PBN Leaders & Achievers Awards 2025
BLAKE LAVERDIERE
General Dynamics Electric Boat Program manager
OVER THE LAST four decades, Blake Laverdiere has forged his own path at General Dynamics Electric Boat. The Massachusetts native decided early on that college was not his preferred pathway to success and went through a Rhode Island workforce pipeline program to work his way up the corporate ladder at the North Kingstown-based submarine manufacturer.
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“I took the untraditional route of being a grunt on the deck plate for 20 years before I got into management,” said Laverdiere, Electric Boat’s former manager of operations, now program manager. “I have built up who I am today, and kind of have a legacy in place due to all my hard work, but people invested in me.”
That investment from Electric Boat paid off. Laverdiere says the company has been good to him, his family and, most notably, provided him growth opportunities at the manufacturer. But that chance to better one’s own career comes “from within,” he said, and it’s up to you whether you want to take it or not.
“That’s where I am today, and that’s why I chose to take advantage of it,” he said.
Part of being a leader, Laverdiere says, is paying forward the opportunities he was afforded at Electric Boat. The company recently had a career development event for recent college graduates in which Laverdiere spoke to 16 college graduates, 14 of whom were newly hired by Electric Boat.
Laverdiere said he expressed humility to the graduates in his address, telling them, “You’ve gone down the path of going to college, and here you are now.”
Laverdiere described his leadership style as very people-friendly. He said he prefers taking “a step back” so he can understand and learn how people operate in their own ways.
Institutional knowledge from an employee with a long tenure – such as Laverdiere – also goes a long way, he said.
“I [try to find out] what motivates them and what buttons I need to push,” Laverdiere said. “I am empathetic. I am a people person. I like to give my teams work autonomy and I usually get results. Mistakes have to happen in order to … learn from them. You give your team work autonomy, and you let them learn from that mistake.”
