Emma Henderson's biography
International Women's Day
- Former airline captain with over 30 years in aviation
- Creator of the AVIATE™ decision-making model for leaders
- Bestselling author of GROUNDED and featured on ITV's Inside the Cockpit
Emma Henderson MBE combines decades of aviation leadership experience with practical business insights to transform how leaders navigate complexity and change. As one of fewer than 500 female airline captains worldwide, Emma brings over 30 years of experience from the cockpit to her speaking engagements. Her presentations blend technical expertise with engaging storytelling that resonates across industries.
Through her keynotes, Emma translates aviation's rigorous protocols into actionable business strategies, helping leaders to make confident decisions under pressure. Her AVIATE™ decision-making model reveals how leaders can move from reactive to resilient, panic to purpose, and chaos to clarity, giving them the tools to think clearly, act decisively, and communicate confidently when it matters most.
Emma is also the founder and CEO of the national charity, Project Wingman Foundation Ltd, an initiative which provided a ‘first class lounge’ experience to offer rest and recuperation to thousands of NHS staff nationwide. In recognition of her work, Emma was awarded an MBE in the 2021 New Year’s Honours list.
Emma has shared the insights gained from her trailblazing career in her bestselling book, GROUNDED, and in her TEDx talk. She has been recognised as the Booker's Choice at The Speaker Awards and named among HR Magazine's Most Influential Thinkers in 2025. She has also collaborated with major brands and organisations including Natwest, BNP Paribas, the NHS, Marriott Hotels, RBS, EDF Energy, and NATO.
Book Emma Henderson MBE when when your leaders require practical strategies to navigate turbulence and emerge stronger on the other side.
Emma's showreel and videos
Topics, sessions and talks
Leading Beyond Limits To Elevate Performance
Emma Henderson MBE discusses how leaders and organisations can overcome invisible barriers and entrenched assumptions, emphasising the need for courage and recalibration to defy our perceived limitations. Attendees will learn to identify and challenge cultural and systemic "gravity," manage expectations in high-stakes situations, and utilise a practical 3-step "lift-off" checklist. Leaders will leave with a clearer sense of how to reframe what’s “normal” in their organisation so they can build transformative momentum and elevate performance under pressure.
Navigating Turbulence When The World Is On Fire
In her signature talk, Emma Henderson MBE draws on 30 years of experience in aviation and leadership to teach leaders how to stay calm and make confident decisions through crises. Key takeaways include Emma's proven AVIATE™ decision-making framework, insights on Grounded Leadership, an understanding of how your atmosphere becomes your team’s climate and culture, and strategies to reframe challenges as opportunities.
How To Create A Culture That Lets Your Team Fly
An organisation’s culture is like the atmosphere: mostly invisible, yet entirely decisive for performance. In this talk, Emma Henderson MBE explains how leaders influence the cultural climate and how teams thrive in an environment of trust and clarity. Attendees will learn to conduct a “pre-flight check” on their culture, covering mindset, team, and environment. They’ll also learn how to implement practical language and rituals for shifting the atmosphere to create a safe and motivated workplace through briefings, debriefs, and check-ins.
Grounded Leadership: Humanity, Humility & Humour
In this session, Emma Henderson MBE shares how grounding is essential for effective leadership in today's turbulent world. She uses aviation metaphors to illustrate how leaders can remain anchored in their values while being agile and decisive. Attendees will take a deep dive Emma’s AVIATE™ decision-making model (Aviate, Validate, Investigate, Assess, Talk, Execute), learn the importance of leading with humanity, humility, and humour, and understand how to establish a "minimum safe altitude”. Emma's insights empower leaders to navigate challenges confidently and effectively.
Altitude & Attitude: Aligning Your Vision & Impact
Emma Henderson MBE explores the twin metrics of leadership: altitude (your strategic vision) and attitude (your day-to-day execution of this vision). Emma shows how leaders succeed when both rise together and how drift occurs when vision outpaces culture. Drawing on her rare experience as a female airline captain, she highlights the importance of stepping up, creating equity, and lifting others as a leader. Audiences leave with a practical “flight-plan” to set altitude, calibrate attitude, and stay on course for stronger results.
Why we recommend booking Emma
Emma Henderson MBE draws on her rare experience as one of fewer than 500 female airline captains worldwide to deliver practical, proven strategies to help your leaders navigate turbulence and change. Book Emma today to empower them with the clarity, confidence, and resilience needed to succeed in any environment.
Sometimes you meet someone who makes an impact on you and you need to share them because you know how powerful it could be for others!
It was an absolute pleasure to have Emma speak at our Empowering Women in Business (EWIB) event this year. Her journey as a commercial airline pilot was fascinating and full of relatable lessons for our audience. She shared her story with authenticity, warmth, and honesty, drawing on her experiences to highlight the importance of remaining calm under pressure, clear communication, and trust in your team. Thank you, Emma, for sharing your insights with us!
BFA (British Franchise Association), BFA (British Franchise Association)
Emma is nothing short of an exceptional speaker, she is engaging, funny, emotive and serious as well as inspiring and galvanising all at the same time. She reads the room and adapts and adjusts to bring the audience on a journey with her, your audience will hang on her every word. A speaker can take an event from being good to outstanding and Emma has this ability in spades. Our guests came away talking about our event and the impact it had upon them and subsequently had a huge positive impact upon our organisation. We could not have asked for more. She exceeded all of our expectations, highly recommended.
Butterwick, Butterwick
Butterwick, Butterwick
