Rachel Gardner-Poole OBE is an aviation and sustainability leader, having co-founded the charity Aviation for Good, which helps fund life-saving medical support and relief aid where other transport cannot reach. As a board-level leader with both executive and non-executive experience, Rachel’s background in strategy and governance has given her insightful perspectives on leadership, collaboration and change.
Dreaming of being a pilot since the age of 6, Rachel studied mathematics at university before beginning her career as a Higher Scientific Officer at the Defence Research Agency, aiding the systems design of nuclear submarines. She moved to Tornado and Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft testing and soon became the first woman to spend 36 hours on board a British nuclear submarine before gaining her commercial pilot licence. Rachel transitioned through numerous roles at various high-profile organisations such as QinetiQ, IBM, the UK Home Office, and the Civil Aviation Authority, where she reached the role of Head of General Aviation. In 2020, she became the Director of the UK Space Agency, taking on the role of Chief Operating Officer at Connected Places Catapult, strengthening her people-focused leadership and confident ambition. Previously appointed by UK Government ministers to chair a national net-zero stakeholder group, she is currently a Director of Aviascia having co-founded a sustainable flying school/EmPower Flight and Aviation for Good. Rachel has served in a range of advisory, consultancy and board positions, including Projects Delivering Hope and NATS, with current roles spanning Heathrow Stakeholder Group, Astroscale, the British Aviation Group, and Form1 Partners.
As a Chartered Mathematician and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Rachel has been honoured with a multitude of accolades, including the AeroTime Aviation Achievement Award, as well as an OBE for her services to aviation. She has been featured across various media outlets, such as the BBC, AeroTime, and Business Airport International.
With a breadth of experience in aviation, business transformation, culture change, and putting people first, Rachel’s keynotes offer audiences frameworks to build trust, move through uncertainty, and navigate complex landscapes. A true changemaker, she brings warmth and inspiration to every engagement, making her the perfect addition to a multitude of events, from science and aviation engagements to diversity and leadership summits.
Rachel Gardner-Poole's official speaking topics are listed below:
Collaboration Without Consensus: Leading Complex Change
With experience chairing stakeholder groups and leading diverse teams, Rachel explores how progress can still be made when perspectives, priorities and opinions differ.
From Impossible to Impact: Turning Purpose into Progress
Rachel shares her personal journey from a background where aviation did not feel possible to leadership roles shaped by purpose, resilience and stepping into the unknown.
Sustainability in Practice: Making Progress When It’s Not Easy
Using real examples from aviation and other hard-to-decarbonise sectors, Rachel examines what it takes to turn sustainability ambition into practical action.
Opening Up Opportunity: Why Inclusion Changes Outcomes
Through her own experiences and work across aviation and training, Rachel explores how inclusion unlocks better decisions, stronger teams and wider opportunity.
Making Change Happen: Turning Ambition into Action
Having led organisational transformation, turned around struggling programmes and delivered complex change, Rachel shares what it really takes to make change happen.
Using Aviation for Good: Creating Impact Where It Matters Most
Inspired by a childhood dream to use aviation to help people in remote communities, Rachel shares how aviation can be a powerful force for humanitarian impact.
Stepping Into the Unknown: Courage, Risk and Growth
From aviation and leadership to solo adventures around the world, Rachel explores what uncertainty teaches us about courage, judgement and personal growth.
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
“Rachel’s speech was inspiring to all and especially to those who face challenges in getting accepted and recognised for what they are achieving. She challenged us on practical actions to take forward.” - Chair, British Aviation Group.
“It was a wonderful occasion at the Guildhall in London and Rachel’s after dinner talk was extremely inspirational, giving us a very memorable evening with practical ideas and actions to take forward.” - Chairman of Aerospace at Price Forbes & Partners and City of London Common Councillor
“Rachel's speech was impassioned, meaningful & beautifully delivered. It will resonate long after the event.” - Director, ICF
“The pleasure and honour was ours to have Rachel speaking. It was wonderful to hear from her, especially a glimpse into the ‘6-year old Rachel’. Still engaging, still inquisitive and still amazing." - Partner, Pinsent & Masons
- 2026 – Co-Founder and Chair, Aviation for Good
- 2026 – Advisor, Form1 Partners
- 2025 – Board Member, British Aviation Member, British Aviation Group
- 2025 – Board Advisor, Astroscale
- 2025 – GAIN Steering Group Chair & Sustainable Aviation Consultant, NATS
- 2024 – Co-Founder & Chief Sustainability & Growth Officer, EmPower Flight
- 2024 – Chair, Stakeholder Group, Heathrow
- 2024 – Board Member, MAF International
- 2023 – Director, Aviascia
- 2022 – Chair, Zero Emission Flight Delivery Group, Jet Zero Council
- 2021 – Chief Operating Officer, Connected Places Catapult
- 2020 – Director (Secondment), UK Space Agency
- 2019 – Member of the Board of Trustees, Projects Delivering Hope
- 2019 – Head of General Aviation, Civil Aviation Authority
- 2018 – Chair, Projects Delivering Hope
- 2016 – Portfolio Director, Civil Aviation Authority
- 2015 – Transformation Programme Manager, Civil Aviation Authority
- 2014 – General Aviation Programme Manager, Civil Aviation Authority
- 2012 – Programme Manager, UK Home Office
- 2011 – Senior Management Consultant – Strategy & Transformation, IBM
- 2011 – Operations & Lean Transformation Manager, QinetiQ
- 2009 – Technical Manager, QinetiQ
- 2003 – Systems Integration Manager, QinetiQ
- 2001 – Trials Mathematician, DERA
- 1999 – Professional Mathematician, DERA
- 1994 – Higher Scientific Officer & Scientific Officer, Defence Research Agency
How to hire Rachel Gardner-Poole OBE
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Rachel Gardner-Poole OBE for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
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