LLNL's Mark Martinez to lead Nevada Site Contractor

LLNL's Mark Martinez to lead Nevada Site Contractor
NewsLine 7/25/17

Mark Martinez, principal associate director of Operations & Business (O&B), is leaving LLNL to assume the role of president at Mission Support and Test Services, LLC (MSTS, LLC). MSTS, LLC was recently awarded the new management and operating contract for the Nevada National Security Site.

Martinez was congratulated by Lab employees at the Monday all-hands meeting for the Operations & Business Directorate.

The announcement was made Monday by LLNL Director Bill Goldstein in an all-hands for O&B.

"In awarding this contract to MSTS, LLC, the National Nuclear Security Administration made the very best decision they could possibly have made for the complex, and in choosing Mark to lead that site they made a remarkable and profoundly good decision," Goldstein said.

"From the point of view of the Laboratory, I think this is a real step forward for us and will represent a vast improvement in the way the Laboratory relates to the test site, which provides important support services for us," Goldstein said. "However, at the same time, losing Mark is quite a blow."

Martinez has made significant contributions to the mission of the Laboratory throughout his career. He has engaged in, and committed to, achieving operational excellence, while serving in a variety of programmatic and operational roles since joining the Laboratory in 1994. As a mechanical engineer, Martinez served in lead engineer capacities in the weapons program (B Division) for advanced development subcritical experiments, W80 secondary assembly and B61 drop test activities. He was assigned as a senior test director responsible for executing LLNL experimental activities at the Nevada Test Site, which encompassed comprehensive oversight of complex technical, construction, ES&H, quality assurance, security, external communications and other management functions for large-scale projects.

Martinez has held a progressive set of senior leadership positions at LLNL. He was the program leader for the Nuclear Materials Technology Program, the Nevada Experiments and Operations acting program leader and the deputy principal associate director in the Weapons & Complex Integration Directorate. He also led a multitude of special projects, including complex Incident Analysis Teams. Since Feb. 2014, Martinez has served as the principal associate director for O&B.

Goldstein praised Martinez's contributions to the Laboratory and wished him well in his new position.

"Mark took over an organization that had a vast number of strengths and only made it that much stronger," he said. "His commitment to continuous improvement and to find innovative ways to look at and implement operations at the Lab have been a strength that I and other managers of the Lab have been able to point to, lean on and rely on. I thank Mark for his exceptional service and commitment to the Laboratory and wish him the very best in this new important leadership role."

"I want to thank you for the kind words, but I really want to thank you for the privilege it's been to work as a PAD for this organization," Martinez said. "I remember coming to this Laboratory right out of college, and just seeing the difference in the people who hired me and all the people here at this Laboratory. I have always felt it's been a real privilege to work here. I have always felt very proud to be a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory employee."

With Martinez's departure, Anita Gursahani, O&B deputy principal associate director, will serve as the acting O&B principal associate director, effective immediately. The position of the principal associate director for O&B will be posted and a national-level search launched.

Martinez will retire from LLNL effective July 28. He will start in his new position Aug. 1

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