Graham Duff is a remarkable Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot who completed display tours with the Red Arrows and ground combat with the UK Special Forces. As the CEO of Flight Director Ltd, his vast life experience makes him the perfect inspirational and motivational speaker. He can also offer implementable advice to corporate audiences. Graham’s tailored talks benefit social and business organisations alike, and his decade spent as a keynote speaker makes him the ideal expert to enhance your occasion.
Joining the RAF in 1996 as a trainee pilot, Graham graduated at the top of his flying class, marking the beginning of his twenty-three years with the RAF. He qualified as a member of the Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Team, during which time he had his second visit to Nepal on an expedition. Throughout the years, Graham proved his incredible resilience and completed several Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria tours. He spent extensive time defending the Northern Iraq no-fly zone and three years as a squadron leader for the Red Arrows. A brave and ambitious military man, Graham embarked on missions worldwide, each time rising to the occasion and showing exemplary teamwork, leadership, and risk consideration.
A natural-born adventurer, Graham’s youth was spent exploring mountains with his family, an experience that inspired him to qualify as a member of the RAF Mountain Rescue Team. Graham has completed several gruelling challenges, testing the limits of human capacity. From summiting the coldest place on earth, Mount McKinley, to spending two and a half months on a Mount Everest expedition, Graham continually proves his ability to defy the odds and reach peak performance. As a Qualified Flying Instructor on the Hawk jet aircraft, Graham taught students and instructors for the Central Flying School, as well as being posted to the Empire Test Pilots' School at MoD Boscombe Down. He instructed on the Alpha Jet, Hawk, and Tucano aircraft and flew over 30 aircraft types, including multi-engine planes and helicopters. Graham completed a three-year tour with the Red Arrows as a display pilot before and was later deployed to Afghanistan with UK Special Forces.
Graham left the RAF in 2011 but joined again in August 2014. He became a front-line Typhoon pilot, a role in which he defended the UK on Quick Reaction Alert and was deployed to Syria and Iraq. He then left the RAF and was appointed a pilot manager at DEA Ltd, an Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance aviation company. One of the most accomplished military pilots of his era, Graham is a truly exceptional after-dinner speaker. He tells anecdotal tales of his times flying into the face of war and experiencing the most hostile environments the world has to offer.
Reviews
Graham Duff received a 4 star rating across 12 events in 2023.
AGENT RECOMMENDATION
"Graham Duff is an incredible speaker with a truly inspiring story. His experiences as an RAF pilot and adventurer bring a unique perspective that captivates and motivates audiences. From flying with the Red Arrows to climbing Everest, Graham’s engaging and down-to-earth storytelling makes him a fantastic choice for any event."
How to hire Graham Duff
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Graham Duff 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.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
Graham's official speaking topics are listed below.
Belief
Graham’s message focuses on the ability to find that something special deep inside when it matters most. It is not a transient, chest-beating form of motivation that fades when the going gets tough, but the discovery of that core drive, which sustains you through the darkest times—an instinct to achieve, a quiet strength. This leaves people feeling inspired and excited to excel themselves in a variety of areas.
Inspiration
We all have our own ultimate challenges in life. Graham’s story is really about applying simple qualities that kept him and others alive in extreme situations. It’s a story about knowing that the harder we try and the more of our hearts we put into things that matter to us most, the luckier we all become. It is about not being afraid to be close to those around you and about each of us having the ability to make a positive difference.
Teamwork
What it means to have your life dependent on your team. Graham talks about the human bonds that tie people together when the chips are down and how the Red Arrows strive for perfection through teamwork. The ability to work together in extreme situations, a 5-tonne aeroplane travelling at 500 mph only 6 feet from its neighbour, and surviving in the world's coldest and most inhospitable areas. This allows people to gauge how crucial honesty, integrity, and trust are when lives hang in balance and how this can relate to their personal and professional lives.
Leadership
The qualities needed for effective leadership can be learned. Real leaders inspire a feel-good factor around them; you want to be with them regardless. We all perform better when we are appreciated, encouraged, and valued. Leaders inspire those around them to go that little bit further, to perform that little bit better, and to feel that little bit stronger. Graham proves this theory through the numerous expeditions he’s succeeded in and shares that the key to successful leadership is bringing the best out of people.
OFFICIAL FEEDBACK FROM IN-PERSON & VIRTUAL EVENTS
"Graham Duff was a superb addition to our event agenda. His light-hearted tone and excellent speech content were the prefect way to round off the day, and provided many interesting insights for our eager audience. The speech was thoroughly enjoyed by all, and proved to be the ideal combination of humour and interest. Thanks again Graham, and I do sincerely hope that our paths cross again in the near future." - Event organiser, Ironmongers Hall, London
"I would have no hesitation in recommending Graham as an after dinner speaker. He was great to work with; very accommodating which always makes it easier from an organiser’s view point. Beyond that his talk was informative and really held the attention of our guests even after a long day of listening to commercial presentations. To be honest their only complaint was that we didn’t have him on for longer so I’m sure he would be a popular choice for someone looking for a day time speaker slot too! Graham shared a fascinating insight that our audience really appreciated and never thought they would receive first hand, it was a refreshing change from the standard motivational speaker which was thoroughly enjoyed by us all." - Sharron Cutler, Handicare International
"From feedback I have had, everyone thought your talk was amazing, on both topics….Red Arrows and Everest. They are both sort of glamorous subjects, so it went down well and you were amazing! Loved you." - Margaret Cooper, Red Route Agency
"Graham shared his inspirational stories, experiences and anecdotes with our UK cross-functional teams, and there was something for everyone. I had a lot of positive feedback, “takeaway actions” and thanks for a fascinating insight into a world few get to see. Most important was Graham’s ability to take our brief and shape his presentation around some key corporate themes as well as giving some practical tips for translating and implementing this into the corporate world." - Ben Hobkinson, Manager UK&I Hi-Tech Team, Forrester Research Ltd
"Your involvement certainly helped attract a wide audience and the entire day was very well attended, even though we had to run it as a virtual event. Your keynote presentation was very well received and certainly hit the mark in helping deliver the key messages that my team wanted to get across to our people. I very much valued your contribution to this event as your personal perspective on your own experience generated a lot of interest and has got people discussing the subject, which was the intent." - Ministry of Defence: DE&S Director Engineering and Safety, Stephen Wilcock
"Graham really rocked our Partner Kick-off 2020 in Frankfurt – his speech was mind-blowing, garnished with highly-interesting real-life stories and gave a clear message to the participants. By the way Graham´s speech was best-rated in the Event by the participants. It was a real pleasure!" - Michael Reiserer, MD Sales, Easy Software:
"Graham was the perfect speaker for our event. His tone and manner came across superbly, a calmness when speaking about events in his life that would have most people terrified! In particular his description of how, in the Red Arrows, their desire for improvement was paramount even after the ‘perfect’ display. It was a great inspiration and motivation for the team. His storytelling, laced with his humour of events across so many exciting activities held the audience totally and their reaction was great. I would definitely recommend Graham." - Kevin Gaughan, Director of Resourcing, Learning and Development for BT Openreach
"I wish to thank you personally for presenting a most interesting and informative after dinner speech at Nasmyth Group’s recent Pre-Budget Conference. My team was impressed with your photographic and video material. I liked your cool, reaction during your climb of Mount Everest and the spectacular and gruesome sights that you saw there. You came across as a Man’s man with a spirit of adventure, entrepreneurism and discipline. A model citizen who gives many pointers and motivates people such as my engineering teams’, to work hard and succeed. Thank you again on behalf of the Nasmyth management team for an exciting and involving speech suitable for male and female guests and providing an hour of maximised pleasure and thank you also for the other personal hours of involvement following your speech. I have taken the liberty of passing your contact details to [...] with my recommendation that you be considered for that organisation's next speaker slot." - Dr Peter Smith, Chairman and CEO, Nasmyth Group Ltd
- 2023 - Appointed CEO of Flight Director Ltd
- 2022 - Appointed Head of Capability Development at DEA Aviation
- 2019 - Appointed Deputy Operations of DEA Aviation
- 2014 - Rejoined the RAF as a front line Typhoon pilot
- 2011 - Reached the summit of Mount Everest
- 2010 - Completed a four-month ground tour in Afghanistan
- 2010 - Completed a three-year tour with the Red Arrows
- 2003 - Spent four months on ground post during the second Gulf War
- 1996 - Joined the RAF as a trainee pilot
- Graduated from Bristol University with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering
- Appointed a Pilot Manager for DEA Ltd
