Deputy Laboratories Director and Chief Operations Officer
Sandia National Laboratories
Education
BS – Construction Management, UNM
MBA – Business Administration, UNM
Business/Research Background
David Gibson currently serves as Deputy Laboratories Director and Chief Operations Officer at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His responsibilities include, leadership, oversite, management direction, and execution to implement the Labs Director’s strategic vision for safe and secure operations. His most recent role was at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, IL as he was Sr. Director of Environmental, Safety, Health, and Quality Directorate.
Particular Knowledge and Skills
Mr. Gibson has many years of experience managing business and physical operations functions including facilities, ES&H, safeguards & security, project management, strategic planning, human resources, procurement, logistics, and business operations.
In 2007, he was selected to serve as a detailee to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) Office of Infrastructure and Environmental Management in Washington, D.C.
Upon returning to Sandia in 2009, Mr. Gibson accepted his first management position in the FMOC Nuclear Weapons Customer Partnership Department with responsibility for sustaining the mission-critical nuclear weapons infrastructure.
In 2013, Mr. Gibson was promoted to Senior Manager and Deputy Vice President of Infrastructure Operations. His primary duty was to serve as the technical advisor to the Sandia vice president responsible for the corporate Safeguards and Security; Environment, Safety, and Health (ES&H); and Facilities policy areas. He also served as the Acting Director for the ES&H Center from January to May 2015.
In December 2015, he moved to Sandia’s California Laboratory in Livermore, CA where he served as the Senior Manager of Collaborative Development and Operations. He led three departments focused on external partnerships with industry, academia, Department of Energy laboratories, and other federal agencies. He also managed business development and intellectual property for the California site. In 2017, Mr. Gibson became Director of California Site Operations.