Dave Alpern

Dave Alpern was named President of Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in 2016. He joined the team in 1992 as a unpaid project intern, and has seen the team grow from 18 employees to nearly 500. During his tenure Dave has held almost every position in the company's front office, from sponsorships and branding to PR and social media, most recently serving as Chief Marketing Officer. Dave spends a great deal of his time working with his counterparts at the various race teams, tracks and TV networks in growing and enhancing the sport of NASCAR.

As one of the longest tenured executives in the sport, Dave has worked with senior executives and CEOs of many of the country’s largest companies such as Toyota, FedEx, Mars, Stanley Black & Decker, Comcast, Coca Cola, Home Depot, and Interstate Batteries. Dave had been invited to the White House on multiple occasions after winning NASCAR championships in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2015, and 2019.

Dave was born in Frankfurt, Germany, the son of a high-ranking CIA official, and after returning to the states at age 2, grew up just outside the nation’s capital in Northern Virginia. Dave attended Oakton High School (along with childhood friend JD Gibbs), and earned a communications degree from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Plans to pursue an MBA were put on hold in 1992 when offered an internship with a startup NASCAR team owned by Coach Gibbs, which led to a move to Charlotte and a one-company career that is now in its third decade.

Alpern is a highly sought after corporate/keynote speaker and a regular university guest lecturer, particularly at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School for both their undergraduate and graduate business programs. He also enjoys corporate speaking, delivering keynotes for many of the brands who work with JGR.