Michoud Leadership
Lionel Joseph Dutreix III Director
NASA Michoud Assembly Facility
Lionel Dutreix is the director of NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Named to the position in October 2021, he manages the day-to-day operations of NASA's only manufacturing facility. Sitting on 829 acres, Michoud is a multi-tenant manufacturing facility, where development of NASA's Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft are underway. SLS, the world’s most powerful rocket will carry astronauts in the Orion crew vehicle, science experiments and cargo on deep-space missions, including journeys to Mars.
In 2017, Dutreix was named the deputy chief operating officer where he oversaw the daily operations of the NASA owned facility, helped sustain SLS and Orion production efforts, and coordinated requirements and logistics with Michoud tenant leadership for approximately 3,500 Michoud employees.
Prior to his arrival at Michoud, Dutreix was assistant director of Center Operations at Stennis Space Center (SSC). In this role, he provided leadership and oversite for all support services including the Environmental and Industrial Hygiene Office, Office of Protective Services, Facility Design and Construction, Facility Operations and Maintenance, Information Technology, and Facility Planning and Utilization services for the entire center which includes over 40 Government Agencies and Commercial Tenants with a total of 5000 employees.
From 2007 to 2013, he was the project manager for the design, construction, and activation of a new Altitude Test Facility at Stennis Space Center.
From 2000 to 2007, he was chief test operations and electrical branch chief for the Engineering and Test Directorate at Stennis Space Center.
Prior to joining NASA, Dutreix worked for Rockwell International supporting the Space Shuttle Main Engine Test Program at Stennis Space Center as a data systems manager as well as an instrumentation lead engineer.
Dutreix has received numerous awards over his 32-year career supporting Human Space Flight including the NASA Space Flight Awareness Award, NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, NASA Technical Utilization Award, Rockwell International, Rocketdyne Division, Engineer of the Year for Stennis Space Center, and the University of New Orleans Dean’s Student Organization Council Distinguished Teaching Award as an adjunct professor. He was a University of New Orleans Department of EE adjunct professor and a University of New Orleans Engineering Advisory Council member. Dutreix contributed to multiple publications including the AIAA - Activation of the E1 UHP Propulsion Test Facility at Stennis Space Center, 2001 and NASA Tech Briefs - Generating Multiple Calibrating Voltages Simultaneously, October 1992. Dutreix received master’s and bachelor's degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Orleans. He is a Professional Engineer (PE). Dutreix lives in Slidell, LA with his wife Sherri, and he has five children.
Hansel D. V. Gill Deputy Director
NASA Michoud Assembly Facility
Deputy Director Hansel Gill assists the Michoud director oversee one of the world’s largest manufacturing facilities, which provides the crucial infrastructure where elements of NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft are assembled. Michoud also provides facilities for non-NASA governmental and commercial technology-based industry tenant operations.
Prior to this assignment, Deputy Director Gill served as subsystem manager for production of the SLS Block 1B Exploration Upper Stage, from 2016 to 2021, in the Block 1B Development Office and the Stages Element Office, providing technical leadership for SLS core stage and exploration upper stage planning and production operations. Also, from 2015-2016, Gill served as technical assistant to the Office of the Director, Marshall Space Flight Center.
In 2013, Gill served as team lead and acting assistant branch chief for the Metals Joining and Processes Branch of the Metals Engineering Division. He was responsible for materials process development and characterization, product management, and corrosion engineering, supporting the advanced exploration and manufacturing needs aligned with agency strategic vectors. While in this position, Gill led the production for the EFT-1 multi-purpose crew vehicle stage adaptor (MSA) providing the structural interface for Orion and the Delta IV launch system supporting the EFT-1 Orion Flight Test.
Throughout his career, Gill has received various awards including the NASA Honor Award Exceptional Achievement Medal, Director’s Commendation Honor Award, Safety Flight Awareness Awards, 24th STEM Global Competitiveness Conference Black Engineer of the Year Award – Modern Day Technology Leader distinction.
Deputy Director Gill earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics from Oakwood University in 1996 and his master’s degree in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Alabama – Huntsville in 2007. He resides in Huntsville, AL with his wife, Arnissa and daughter, Addison.
Keith Savoy Chief Operating Officer
NASA Michoud Assembly Facility
Keith Savoy is the chief operating officer of NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Named to the position in June 2022, he oversees the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of the NASA owned facility, helping sustain Space Launch System and Orion production efforts, and coordinating requirements and logistics with Michoud tenant leadership for approximately 3,500 Michoud employees.
Leading up to his current position, COO Savoy served as manager of the Office of Center Operations of the Michoud Assembly Facility, one of the world’s largest manufacturing plants. His responsibilities included managing the planning, maintenance, design, construction, and engineering of the facility. Savoy also oversaw energy and water conservation, environmental permitting and compliance, industrial hygiene, and medical, security and logistics services where he was responsible for managing over $350M of supplemental funding projects sitewide.
Savoy also held the position of Lead Engineer, Logistics and Operation Planning for NASA from 2007-2016 at Michoud, as an expert consultant for all engineering aspects of the facility. He managed multi-phase projects as well as helped advance the aerospace manufacturing at Michoud to meet the complex requirements of SLS and Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle programs, ensuring environmental compliance. Savoy worked closely with local, state, and federal environmental regulatory agencies to identify and resolve engineering and environmental issues. His expertise was a key contributor to ensuring NASA’s sustainable and environmental goals were achieved.
Prior to working for NASA, COO Savoy held several positions of increasing responsibility with Lockheed Martin from 1988-2007. As manager of Operational Planning and Layout, he was responsible for managing Construction of Facilities. This required developing and implementing plans, outlining scope-of-work, overseeing large-scale project budgets and Project Definition Rating assessment/score and 1509 development. Savoy implemented concepts of Six Sigma & Lean principles to achieve many successes and identified innovative solutions and best practices to satisfy customer requirements. Savoy also was manager of the Infrastructure Enhancement Team where he managed over 160 personnel and a $10M budget.
Throughout COO Savoy’s long-standing career as an environmental engineer, he has consistently utilized his knowledge of environmental law, compliance, and regulatory guidelines to minimize waste and pollution while effectively managing complex data, programs, and facilities.
He holds a Master of Science in Environmental Management from National Technological University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in Fort Collins, CO, a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from University of Louisiana-Lafayette in Lafayette, LA and a technical degree in Industrial Instrumentation from International Technical Institute in Baton Rouge, LA
Throughout his career at Michoud, Savoy has received various awards including the NASA Honor Award Outstanding Leadership Medal, Director’s Commendation Honor Award, Safety Flight Awareness Awards, and several Silver Medal Group Achievement Awards. Savoy lives in Slidell, LA with his wife Kathy, and he has four children.