Thomas Bruns is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Middle East and Africa. In this
role, he directs the International Trade Administration’s efforts to increase U.S. market
access and commercial partnerships in a region undergoing historic transformation and
economic growth.
Bruns is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, most recently serving as the
Regional Senior Commercial Officer for the Gulf at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates. In this role, he oversaw the operations of four offices across the
UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman. His previous posts included serving as: Deputy Senior
Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia; Senior Commercial
Officer in Sofia, Bulgaria; Deputy Senior Commercial Officer in Ankara, Turkey; and
in Washington, D.C. as a senior trade specialist in ITA’s Office of Russia, Ukraine, and
Eurasia.
Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bruns held positions in the private
sector, including serving as regional director and sales executive of Hilti, and sales and
marketing for Group PSA in France. Earlier in his career, he served as a Peace Corps
Volunteer, Associate Peace Corps Director, and independent consultant for UNESCO
and USAID in West Africa.
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 has studied Bulgarian, Russian, Turkish, and the West African languages of
Bambara and Wolof