Thomas Bruns

Thomas Bruns serves as the Deputy Director General of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service, the U.S. government’s primary commercial diplomacy, export, and investment promotion agency.  He manages a staff of more than 1,300 trade professionals across more than 225 domestic and overseas trade offices.  Previously, Bruns was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Middle East and Africa, where he directed the International Trade Administration’s mission to expand U.S. market access, forge strategic commercial partnerships, and strengthen American competitiveness in regions experiencing historic transformation and growth. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, he has held senior commercial leadership positions at U.S. embassies in Abu Dhabi, Moscow, Sofia, and Ankara, and in Washington, D.C., managing complex operations and high-value commercial diplomacy initiatives.

Bruns brings to his public service a strong foundation in the private sector. Before joining the U.S. Department of Commerce, he served as regional director and sales executive for Hilti and worked in sales and marketing for Groupe PSA in France. His early career included work as a Peace Corps Volunteer, Associate Peace Corps Director, and as an independent consultant for UNESCO and USAID in West Africa, giving him first-hand insight into the intersection of economic development, policy, and business.

Bruns earned his BA from the University of Virginia and his MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society for collegiate schools of business. He is bilingual in French and English, and speaks Bulgarian, Russian, Turkish, and the West African languages of Bambara and Wolof.