The National Business Aviation Association has announced that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske will speak at the Opening General Session of NBAA’s Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) on Tuesday, Nov. 1. Held in Orlando, FL, the event runs through Nov. 3.

“Commissioner Kerlikowske views business aviation as a security partner, and has demonstrated his willingness to work with industry to reduce delays, streamline operations and facilitate entry into the United States without compromising CBP’s primary mission of security,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen.

“We look forward to having the commissioner at our convention, and hearing how the efforts of the past year, such as the formation of a CBP working group focused specifically on general aviation, have furthered the agency’s service to our aviation segment,” Bolen added.

Nominated by President Obama, Kerlikowske was sworn in as CBP commissioner on March 7, 2014. He oversees the nation’s largest federal law-enforcement agency, whose mission balances the protection of national security with the promotion of economic prosperity. The responsibilities of CBP’s 60,000 agents include the inspection of travelers and cargo at more than 300 land, air and sea ports of entry. With service in the U.S. Army, and holding bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice from the University of South Florida, Kerlikowske began his four-decade career in law enforcement with the St. Petersburg, FL, Police Department, where he earned awards for leadership, innovation and community service.

Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske

Before his appointment as commissioner of CBP, he was chief of police in Seattle, WA, deputy director of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, police commissioner of Buffalo, NY and director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Kerlikowske will be one of several Opening General Session speakers at NBAA-BACE. Joining him will be Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough whose most recent work, The Wright Brothers, examines the lives of the men who first flew with power.

NBAA-BACE is business aviation’s most important annual event, where participants have an unequaled opportunity to view the latest business aircraft, products, technology and services the industry offers. Held at the Orange County Convention Center, the event also offers a premier networking venue, and dozens of educational sessions.