Vice Admiral William Hilarides (ret.) USN
Partner

Vice Admiral Hilarides is a Partner of Ventus and works across all the firms activities, with a particular focus on strategy and naval and government relations.

Admiral Hilarides graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1981. He served aboard nuclear submarines for almost 20 years, culminating in command of the attack submarine USS Key West (SSN 772) in Pearl Harbor HI. 

In 2002, he became an acquisition professional, serving as Director of Advanced Submarine Research & Development, Program Manager of the Guided Missile Submarine Program (SSGN), and Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Submarines. 

In 2013, he became the 43rd Commander of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) which has responsibility to engineer, build, buy and maintain all of the U.S. Navy’s ships. In that role, he oversaw a global workforce of over 56,000 military and civilian personnel, a $30bn+ annual budget, and the delivery of 19 new ships to the fleet. 

Since retiring from the Navy in 2016, Willy has consulted widely across the defense, intelligence and energy sectors.  He currently serves as the Chairman of the Australian Government’s Naval Shipbuilding Expert Advisory Panel, playing a key role in the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, the formation of Australia’s domestic supplier base, and the redesign of the Royal Australian surface ship fleet.

He had also served as the President of the Naval Submarine League, and is an outside Director of Saildrone Inc., Black Sea Technologies, and MIND Technologies. 

Admiral Hilarides is Chairman of Ventus portfolio company, Aeron Defense.

He holds a BSc in Physics and an MSc in Engineering Management from the Catholic University of America.