Dr. Kristopher Sanchez

Dr. Kristopher Sanchez is a proven enterprise leader with extensive experience overseeing large, complex organizations, and delivering strategic, operational, and economic outcomes. Appointed by Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo in November 2023, he serves as Director of the Nevada Department of Business & Industry, one of the state’s largest and most operationally diverse agencies.

Dr. Sanchez provides executive leadership to 12 regulatory divisions and 61 commissions, advisory boards, and committees, guiding a workforce of more than 800 employees and a combined budget exceeding $700 million. He oversees programs that strengthen Nevada’s business environment, protects consumers, including statewide small business advocacy, access-to-capital initiatives, bond financing, constituent services, and fraud prevention and education. His portfolio requires rigorous operational oversight, strategic resource allocation, regulatory modernization, and alignment of diverse organizations under a unified mission.

He also serves on the Nevada Infrastructure Bank Board, the Nevada Fuel Resiliency Committee, and the Board of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), helping shape statewide strategy on infrastructure investment, economic diversification, and long-term competitiveness.

Prior to leading B&I, Dr. Sanchez held several senior roles at GOED, including Interim Executive Director, Deputy Director, and Director of International Trade. As Deputy Director, he led statewide efforts to attract and expand businesses, grow key industry sectors, and strengthen Nevada’s entrepreneurial ecosystem helping diversify the state’s economic base and elevate its global profile.

During the Sandoval Administration, he served as Nevada’s Director of International Trade, executing the Governor’s international economic agenda. He facilitated Governor led trade missions to 14 countries and led delegations in more than 20 countries building global partnerships that advanced Nevada’s interests in technology, education, infrastructure, and commerce.

He holds a Doctorate in Public Policy from UNLV, master’s degrees in public administration and military history from Norwich University, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from CSU Stanislaus. He also completed National Security Studies coursework at the National War College at Fort McNair.

In 2026, Dr. Sanchez launched the Nevada Means Business podcast with the purpose of enhancing regulatory agency accessibility while providing timely information for Nevada’s citizens.   

Dr. Sanchez is a past board member of the Nevada Commission on Tourism and a recipient of both the GOED Award for Excellence in Economic Development (2018) and Poland’s Amicus Poloniae Award (2017).