On September 10, 2013, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Christopher Smith '91 to Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Department of Energy and Sloan Gibson '75 to Deputy Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs.
Smith (photographed) is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), a position he has held since February 2013. He also served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy from February 2013 to August 2013 and as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Gas from 2009 to 2013. From 2007 to 2009, he was the Director of Liquid Natural Gas Trading Analytics for Chevron Global Gas. From 2005 to 2007, he was an Advisor to the President and Chief of Staff for Chevron Global Supply & Trading. Smith was a Developmental Manager and Regional Manager of the Latin America region for ChevronTexaco Global Gas from 2002 to 2005. He held several roles with Texaco, including Business Development Manager from 1999 to 2002 and Executive Business Analyst from 1998 to 1999. He was an Operations Officer and Task Force Engineer for the 25th Infantry Division of the United States Army from 1991 to 1993. Smith received a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an M.B.A. from the University of Cambridge.
Gibson is Chief Executive Officer and President of the United Service Organizations (USO). Before joining USO in 2008, Gibson worked in banking for 20 years, including 11 years as an executive at AmSouth Bancorporation and nine years as a Senior Vice President at Bank South. In 2004, he retired as Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of AmSouth Bancorporation, a position he held since 2000. In 2002, Gibson chaired the United Way campaign in Central Alabama. Gibson is a 1975 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He earned both Airborne and Ranger qualifications and served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army. Gibson received a M.A. from the University of Missouri in Kansas City and a M.P.A. from Harvard University.