Brian Gannon Retires as President, CEO of Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center

Brian Gannon, MBA, retired as president and CEO of Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center Dec. 31 after nearly 18 years of service.

Gannon began his distinguished career in the blood community in 1989 as chief operating officer of Belle Bonfils Memorial Blood Center in Denver, Colo. In 1991, he joined The Blood Center in New Orleans, La., as president and CEO, and in February 2006, he moved to Houston to lead Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center.

A longtime member of AABB, America’s Blood Centers and Blood Centers of America, Gannon has been a tireless advocate for the blood community throughout his career. He is a past president of AABB (2023), a member of the AABB Board of Directors and a member of the AABB Nominating Committee. In addition, Gannon also served as chair of the AABB Interorganizational Task Force on Domestic Disasters and Acts of Terrorism from February 2020 to December 2021, where he led the task force through two unprecedented years of pandemic, hurricanes, winter storms and blood supply challenges. Gannon received an AABB President’s Award in 2021 for his service on the task force.

“Brian’s retirement marks the end of an era for our community,” said Debra BenAvram, AABB’s CEO. “As chair of the AABB Disaster Task Force and a leader within the Board of Directors during the COVID-19 pandemic, Brian’s leadership, experience and guidance were instrumental in helping navigate one of the most challenging times in our history. We are grateful for his decades of service to the AABB community, and we wish him the best on his well-deserved retirement.”