trust, and keep aligning professional ambition with health, family, service, and joy.
Featured Speaker: Bharat Amin, Member Board of Trustees, The Aerospace Corporation; Distinguished Fellow, Woxsen University; Former EVP and CIO, Huntington Ingalls Industries
Moderator: Asha Saxena, Founder & CEO, WLDA and The AI Factor Institute
Discussion Moderator: Julie Headley
Duration: Approximately 50 minutes