Presenter Email
bholmes@alakai.tech
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Creation Date
2018
Biography
Bruce Holmes joined the Board of Directors for Alakai Technology in 2017. His background in on-demand air mobility concepts over many years brings a breadth of experience and knowledge to the Alakai vision. In his role as VP for Digital Aviation at SmartSky Networks, LLC he supports the launch of the first 4G LTE Air-To-Ground WiFi network, along with the SkytelligenceTM software integration and service-oriented architecture platform to support the aerospace apps development community. The SmartSky mission is to bring the Internet of Things – That Fly to the world of aviation, through disruptive connectivity technology and software-enabled solutions. This mission is highly relevant to the vision shared by many around the world for connected aviation capabilities affecting flight deck applications, airspace operations, aircraft systems management and cabin technical and passenger services. Bruce is a veteran of several aviation technology industrial startups and of decades in the federal sector with NASA. Through his engineering management consulting firm, Bruce has served a variety of industry, government and university clients in strategy, technology, aviation systems development, and partnerships. He serves on boards of directors in industry and academia, and advisory councils in government, including an FAA Administrator’s Advisory Committee and on U.S. National Academies Intelligence Science and Technology Experts Group for the Office of the Director for National Intelligence and the Urban Air Mobility Round Table supporting NASA portfolio assessment. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to a Washington DC-based investment banking firm, FOCUS Bankers. In 2007, Dr. Holmes retired from public service of 33 years with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a member of the federal Senior Executive Service. While at NASA, he directed a variety of technology advancement programs in civil aviation. Holmes served in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy during 2000 and 2001 in aviation policy analysis, and helped found the U.S. Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO), leading the development of the strategies for the U.S. Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). His contributions to the creation of the emerging market for on-demand air mobility were chronicled in the books, Free Flight, by James Fallows, 2001, and The Great Eclipse, by Dennis Maxwell, 2011. Dr. Holmes holds six patents and is the author of more than 100 technical papers. He is a flight instructor, and commercial, jet-and seaplane-rated pilot of more than 50 years; Bruce is a recent recipient of the FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Royal Aeronautical Establishment, and recipient of numerous industry and government awards. His academic background includes undergraduate, graduate, and Doctor of Engineering degrees from the University of Kansas and post-graduate work as a Senior Executive Fellow at Harvard in the Kennedy School of Government.
