Salina native Ed Bolen, longtime NBAA president and CEO, has died

Ed Bolen, a Salina native who led the National Business Aviation Association as president and CEO for nearly a quarter century, has died. The association announced his death Wednesday, November 11.

Bolen had been fighting cancer, which led him to take medical leave and retire from an industry he had championed for more than 40 years. NBAA announced his retirement on November 6 and said it had received a tremendous outpouring of support.

“We are filled with incredible sadness about Ed,” said Dan Hubbard, NBAA acting CEO and senior vice president of communications. “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. On behalf of the entire NBAA team, we send our condolences and prayers to Beth, Jack, Robert and all of Ed’s family, in this incredibly difficult time.”

On November 10, Bolen was inducted into the Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame for his advocacy on safety, airport and airspace access, workforce development, air traffic control modernization and other key priorities. Bolen could not attend. NBAA leadership and members of his family were present.

A private pilot and native Kansan, Bolen was introduced to flying by his father, who served on the board of the Salina Regional Airport.

Bolen attended the University of Kansas, graduating with a degree in economics. After earning a law degree and a Master of Laws in taxation, he served as legislative director for U.S. Sen. Nancy Kassebaum and as majority general counsel to what is today the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

As an aide to Kassebaum, Bolen was a key player in the passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994, which revived U.S. aircraft manufacturing, an industry that made Wichita the Air Capital of the World.

Bolen served as president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association from 1996 to 2004 before becoming president and CEO of NBAA.

Bolen advised presidents of both parties. He was nominated by President Clinton and confirmed by the Senate to serve as a member of the Management Advisory Council to the Federal Aviation Administration, which he chaired from 2000 to 2004. In 2001, he was appointed by President Bush to the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry. He was also a former chair of the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics.

In 2021, Bolen was inducted as a Living Legend into the San Diego Air & Space Museum’s International Air & Space Hall of Fame. In 2025, he received the Alpha Eta Rho Award, the aviation fraternity’s highest honor, for his commitment to the industry’s future leaders. Earlier this year, he received the Clay Lacy Friendship Medal from Flights to Freedom, which transports human trafficking survivors to their loved ones or to support groups.

“It’s hard to express how much we miss Ed, and what he meant to so many of us,” said John Witzig, chair of NBAA’s board of directors. “What we do know is that we can all take inspiration from Ed’s legacy of service, dedication and leadership.”

Photo courtesy of the National Business Aviation Association