Merrill A. Mcpeak

Biography

eneral McPeak retired a four-star general after nearly four decades in the US Air Force and served as USAF chief of staff from 1990 to 1994.  A career fighter pilot, General McPeak spent two years with the Air Force’s elite aerobatic team, the Thunderbirds, and flew 269 combat missions during the Vietnam conflict. Senior leadership assignments included command of the 20th Fighter Wing in NATO, the Twelfth Air Force (and concurrently, commander of US Southern Command Air Forces), and the Pacific Air Forces. He was Air Force chief of staff during a period of active US involvement overseas, including Operation Desert Storm. Following retirement from active service, General McPeak began a second career in business. He is or has been a director of numerous public companies, including Tektronix and TWA.  He is currently a director of Aerojet Rocketdyne, Lilis Energy, Iovance Biotherapeutics, Research Solutions, and Valence Surface Technologies (privately held). General McPeak was a national co-chairman of Obama for President, and in 2010 the President appointed him to the American Battle Monuments Commission, where he currently serves as chairman.  General McPeak is a distinguished graduate of the San Diego State College ROTC program and received the university’s first ever Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992. He also holds a master’s in international relations from George Washington University.

Research Interest

Research Solutions, and Valence Surface Technologies