Fred Pasquine

President & CEO Fairlead

Last Reviewed: September 29, 2026

Executive Summary

Fred Pasquine is President and CEO of Fairlead, a Portsmouth, Virginia company that builds, integrates and repairs for the U.S. Navy and its defense partners, spanning systems engineering, modular shipbuilding, advanced manufacturing, ship repair and terminal operations. He has run the company as president since 2017 and took on the chief executive title in July 2025, succeeding Jerry Miller, who had led Fairlead and its predecessor, Earl Industries, for four decades and became executive chairman. He is a mechanical engineer by training and a licensed Professional Engineer, and came to Fairlead from General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk.

Career Highlights

• Appointed President and CEO of Fairlead in July 2025, effective immediately, succeeding Jerry Miller.
• President of Fairlead since 2017; the company says it grew organically by nearly 500% under his direction.
• Oversaw the acquisition of a Portsmouth yacht repair facility and its conversion into a modular warship construction yard, which the company says has produced more than 4,000 tons of aircraft carrier and submarine modules since 2021.
• Led expansion into power and control systems for submarines and unmanned surface vehicles, mission module and ship sustainment programs, and breakbulk terminal operations.
• Previously Senior Director of Business Operations at General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk.
• Licensed Professional Engineer and Certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

Professional Journey

Pasquine trained as a mechanical engineer at Geneva College and later earned an MBA from Miami University. Before Fairlead he was Senior Director of Business Operations at General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk, the Navy ship repair operation, where he oversaw business development, estimating, planning, engineering, scheduling, supply chain and procurement: effectively the commercial and planning side of a naval repair yard.

He became president of Fairlead in 2017. The company traces its roots to Earl Industries, led for some forty years by Jerry Miller, and under Pasquine it broadened from its base into several adjacent lines of naval work. The most visible was a physical transformation: Fairlead acquired a yacht repair facility in Portsmouth and turned it into a modular warship construction yard, which the company says has delivered more than 4,000 tons of aircraft carrier and submarine modules since 2021. It also moved into power and control systems for submarines and unmanned surface vehicles, mission modules, ship sustainment and, through the Fairwinds Landing partnership with The Miller Group and Balicore Construction, breakbulk terminal operations at Lambert’s Point in Norfolk.

In July 2025 Fairlead named him President and CEO, with Miller moving to executive chairman. At the time the company employed more than 400 people across six locations and expected to add around 100 more over the following 12 to 18 months, according to Virginia Business. “It’s an honor and a professional dream to take on the role of president and CEO and continue building on the strong culture we’ve established,” Pasquine said in the announcement, as reported by WorkBoat.

Outside the company he serves on the boards of the Tidewater Community College Foundation, The Mariners’ Museum and Starbase Victory, and is Vice President of the Portsmouth Partnership.

Education

Geneva College

Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering

Miami University

MBA