Anthony Bourke, Speaker | Ex-F-16 Fighter Pilot

Anthony Bourke

Gain valuable insights and actionable tools for business success with Anthony Bourke, speaker, CEO and Founder of Mach 2 Consulting.

Anthony Bourke | Speaker Biography

Former F-16 fighter pilot turned management training expert

Grew a start-up's revenue from $500,000 to $65 million in three years

CEO and president of Afterburner Inc., recognized by Inc. magazine

Anthony Bourke, the CEO and Founder of Mach 2 Consulting, is not just your average management training expert. As a former F-16 fighter pilot background, Bourke brings a unique perspective to the industry, combining his tactical knowledge with extensive business experience. Having accumulated over 2,700 hours of flight time in high-performance aircraft, Bourke's military career has given him the skills necessary to excel in the competitive business world. He has proven his abilities in the mortgage industry, achieving remarkable success by playing a pivotal role in growing a California-based start-up company's revenue from $500,000 to an impressive $65 million in just three years.

In addition to his achievements in the mortgage industry, Bourke has also served as the CEO and president of Afterburner Inc., a global management training company. Under his leadership, the company experienced rapid growth and was recognized as one of Inc. magazine's fastest-growing companies.

Anthony tackles engaging and informative speech topics, addressing essential aspects of business such as selling strategies, innovation, safety, execution, communication, and leadership. By drawing parallels between the mindset and approach of fighter pilots and business professionals, Anthony provides valuable insights and actionable tools for organizations looking to excel in their respective industries. His speeches are informative but dynamic and interactive, ensuring that his audience remains engaged. His unique perspective and wealth of experience make him a sought-after expert to upskill managers.

Featured Sessions

Selling At Mach 2

In addition to rising to the top of the aviation community, “AB” has built a business career on sales excellence. After achieving accolades as “Top Producer in the Western US” for a prominent lending institution, “AB” led a team of 40 professionals to grow revenue at a California based start-up company from $500,000 to $65M in just three years. A quintessential sales professional, “AB” will teach your people that just like fighter pilots, “great sales people are made… not born.” He draws comprehensive parallels between what makes great fighter pilots and what makes great sales people. For organizations looking to develop a sales team of “Top Guns,” this dynamic, interactive speech is a must!

Innovating At Mach 2

In today’s rapidly changing world companies and their people must constantly innovate to stay ahead of the competition. While many people in business think only of Tech Entrepreneurs as the leading innovators of our day, there is no doubt that fighter pilots are constantly innovating to survive and thrive in the world of aerial combat. As a former fighter pilot and serial entrepreneur, AB has applied the tools that fighter pilots use to stay ahead of the competition to the world of business. In this speech, AB will share these secrets and show your audience what it takes to be the best innovators both in combat and in their industry.

Leading At Mach 2

All great leaders have a system for driving peak performance. This hard-charging, high-impact keynote offers your leaders the straightforward, critical tools that U.S. Fighter pilots employ to lead their wingmen into the demanding environment of aerial combat. Learn how the best fighter squadrons and the best businesses in the world hire future leaders, how they then properly train those individuals, and continually promote a process of continuous improvement to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Staying Safe At Mach 2

Safety is the key to every successful mission for a fighter pilot. No matter how fast they fly, or how accurate their bombing runs, none of it matters if they don’t come home. Learn how the best fighter squadrons in the world train their people to execute the mission at the highest level every day, while keeping “safety first” top of mind. In this high-impact keynote, AB explains how to build a culture of safety without compromising the mission. He will also paint a vivid picture of how to identify the events that can lead to an accident while offering attendees the critical tools that U.S. Fighter pilots employ daily to keep their wingmen safe in the high stakes environment of aerial combat.

Communicating At Mach 2

A high impact Keynote focusing on how the world’s most successful enterprises—where results truly matter—achieve peak performance by creating a culture of honest and open feedback. At the conclusion of this 45-60 minute multi-media presentation, your team will walk out the door with a clear understanding of the potential power of open feedback. They will also learn how a “feedback gap” can cripple an organization. Finally, they will see a clear path on how you can make open feedback an integral part of your culture.

Executing At Mach 2

There are many companies with great people and great strategies in the business world today. Ultimately the difference between the winners and the “also rans” comes down to execution. During this interactive, multi-media keynote speech, AB will share the tools that fighter squadrons use to make sure that we are aligned, flying in formation and executing at the highest level every single time we fly. This highly motivating and inspiring keynote will equip your team with simple actionable tools that they can apply the very next day to improve execution and drive better results as individuals and as a team. If your company is pursuing a path of executional excellence, this session will reinforce your messaging and provide a fresh perspective on why execution truly matters in every business.

Featured Projects

Session Feedback

"I was blown away by the excellent presentation. As we are combing through the evaluations, I am not alone in saying that the experience was awesome." — Elizabeth Dahlgren, Charles Schwab

"Once again, please accept my thanks for participating in the ADT National Account Sales Kickoff Meeting. As you know we tend to be a high energy group and it's not often a speaker or a program really lights a fire under us but you did just that last week in Las Vegas. Your high energy, fact filled program resonated in a very positive way with the ADT National Account sales organization." — Bob Dale, ADT

"Thanks again for all of your great work this past week. I have gotten nothing but incredible positive feedback – you made quite an impression! I can also tell you that people referred to your presentation throughout the remainder of the sessions, and people are starting to adapt the briefing and de-briefing mentality." — Paul Robinson, Brother International