Deputy & Senior Director of Operations at Facilities Services, Cesar Sanchez (photographed above), has been named Assistant Vice Chancellor for the organization. Sanchez will lead an operation with an annual budget of approximately $140 million and more than 400 employees and 100 stationary and power plant engineers.
“I’m humble and proud to be chosen to lead such an excellent organization,” Sanchez said. “Facilities Services is running well, so my priorities will be to continue to build on our strong culture and align our goals with Jon’s vision for Campus Life Services.”
Sanchez replaces Jon Giacomi, who was named Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Life Services in May.
“I am thrilled that Cesar has accepted this new role,” Giacomi said. “In many ways, he has been prepared for this for a few years. Because of his leadership I was able to spend a year-and-a-half working on COVID recovery and on other special projects for UC. As deputy, I could always rely on Cesar to fill in for me, and not just fill in, but advance the organization.”
While Facilities Services is a large department within Campus Life Services, Sanchez said the organization has a family feel. “That’s one of our strengths,” he said.
Sanchez developed the Center of Excellence Program for Facilities Services to create consistency and parity in service delivery. Over the past seven years, this management system helped the organization evolve and it has led to increased performance across its 27 different service lines. “We have built uniformity on both the East and West campuses,” Sanchez said.
“I am most impressed with how Cesar has helped make all our FS programs thrive,” Giacomi said. “He took the FS Center of Excellence Program and brought it to a whole other level. He runs an amazing annual conference where all FS programs make presentations on their annual performance and goals, review their budgets, and make annual requests for program enhancements. It’s also not just an annual conference but woven into the day-to-day operations and monthly program check-in meetings.”
Sanchez has also worked closely with frontline workers to improve employee engagement. This included the execution of employee action plans with trades; negotiated union contracts; and developed programs to address unmet needs within the UCSF community.
“The organization is running well, so any adjustments we make will be small,” he said. “We’ve been making big adjustments over the past several years which have resulted in new programs adding value to the UCSF missions.
Under his leadership, Sanchez said Facilities will continue to remain nimble. “In recent years we’ve integrated new sites such as UCSF Fresno, the MLK research building in Oakland, and the University House,” he said. “We will continue to handle growth, but we want to streamline the process to make it less exhausting.”
Sanchez currently serves on the UCSF Finance and Administrative Services Continuous Improvement Steering Committee; the UCSF Climate Resilience Core Team; and the Fioli Engagement Committee.
Prior to joining UCSF in 2015, Sanchez was the head of facility management and site services at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Sanchez served in various leadership positions within facilities at the lab beginning in 2009. He also worked in facilities at Merck, Genentech, and Elan Pharmaceuticals.
Sanchez graduated from San Francisco State University with bachelor’s degrees in both corporate finance and biochemistry. He did graduate-level chemistry coursework at SFSU and received Executive Leadership Program Certification through the Berkeley Executive Leadership Program at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. He’s continued his professional development with a Department of California Real Estate Broker License and IFMA CFM certification. Sanchez has also presented regionally and nationally at APPA and UC-wide Facilities Conferences.
