Pete Bunce
In April 2005, Peter (Pete) Bunce became President and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) which is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with additional offices in Brussels and Dubai, along with representation in Beijing. He and the GAMA staff travel worldwide engaging regulators, policymakers and elected officials to promote general aviation and advance the interests of GAMA’s international membership of more than 85 airframe, avionics, engine and component manufacturers, as well as the world’s leading business aviation maintenance, repair and overall companies.
Pete retired from the United States Air Force in March 2005, with his last assignment as the Director of the Air Force Congressional Budget and Appropriations Liaison. During his 26-year Air Force career, Pete flew F-15s and A-10s, while commanding several large operational fighter units.
A Wisconsin native, Pete learned to fly as a teenager in the skies over southern Wisconsin. He entered the Air Force in 1979 as an honor graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He received his master’s degree in International Affairs from Troy University in 1988 and was an International Affairs Fellow at Harvard University in 1996-97.
Pete is an active pilot with more than 6,000 hours in military fighter and training aircraft as well as civil piston, turboprop and business jet aircraft. He holds an FAA airline transport certificate and seaplane rating and serves on the board of directors of the Recreational Aviation Foundation, Veterans Airlift Command, America’s Warrior Partnership, and the Air Care Alliance. Pete also serves as co-chair of the NextGen Institute and is a member of both the FAA’s NextGen Advisory Committee and MITRE Corporation’s Aviation Advisory Committee.
Pete was named the 2007 Aviation Industry Leader of the Year by the Living Legends of Aviation. In December 2009, Pete was awarded the ICAS Sword of Excellence, the air show industry’s premier annual award. In January 2010, he was inducted as one of the seventy Living Legends of Aviation. Pete and his wife Patty reside in Arlington, Virginia and have six children.
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