Full Name
Marc Nichols
Job Title
Chief Counsel
Company (Please input the full name of your organization)
Federal Aviation Administration
Speaker Bio
Marc Nichols was appointed Chief Counsel of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by President Joseph R. Biden and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg with effect on January 5, 2022. In this role, Marc serves as the chief legal officer of the agency, providing comprehensive legal guidance across all operational facets of the FAA on matters of importance to the national aviation and aerospace sector.
As Chief Counsel, Marc leads a team of over 300 legal professionals located across 13 offices nationwide and oversees an annual budget exceeding $65 million. His responsibilities encompass representing and advising the FAA's various lines of business and staff offices on a broad range of aviation and aerospace issues, including litigation, enforcement, safety and security matters, regulatory and legislative affairs, employment and labor matters, data and emerging technology, and ethics and compliance issues. Additionally, Marc offers direct counsel to the FAA Administrator, the Deputy Administrator, and the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation to ensure the safest and most efficient aerospace system in the world.
In addition to over 20 years of legal experience, Marc also brings experience from working on Capitol Hill, serving as Inspector General at the U.S. Government Printing Office, and from within the technology, aerospace, and defense industries, as well as, working at various regional and national law firms. Marc‘s prior roles include his position as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary for Saab, the Swedish conglomerate's North American operations, where he served as the chief legal officer for the company in the United States and Canada. Before his tenure at Saab, Marc was the Director of Compliance & Global Legal Counsel at Rolls-Royce's defense sector, leading legal initiatives in helicopter aerospace, compliance, ethics, and government investigations.
A native of New York, Marc holds a J.D. from Washington and Lee University Law School in Virginia and a B.A. from Wabash College in Indiana. In May 2018, he made history at Wabash College by becoming the second African American and the second LGBT president of the Wabash College Alumni Association, marking a significant milestone in the college's 200-year history.
As Chief Counsel, Marc leads a team of over 300 legal professionals located across 13 offices nationwide and oversees an annual budget exceeding $65 million. His responsibilities encompass representing and advising the FAA's various lines of business and staff offices on a broad range of aviation and aerospace issues, including litigation, enforcement, safety and security matters, regulatory and legislative affairs, employment and labor matters, data and emerging technology, and ethics and compliance issues. Additionally, Marc offers direct counsel to the FAA Administrator, the Deputy Administrator, and the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation to ensure the safest and most efficient aerospace system in the world.
In addition to over 20 years of legal experience, Marc also brings experience from working on Capitol Hill, serving as Inspector General at the U.S. Government Printing Office, and from within the technology, aerospace, and defense industries, as well as, working at various regional and national law firms. Marc‘s prior roles include his position as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary for Saab, the Swedish conglomerate's North American operations, where he served as the chief legal officer for the company in the United States and Canada. Before his tenure at Saab, Marc was the Director of Compliance & Global Legal Counsel at Rolls-Royce's defense sector, leading legal initiatives in helicopter aerospace, compliance, ethics, and government investigations.
A native of New York, Marc holds a J.D. from Washington and Lee University Law School in Virginia and a B.A. from Wabash College in Indiana. In May 2018, he made history at Wabash College by becoming the second African American and the second LGBT president of the Wabash College Alumni Association, marking a significant milestone in the college's 200-year history.
