Thomas W. Prete
Thomas W. Prete is Program Chief Engineer, Military Engines at Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford. He joined Pratt & Whitney in 1989 as a Senior Thermodynamic Performance Engineer and progressed through managerial, engineering and operational roles of increasing leadership and responsibility leading up to his current position. He is responsible for the safety, airworthiness, life management, product improvements and technology insertion of engines powering such front-line military aircraft as the F-16, F-15, EA6B, B-52, C-17 and F-22 Raptor. His career milestones include his successful leadership of efforts to resolve complex burner stability and augmentor ignition issues on the world’s most advanced fighter engine, the F119, and completion of a $20 million global repair development program that initiated thousands of repairs for competitor engines. He has one patent pending and is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Pratt & Whitney William G. Chamberlain Military Customer Service Award for Outstanding Customer Support (’03), the Pratt & Whitney/ASME Outstanding Engineer of the Year award (2000), the Pratt & Whitney Special Award for Significant Contributions (’98, ’02 and ’03), and the U.S. Navy NAVAIR Commanders Award (’02). Mr. Prete received his M.S. degree from the University of Bridgeport and his executive MBA from the University of Connecticut.