Weldon B. "Hoot" Gibson
Senior Director Emeritus, SRI International

Dr. Weldon B. "Hoot" Gibson joined SRI International (then known as Stanford Research Institute) in 1947 as Director of Economics Research and Chairman of International Programs. For more than 40 years, Dr. Gibson played a key role in SRI’s steady growth in size and worldwide prominence.

Beginning in the early 1950s Dr. Gibson was instrumental in extending the scope of SRI operations to include research projects around the world. He organized and directed more than 80 major international conferences for senior executives in 25 countries. In the 1970s he created the SRI International Associates Program, which included more than 800 companies in 63 countries.

Dr. Gibson was named Associate Director of SRI in 1956, Vice President in 1959, Executive Vice President in 1960, Senior Director in 1982 and Senior Director Emeritus in 1988.

In connection with SRI’s worldwide operations, Dr. Gibson traveled extensively throughout Europe, South America, Africa, the South Pacific, the Middle East, South Asia and the Far East. He co-founded the International Industrial Conference, a major meeting of world industrial leaders. He was a member of the governing boards of several civic, educational and business associations in the United States and elsewhere. These included the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC), which he co-founded in 1967, and the American University of Beirut. PBEC International honored Dr. Gibson in March 2000 as International Counselor and Senior Advisor. He was presented with an award as co-founder and lifetime member.

A native of Eldorado, Texas, Dr. Gibson received a B.A. from Washington State University and an M.B.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University.