Reaching the Moon required not only technical expertise but also effective management. On October 12, 1967, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) Director Robert Gilruth announced the appointment of George Trimble from the NASA Headquarters Office of Manned Space Flight to be the Deputy Director of MSC. Gilruth also announced that through an agreement with Marshall Space Flight Center Director Wernher von Braun, Marshall’s Deputy Director Dr. Eberhard Rees would serve as a special assistant on manufacturing problems for George Low, Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office at MSC. In this position, Rees was tasked with monitoring production of the Apollo spacecraft, in particular with ensuring that the changes that had been mandated after the January 1967 Apollo fire were properly implemented. These management changes including cross-Center cooperation were critical to achieve President Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the Moon before the end of the decade.
Trimble would serve as MSC Deputy Director until October 1969. Rees returned to Marshall in September 1968 to resume his duties as Deputy Director and in March 1970 became its second Director.
For more about Dr Eberhard Rees, please see: https://history.msfc.nasa.gov/management/center_directors/rees_article.html