Until September 2020 Emma was one of fewer than five hundred female airline captains in the world, flying thousands of passengers all over Europe. Then, as covid swept the globe and grounded Emma and her colleagues, she founded a charity, of which she is now CEO, and had to choose to allow the sun to set on a flying career that spanned three decades. Already well-known in the airline industry, Emma starred in an ITV documentary - Inside the Cockpit - in 2019 and overnight became known as 'Captain Emma'.

Emma's route into aviation is an unusual enough story on its own but the challenges she has faced throughout her career have taught her more than most about leadership, resilience, perseverance and grace, and she has used these skills to great effect at Project Wingman which has gained national acclaim uniting the airline industry in providing well-being support to NHS frontline staff across the UK and briefly, the US.

Throughout her flying career, she received many personal letters and messages from passengers thanking her for the way she chose to treat them and her crew, and she was nominated easyJet Captain of the Year in 2018.

Her charity has also been widely acclaimed, supporting thousands of people in the NHS and the airlines, and has been acknowledged not only by the NHS but also by the airline industry and government; Emma was made MBE for her services to charity in January 2021.

Emma's story is one of triumph over adversity, determination, finding the good in everyone and inspiring and empowering her team of six thousand volunteers, leading from the front, and always with a generous heart. All of which she has successfully turned into a living demonstration of how to ‘Lead from the Front’, and she now uses the years of knowledge and experience she gained from life at 37000 feet to inspire the next generation of aviators, mentoring aspiring pilots, giving her time as a STEM Ambassador and most recently becoming an Aviation Ambassador for the UK Department for Transport, painting pictures and telling stories of a life above the clouds that few have the privilege ever to witness.

To all who know her, Emma's passion for her job always shone through, and so her decision to take redundancy in September 2020 is an emotional story of having to make tough but right decisions, and choosing to be grateful for what she has had and has been able to achieve. Emma's 'career pivot' from airline captain to charity CEO has been inspirational and the fact that so many people are still giving their time to volunteer for the charity she created is a testament to her leadership skills and generous personality.

In addition to her experiences of working, and leading in a traditionally male-dominated environment, Emma is well versed in the transferable skills practised daily by all pilots - teamwork, leadership, decision making, workload management and communication have been as much Emma's bread and butter over the last decade as her ability to fly and Emma is qualified to speak with considerable knowledge on a wide range of topics as a result.

Key achievements are reflected in all she has done, and Emma has been widely celebrated across the industry for these, being recognised as businesswoman of the year in 2020, she also received a Points of Light award, the ACA Chairmans Industry Recognition Award, was awarded the Brabazon Cup in 2021, as well as being made MBE.

Emma has been delivering inspirational talks and presentations to a number of organisations for many years, working with RBS, NatWest, CAE, the MOD, the NHS, the London Insurance market and EDF to name but a few, and her fascinating story, ability to inspire and empower, her compassion and wry humour have delighted audiences in every arena and left them feeling equipped and compelled to become better versions of themselves.