Mr. William “Bill” Toti began performing the duties of the Under Secretary of the Navy on May 1, 2026.

Previously, Toti served as senior advisor to the Deputy Secretary of War. With more than 40 years of experience in defense, he spent 26 years on active duty in the United States Navy, followed by 17 years in the defense industry.

He originally enlisted in the Navy as an electronic technician in 1974 and later commissioned through the U.S. Naval Academy. Following commissioning, Toti completed a series of key submarine assignments at sea, including junior officer aboard USS Omaha (SSN-692), weapons officer and later navigator aboard USS Indianapolis (SSN-697), engineer officer aboard USS Buffalo (SSN-715), executive officer aboard USS Florida (SSBN-728) (Gold Crew), and commanding officer of USS Indianapolis (SSN-697). He later served as commodore of Submarine Squadron 3 in Pearl Harbor and as commanding officer of Fleet Antisubmarine Warfare Command Norfolk.

Ashore, he served as special assistant to the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, as head of requirements for Commander, Submarine Forces, and as deputy director of the Navy War Plans Cell, Deep Blue. He also served on the Joint Staff, receiving the 1992 Action Officer of the Year award from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell. He retired from active duty as a Captain after completing seven operational deployments.

Across his career, his crews earned the Battle Efficiency “E” award five times, the 7th Fleet Surface Warfare Award, and multiple Navy Unit Commendations.

Following his active duty service, Toti held executive positions including vice president of Raytheon’s Mission Support Operations, vice president of the defense segment at Hewlett Packard, president at Cubic Global Defense, and president of the Navy sector at L3 Technologies. He concluded his industry career as CEO of Sparton Corporation.

Following this, he founded No Greater Love, a Christian ministry for veterans, and co-hosted a leading World War II Pacific theater podcast. He was also instrumental in the 2001 exoneration of USS Indianapolis Captain Charles B. McVay III and was later named an “honorary survivor” and honorary captain by the ship’s survivors.

Mr. Toti is a seven-time recipient of the Legion of Merit and was recognized on the “Wash 100” list of influential government contractor leaders. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the U.S. Naval Academy, a master’s degree in spacecraft systems engineering, and the electrical engineer degree from the Naval Postgraduate School. He is an author of more than 30 published articles and the book "From CO to CEO."

Last Updated: 8 May 2026