Mark Burns, president of Gulfstream Aerospace, received the Lifetime Aviation Industry Leader Award during the 21st Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards ceremony held on 19 January in Beverly Hills, California.

The awards, produced by Kiddie Hawk Air Academy, were established in 2003 to celebrate people who have made significant contributions to aviation, including entrepreneurs, innovators, industry leaders, astronauts, record breakers, pilots who have become celebrities and celebrities who have become pilots. Each year, inductees and honourees are selected by Living Legends of Aviation committees that include past honourees of the different categories.

Burns joined Gulfstream in 1983 as a computer-aided design operator and worked in numerous areas across the company, including engineering and customer support, before being named president in July 2015. In this role, Burns has led Gulfstream through a period of significant investment in innovation and growth and has been instrumental in the expansion of its customer support, as well as the development and certification of Gulfstream’s next-generation family of aircraft. Burns also serves as a vice president of General Dynamics, Gulfstream’s parent company.

A Savannah native, Burns earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Southern University. He serves on the board of directors for GAMA, Georgia Power and the Corporate Angel Network. He is a part of the associate member advisory council of the NBAA; a board member of the National Air and Space Museum; a member of the National Committee for the Performing Arts, the advisory board of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; and he serves on the board of curators for the Georgia Historical Society.