Airline and former Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot, Matt Lindley was one of the first ever openly gay pilots in the RAF. A punishable offence at the time, Matt overcame the adversity of homophobic restrictions to pursue his childhood dream of flying, and his resilience led to a cultural change in one of the UK’s biggest organisations. Strengthened by his journey in the forces, Matt has since flown the royal family, embarked on a career as a diversity keynote speaker and drawn on his decades of experience to offer transformative leadership training to corporations across the world. Offering two equally dynamic and valuable talks, Matt Lindley is guaranteed to leave a long lasting impact on your audience.
Selected in 1995 to join the Royal Air Force, Matt knew he faced the ultimate decision of fulfilling a childhood dream or staying true to himself. As bisexual pilots were forbidden from the RAF, Matt used his experience to transform the mindset of the organisation. Remaining self assured, determined for change and defiant in the face of adversity throughout his career, Matt saw how the RAF adapted its culture from one of open hostility towards gay personnel to acceptance and support. Revered for not only his history defining journey, but his impeccable flying skills, Matt specialised as a VIP Flying Captain, responsible for transporting The Royal Family and UK Prime Minister, in addition to training others in the industry.
Since leaving the service in 2007, Matt has continued his career, now a Commercial Airline Pilot, alongside his role as the Director of Propel Performance. Founded in 2013, Matt aimed to combine his first hand experience of error management being a senior pilot and human factors consultant in healthcare, with his decades of keynote speaking. A secondary dynamic to the already inspirational diversity speeches he gives, Matt also focuses on improving performance in workplace environments through analysis of human error, training in risk management and developing comprehensive leaders.
Through his diversity speeches and Propel Performance consultancy work, Matt’s uses a variety of personal anecdotes and incidents from many different industries including aviation and healthcare, to highlight why everybody is vulnerable to making mistakes. His presentation mixes psychology, case studies, interactive exercises and real-life practical tips on how to change the way we work. Former clients that have benefited from Matt’s impressive talks include: The New York Times, The Home Office and Mars Pet Care as well as a popular TED talk ‘Fear: Fight or Flight’.
How to hire Matt Lindley
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Matt Lindley 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.
Matt Lindley's official speaking topics are listed below.
- Management lessons from the flight deck
- Leadership and behaviour
- Conflict management
- Stress fatigue and human performance
- Communication and assertiveness
- Decision-making under stress
- Inclusive leadership
- Fattening hierarchy
- Speak up culture
- Decision making under pressure
- Stress and performance
- Human limitations at work
- Allyship
- Authentic self
- Inclusive leadership
- Mental health
- Banter in the workplace
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
Feedback from Virtual Events:
"It was brilliant – he was great, super engaging and people were hanging on his every word, even on Zoom! Have had some great feedback already, so we are really pleased." - Charlotte, Vice President, Operations Control Management, J.P. Morgan
"The delivery by Matt was exceptional, his take on his experiences in the RAF really hit the mark and his humour/story telling was appreciated by so many. From those that I have discussed this with they were extremely impressed with his presentation, there was so much contained within it that it really gave food for thought on how the RAF was then and how it is now. His range was truly amazing from his sexuality, his drive and motivation, mental health and leadership (being able to listen) everyone listening was able to take something from it. Truly remarkable and in all honesty I so glad we could have him deliver for us." - Paul, RAFC Cranwell
Feedback from In-Person Events:
"A very informative presentation - it was highly enjoyable learning about experiences from other industries and how lessons learnt elsewhere can be applied in the legal workplace."
"I really enjoyed it. I was (honestly) quite sceptical about this topic but I found it really helpful."
"Matt is a very engaging speaker who really knows his stuff - he uses diverse case studies across sectors to illustrate his points expertly well. I left the training as if I had really learnt something."
"A refreshing and engaging training session dealing with some of the softer skills which are often overlooked by the industry."
"I cannot recommend Matt highly enough. He talked to the Close Brothers community about his journey and it resonated incredibly well with all colleagues, not just those from the LQBQT community. His candour and honesty really connected with people, and the ties with wider mental wellness and resilience were incredibly topical given the current pandemic. His humour shone through and it was one of the best received external speakers we have had to date. A thorough recommendation..." - Martyn, Atkinson Group, Chief Operating Officer
"I was fortunate enough to listen to Matt speak at a recent LGBT diversity and inclusion event. Matt shared his own journey as a gay man growing up and achieving his dream to be a pilot which took him the macho world of the RAF and how throughout this time he kept his sexuality bottled. He was able to thread into this the impact that sustained stress and stressful events can have on your performance and if left unchecked the catastrophic outcomes that can result. He sincerely described how having to hide one’s sexuality is a significant source of sustained stress in one’s life providing a compelling reason why being inclusive is so essential to avoid this unnecessary situation. It also served as a reminder that each and everyone one of us faces stress and stressful situations everyday whether it be about being LGBT, a difficult family situations, illness the list goes on and reminded me how embracing diversity and being supportive of each other is beneficial to our overall well-being." - Brad, Royal Bank of Canada
"The event went amazingly well - and Matt was brilliant! We have already received great feedback and everyone was pleasantly surprised with how broad his presentation was as well." - Lillie, Convex Insurance
"I wanted to please express my thanks to Matt Lindley for his impactful session with our ND function, at EDF. We’ve had some really positive feedback." - Kim, Inclusion & Wellbeing Lead, EDF Energy
- 2020 - Boeing 777 Airline Pilot for British Airways
- 2019 - Partner & Head of Human Performance Factors for Verpora
- 2018 - Diversity & Leadership Keynote Speaker for TLC Lions
- 2013 - Healthcare Human Factors Change Management Consultant for Atrainability
- 2012 - Director of Propel Performance
- 2007 - Boeing 747-400 Airline Pilot for British Airways
- 1999 - RAF VIP Training Captain flying members of the Royal Family and the UK Prime Minister, for the Royal Air Force
- 1994 - Japanese Management Consultant for Ford Motor Company
