John Sanders

Chief Operating Officer

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

John P. Sanders currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). In that capacity, Mr. Sanders works with the Commissioner to identify and address the operational requirements of the agency, and to provide strategic direction and oversight of enterprise services and operational support components.

As a key CBP executive, Mr. Sanders participates on several boards and committees dealing with matters involving CBP. He also serves as a principal representative and consultant for CBP at interagency and international meetings, and leads efforts to partner with industry and other stakeholders to help drive innovation across the agency.

Mr. Sanders brings more than 30 years of national security experience in developing, acquiring, deploying, and maintaining mission-critical technologies. His top areas of expertise include:
- Working collaboratively with Congress, multiple federal agencies, state and local organizations, international partners, regulated parties, trade associations, and industry in support of national security;
- Leading risk-based systems analysis to enhance both operational and overall security effectiveness;
Managing developmental and operational test and evaluation to improve acquisition programs;
- Attracting and retaining top talent across large, geographically dispersed organizations;
- Testifying before Congress in open and closed sessions on topics of national significance to ensure continued funding;
- Establishing and executing strategic goals in support of national security importance;
- Leveraging public-private partnerships to achieve effective and efficient outcomes; and
- Budget development and execution to accomplish organizational priorities

Prior to joining CBP, he served as the Transportation Security Administration's Chief Technology Officer, where he oversaw the development and implementation of risk-based analyses to enhance transportation security. Mr. Sanders also led the effort to work closely with industry stakeholders and foreign governments to harmonize worldwide technology standards, and he helped spearhead the development of TSA PreCheck.

Mr. Sanders’s private sector experience includes co-founding Reveal Imaging Technologies, a leading threat detection and screening systems solution provider (later acquired by SAIC). A seasoned entrepreneur and innovator, he has served on the Board of Directors for several leading providers of contraband detection, geospatial intelligence, and data analytics solutions.

Mr. Sanders has a Master of Science in Physics from San Diego State University and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of California San Diego.

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