Michael Gibbs

Mr. Gibbs double majored in college receiving his Bachelor’s degree in environmental biology and economics. After earning his M.B.A from Emory University he worked for Oglethorpe Power Corporation in Atlanta quickly becoming a supervisor in its newly formed and growing Environmental department, working with regulatory authorities in connection with the construction of electric generation and transmission facilities. He then became a minority equity partner in a start-up wood working business in South Carolina, serving as its president and CEO, building the business for three years before selling it to a division of Burroughs-Welcome. After working for a small manufacturing company and later a larger design/build engineering firm in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, Mr. Gibbs attended Wayne State University in Detroit, earning his Juris Doctorate, while participating in the student Intellectual Property Association and the Environmental Law Association, and working at the Detroit Free Legal Aid Clinic. After law school he worked as an attorney for a mid-sized law firm in Detroit serving corporate clients in litigation, transactions, mergers and acquisitions. The firm represented the successful buyer of Big Boy Restaurants out of bankruptcy, and Mr. Gibbs subsequently went in-house with Big Boy as its general counsel and vice president. In 2004 he accepted a position with Whataburger Restaurants in Corpus Christi Texas as its first ever general counsel, eventually helping the family sell the business to a private equity organization in 2019. He stayed with Whataburger as Executive VP and General Counsel, serving as EVP of franchising and interim EVP of HR until his retirement from Whataburger in early 2022.