Caitlin Hayden is the Group Communications Director for BAE Systems, which employs more than 90,500 people in more than 40 countries and generated 2021 revenues of approximately £19.5 billion. In this role, Hayden leads global communications for the aerospace, defense, and security firm and serves as a member of the company’s executive committee.

Prior to this, she served as the Senior Vice President of Communications at BAE Systems, Inc., leading all external and internal communications for the U.S. business.

Before joining BAE Systems, Hayden had accumulated nearly two decades of communications and leadership experience, to include serving as vice president of Communications for the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), leading the organization’s outreach and engagement with AIA member companies to tell the aerospace and defense industry’s story in the U.S. and around the world. Previously, Hayden was executive vice president and Media Group director in Edelman’s Washington, D.C. office, where she worked with a range of clients to develop comprehensive communications strategies to meet their business objectives, including protecting and promoting their brands and navigating regulatory, policy, and crisis issues.

Preceding her tenure with Edelman, Hayden spent close to 15 years in the federal government as a civil servant, including as a Special Assistant to President Barack Obama, Senior Director for Strategic Communications and Press, and spokesperson for the National Security Council. In this role, she led White House messaging around foreign policy, defense, intelligence, cybersecurity, and counterterrorism. Prior to her work with the White House, Hayden served with the U.S. Department of State in policy and communications assignments that spanned embassies and offices in Washington, D.C., Afghanistan, Iraq, and the United Kingdom.

Hayden holds a bachelor's degree in public relations from the University of Alabama and a master’s degree in mass communications from the University of Georgia. She volunteers her time with Hostage US and sits on the Leadership Council for LCWINS.

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