Emma Henderson MBE – Lead from the Front

• Inspirational Leadership in high-pressure environments
• Decision Making strategies from the Flight Deck
• Breaking Barriers: Women in Leadership
• Crisis Management and Team Dynamics
• Navigating Change in Turbulent Times
• Grounded Leadership: How Humanity, Humility, and Humour create leaders who inspire trust and empower teams.
• Navigating Change & Uncertainty: Practical strategies to embrace change and thrive amidst disruption.
• Resilience & Mental Toughness: Lessons from the cockpit on staying composed and effective under pressure.
• Authentic Leadership: The importance of leading with empathy, listening, and building genuine connections.
• Decision-Making Under Pressure: Emma’s tried-and-tested frameworks for making critical decisions in high-stakes environments.

Highlights

Trailblazing Female Captain: One of fewer than 500 female airline captains worldwide, commanding Airbus A320 jets for over a decade.

Founder of Project Wingman: Established a global charity supporting NHS frontline staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing “first-class” rest lounges for thousands of workers.

Royal Recognition: Awarded an MBE in the 2021 New Year’s Honours for her exceptional contributions to healthcare and aviation.

Global Advocate: Featured on international media platforms as a thought leader on resilience, leadership, and navigating change.

Inspiring and motivating organisations, leaders and teams to achieve
new heights, Emma Henderson MBE is giving wings to ambition and helping talent soar.

As one of fewer than 500 female airline captains worldwide, with over 20 years of
experience, an MBE to her name, and founder of the acclaimed Project Wingman, Emma
knows how to navigate challenges and break barriers.

Her journey from the flight deck to becoming an award winning speaker, bestselling author, and mother of three embodies resilience, innovation, and the power of a positive mindset.

Emma’s compelling presentations draw from her unique experiences commanding aircraft
and leading diverse crews in high-stakes environments.

She demonstrates how developing a captain’s mindset is crucial for success in any field – enabling leaders and teams to make swift decisions, adapt to rapid changes, and achieve the seemingly impossible.

Her aviation-inspired approach to leadership and personal growth offers fresh, actionable
insights for creating a culture of excellence and continuous improvement.

Whether your organisation is facing turbulent times, aiming for ambitious goals, or looking
to elevate team performance, Emma’s dynamic speaking engagements will inspire and
equip your people to soar.

She doesn’t just share stories from 30,000 feet – she gives your
teams wings, helping talent take flight and ambitions reach new altitudes.

With Emma’s guidance, challenges become opportunities, change becomes exciting, and goals once thought unreachable come clearly into view.

Emma’s real-world experience managing complex situations at 37,000ft translates into powerful, actionable strategies for leaders in any industry.

Her presentations blend gripping stories from the flight deck with cutting edge leadership insights, delivering an unforgettable learning experience.

Talks and Topics

The Lasting Impact

Emma provides a roadmap for sustained growth and transformation.

Her unique combination of authenticity, actionable insights, and human-centered storytelling ensures that her message resonates long after the event.

Audiences walk away equipped to:

• Lead with Humanity: Emma’s emphasis on empathy and trust transforms how leaders connect with their teams, building cultures of inclusion and collaboration.
• Adapt with Resilience: By reframing challenges as opportunities, Emma empowers individuals to face uncertainty with confidence and creativity.
• Elevate Decision-Making: Her proven frameworks from the cockpit help leaders approach decisions with clarity and precision, even in high-pressure scenarios.
• Foster Continuous Growth: Emma’s focus on reflection, learning, and refinement enables teams to sustain long-term performance improvements.

Through her philosophy of Grounded Leadership, Emma delivers practical tools that organisations can implement immediately, creating a ripple effect of positive change across their leadership, teams, and culture.

Bomb-proof Resilience: You Have Control – So Take It!

45 minute keynote

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, leaders often find themselves navigating through turbulent skies of uncertainty.

The ability to make confident decisions and maintain control, even when faced with incomplete information or unexpected challenges, is as crucial in the boardroom as it is in the flight deck.

Just as a pilot must remain in command during all phases of flight, modern leaders must take control of their decision-making processes to guide their organisations through times of change and uncertainty.

From sudden market shifts to internal team conflicts, the pressures on business leaders are diverse and relentless.

Similarly, airline captains face a myriad of challenges, from severe weather conditions to complex technical issues.

You can let these pressures overwhelm you and erode your team’s confidence, or you can use them as opportunities to demonstrate bomb-proof resilience and foster a culture of decisive action within your organisation.

How you respond to challenges and make decisions sets the tone for your entire team, whether in the air or on the ground.

Bomb-proof resilience is about developing the mental fortitude to remain in control, make sound decisions, and inspire confidence in others—even when the path ahead is unclear and the pressure is mounting.

As an experienced airline captain, Emma Henderson brings a unique perspective on decisionmaking under pressure.

She’ll share personal anecdotes from the flight deck and draw parallels to business leadership, offering practical strategies that have helped her maintain control and lead effectively in high-stakes situations.

Emma will discuss techniques for implementing cockpittested decision-making models in business contexts, overcoming analysis paralysis, and building confidence in your decision-making abilities—all while managing your own stress and doubts.

With years of experience guiding aircraft and crews through challenging situations, Emma offers a relatable and authentic perspective on the challenges of modern leadership.

Her engaging presentation style combines technical expertise with humour and honesty, delivering actionable insights that will resonate with leaders at all levels.

Attendees will leave the session with renewed confidence and practical tools to enhance their decision-making skills and resilience under pressure.

Teamwork – Making the Dream Work

45 minute keynote

In today’s complex business environment, success is rarely achieved by individuals working in isolation.

Just as a commercial airliner requires a well-coordinated crew to navigate safely through the skies, modern organisations need cohesive teams to thrive in an ever-changing landscape.

The ability to foster effective teamwork and create high-performance crews is as crucial in the boardroom as it is in the flight deck.

From merging departments to integrating diverse generations of workers, the challenges of building effective teams are manifold.

Similarly, airline crews must seamlessly blend different personalities,
experiences, and skills to ensure safe and efficient operations.

You can let these challenges create silos and friction, or you can use them as opportunities to build a culture of collaboration and mutual support that drives your organisation forward.

How you cultivate teamwork sets the foundation for your entire organisation’s performance, whether in the air or on the ground.

Building high-performance crews is about creating an environment where every team member feels valued, empowered to contribute, and aligned towards common goals—even when faced with pressure or uncertainty.

As an experienced airline captain, Emma Henderson brings a unique perspective on building and leading high-performance teams.

She’ll share personal anecdotes from the flight deck and draw parallels to business leadership, offering practical strategies that have helped her create cohesive, effective crews in high-stakes situations.

Emma will discuss techniques for fostering open communication, aligning team members towards common goals, and leveraging diverse strengths within a team—all while navigating the complexities of intergenerational workforces and rapidly changing business environments.

With years of experience leading diverse crews through challenging situations, Emma offers a relatable and authentic perspective on the challenges of modern team leadership.

Her engaging presentation style combines technical expertise with humour and honesty, delivering actionable insights that will resonate with leaders at all levels.

Attendees will leave the session with renewed enthusiasm and practical tools to enhance their team-building skills and create high-performance crews within their organisations.