Former NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen Dies After Cancer Battle
Why It MattersBolen's death removes a leader whose 22 years at NBAA tied business aviation's positions on airport access, air traffic control and user fees to the wider general aviation advocacy groups' agenda.
What happened
Ed Bolen, who led the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) for more than 22 years, died Wednesday following a battle with cancer, the association announced. He had retired Nov. 6 after undergoing cancer treatment that prompted him to take a medical leave earlier this year, and he had served as NBAA's president and CEO since 2004.
Before joining NBAA, Bolen led the General Aviation Manufacturers Association from 1996 to 2004. A Kansas native and private pilot, he previously worked as legislative director for U.S. Sen. Nancy Kassebaum and helped secure passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994. He also chaired the FAA's Management Advisory Council from 2000 to 2004 and served on the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry.
During his tenure at NBAA, Bolen represented business aviation interests in policy debates involving airport access, air traffic control modernization, user fees and ATC privatization. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves credited Bolen's involvement in developing the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.
Bolen was inducted into the Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame on Tuesday, one day before his death. Family members and NBAA representatives attended the ceremony on his behalf.
NBAA Acting CEO Dan Hubbard said in a statement Wednesday: "Ed was not just our colleague – he was a friend and a mentor to many of us. He accomplished so much, and did so with grace and humility." NATA President and CEO Curt Castagna cited the organizations' decades of collaboration on aviation policy and Bolen's role in bringing industry groups together. AOPA Acting Co-President Katie Pribyl said in a Thursday statement: "He led NBAA, but he never lost sight of the pilot flying a Cessna 172 on a Saturday morning."
Industry impact & what to watch
Trade associations in business aviation tend to be defined by their longest-serving leaders, because the policy files they carry — airport access, air traffic control modernization, user fees, privatization proposals — run across many years and several administrations. A 22-year tenure means the continuity on those files sat largely with one person, and the tributes from NATA and AOPA show how much of the cross-association working relationship ran through him.
The association is now led by Acting CEO Dan Hubbard. The next marker is whether NBAA names a permanent successor, since that choice will signal how closely the organization intends to keep the advocacy posture Bolen built, including its coordination with other general aviation groups on shared fights.
