Boeing South Carolina’s Mike Bunker to Headline Second Annual SC Aerospace Conference

August 12, 2015

COLUMBIA, SC – The second annual South Carolina Aerospace Conference and Expo announces that Mike Bunker, Boeing South Carolina’s Director of 787 Aftbody Operations, will be the headline speaker for the conference, which will be held on Aug. 26-27, 2015 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center in Columbia, S.C.

Bunker, who has supported 787 production efforts in North Charleston since 2006, will speak on Wed., Aug. 26 at 10:30 a.m. following opening remarks by South Carolina Governor Nikki R. Haley and Dr. Harris Pastides, president of the University of South Carolina.

Bunker oversees and manages all aspects of production for composite fabrication and assembly of aftbody fuselage components for all 787 airplanes. He began his career at Boeing in 1990 as a tool engineer on the 747 program. Prior to his current role, he was director of Assembly and Integration (A&I) for Boeing South Carolina, overseeing 787 mid and aft fuselage components. He has also served as the director of 787 Midbody Operations.

Bunker earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, N.Y., and an MBA from Seattle University. He is also a graduate of Columbia University Business School’s Senior Executive Program. Before joining Boeing in South Carolina, Bunker served as Life Cycle Product Team Leader for Fuselage Pre-integration in Everett, Wash., and provided Supplier Management oversight for Global Aeronautica.

“Mr. Bunker’s vast industry expertise will bring tremendous value to our attendees,” said Steve Townes, Chairman of SC Aerospace. “We are very appreciative of Boeing’s support for this year’s conference through both their sponsorship and their contribution of highly knowledgeable speakers who will share their insights on the rapid growth of the aerospace industry in South Carolina.”

The South Carolina Aerospace Conference and Expo are designed to bring together leaders from the aviation industry, government and the investment community. The event highlights South Carolina’s emergence as a top destination for aerospace manufacturing and research and will feature:

• Tours of The McNAIR Center for Aerospace Innovation and Research, the Richland One Challenger Learning Center and the USC Conditioned Based Maintenance Center;
• General sessions on K-12 education initiatives, advanced materials for aerostructures, big data and aerospace and unmanned aerial systems;
• Technology breakout sessions and workforce/industry breakout sessions

The conference is organized by the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, the McNair Center for Aerospace Innovation and Research at the University of South Carolina, the South Carolina Department of Commerce, the South Carolina Aeronautics Commission and the South Carolina Aviation Association. The Boeing Company is the title sponsor.

Registration and sponsorship information for the conference may be found at http://saeu.sc.edu/reg/aerospace/index.php.

The full conference agenda may be found at http://saeu.sc.edu/reg/aerospace/agenda.php .