Marion C. Blakey Biography

The Aerospace Industries Association's president and chief executive officer is Marion C. Blakey. With more than 150 top manufacturers and over 200 associate members – the biggest membership in AIA's 94-year existence – AIA is the most authoritative and influential voice in the aerospace and defense industry. In 2007, Ms. Blakey was appointed as the association's ninth full-time CEO. She formerly served as the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration for five years. Blakey oversaw the FAA's regulation of the nation's airways as well as the world's biggest air traffic control system, which he oversaw with 44,000 workers and a $14 billion budget. During her term, aviation travel in the United States was at its safest level in the country's history. She was also a tireless international safety advocate. Blakey established sound business procedures at the agency, resulting in more than 97 percent of the agency's main initiatives being completed on time and within budget. NextGen, the transition to a satellite-based system that would modernize air transportation and reduce delays, was begun under her guidance. Blakey was the head of the National Transportation Safety Board before being elected FAA administrator. She supervised a number of accident investigations throughout her tenure, including the 2001 crash of American Airlines Flight 587, dealing with both the highly technical parts of the inquiry and the highly heated public interest in the tragedy. Blakey enhanced the Board's accident reporting procedure, as well as its advocacy and outreach initiatives, in order to promote safer travel across all forms of transportation. Blakey has held six presidential positions, four of which needed Senate confirmation, including her time at the FAA and the NTSB. Blakey was the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which oversees the car industry, for the United States Department of Transportation from 1992 to 1993. She was entrusted with minimizing fatalities, injuries, and economic losses caused by motor vehicle collisions as the nation's top highway safety officer. She worked in the Department of Commerce, the Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the White House, and the Department of Transportation before joining the NHTSA. Blakey was the principal of Blakey & Associates, now Blakey & Agnew, a Washington, D.C. public relations consulting business specializing in transportation and traffic safety, from 1993 until 2001. The International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations is chaired by Ms. Blakey. She is also a member of the Alaska Airlines Board of Directors, Noblis, a nonprofit science, technology, and strategy organization, the NASA Advisory Council, and the President's Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration. Blakey earned her bachelor's degree in international studies with honors from Mary Washington College at the University of Virginia, where she was born in Gadsden, Alabama. She also did graduate study in Middle East Affairs at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. She is a Phi Beta Kappa member and the recipient of several honorary degrees and accolades.

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