Pete Furman was born in Pennsylvania and raised in many parts of the country due to his parents’ job commitments. Pete brings a wealth of management experience and a unique variety of skills honed through both his working career and his personal development.

Pete launched his career in Arizona at Garret Turbine Engine Company (now part of Honeywell Aerospace) and then moved to Minneapolis to work for MTS Systems Corporation, where he spent many years in multiple roles. As Product Manager, Pete was responsible for leading product development and managing existing products in a newly formed Aerospace Division of MTS. Among his early accomplishments was managing the production of Aero-90™, the company’s flagship structural test offering. Introduced in 1991, this product family is still being sold today and is considered the industry’s most successful product ever.

Promoted to Senior Program Manager in 1995, Pete continued to provide not only company, but industry leadership. Combining his knowledge of engineering with a natural leadership style, he managed a variety of large-scale engineering projects while mastering the often-confusing landscape of managing contracts in both the commercial and governmental arenas.

In 2000, Pete took a sabbatical and became a mountaineering instructor and taught teambuilding skills to corporate groups. This unique year of seeing the world through day-to-day encounters with nature’s awesome terrain gave Pete insight into managing teams and personal commitment.

Pete returned in 2000 to MTS as a Senior Account Manager, representing the entire line of products in multiple market segments. Pete handled many key accounts for MTS, including those with Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Cessna, and Alcoa. Pete was named Sales Engineer of the Year in 2002 and 2003.

Director of Product Strategy for MTS Systems Corporation was the next step up the ladder for Pete, who reported directly to the Executive Vice President. As a leader at MTS, Pete accomplished much and soon founded his own company in San José, Appteric Inc., which provided manufacturers’ representation for advanced manufacturing technologies.

Pete also brings two years of intense community involvement as a core downtown resident. He served on the board of the Saint James Historic District Neighborhood Association, where he was the land-use and development subcommittee and retail subcommittee lead. Pete is a founding member of CalSJ, a group of San José citizen leaders committed to improving the quality of life in San José, and the Downtown Neighborhood Leadership Forum. He also has been involved with the Coalition for a Downtown Hospital (formerly the Save San José Medical Center), an organization dedicated to bringing emergency medical services to downtown San José residents.

Pete earned a Bachelor's degree in General Engineering and a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, both from the University of Illinois. Pete is married to Lisa Voss, a Sr. Product Manager at Intuit in Mountain View, CA. He has two daughters; Amanda Furman a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialist in Orlando, FL, and Lauren Furman an interior designer in Chicago, IL.