Natural Resources >> CEO Interviews >> December 20, 1999
JOHN R. GIBSON was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors for
American Pacific Corporation in March 1998, and prior to that President
and CEO in July 1997. His previous assignment was as Vice President of
Engineering and Operations for AMPAC and President of American Azide
Corporation. He was primarily responsible for the design, construction,
installation, startup and operation of the sodium azide facility in
Utah. Mr. Gibson holds a BA degree, cum laude, in Economics from
Colorado College and a BS in Metallurgical Engineering from the
University of Nevada. He is a Life Member of the Association of Iron &
Steel Engineers (AISE). He is a member of the Engineering Advisory
Council of UNLV. Mr. Gibson holds a single engine private pilot's
license. He is a member of the Aerospace Industry Association (AIA)
(Board of Governors), the Automotive Occupant Restraint Council (AORC),
the Nevada Development Authority (NDA), Nevada Taxpayers Association,
the Nevada Manufacturers Association, the National Association of
Corporate Directors, and the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce (Board of
Advisors). Mr. Gibson is a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserve and was
honorably discharged in 1966. He has written, co-authored, presented and
published several technical articles involving steel processing and
handling. Among them are the first successful application of high
current density cleaning of steel, high current density chrome plating
of steel and radiation based measurement of tin and zinc plating of
steel. With Hitachi Heavy Industries, he co-authored a paper describing
6-high cold rolling of steel sheet. In addition, he presented a paper to
the California Air Resources Board which reviewed 'De-NOX' of a slow
speed marine diesel engine. Mr. Gibson is married with two children and
resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. Profile
TWST: Could you begin by giving us a brief overview of America PacificCorporation, the company's history, products, customers?
Mr. Gibson: American Pacific was founded in 1955. The