For our tenth episode, I chat with Mandy Hickson, former RAF pilot and one of the UK’s first female fast-jet pilots. Mandy served in the RAF for 17 years flying the Tornado GR4, doing three tours of Iraq and whilst becoming a mum of two boys. This lady is a true inspiration and trailblazer, and her story is most certainly a remarkable one.
Mandy's story started with her dreaming about being a fast jet pilot at the age of 13 and culminated in her leading an entirely male dominated Front Line Tornado Squadron on operations.
We talk about the pressures and responsibilities that came with her not everyday career and flying a multi-million-pound fighter jet in hostile territory. And how Mandy's dream job became a reality through years of ambition, training, and commitment.
Learning more about Mandy’s incredible journey, we touch on failure, being a woman in the airforce at that time, not accepting the status quo, difficult career decisions, motherhood, and how she overcame many obstacles to succeed in such a demanding career to pave the way for others to follow in her footsteps.
Now an in-demand keynote speaker, consultant, published author, and MD of Hickson-Experience; Mandy shares how she is transferring her invaluable experience from the front line to the corporate boardroom and beyond.
You can learn more about her inspirational journey as a pioneering female fighter pilot and get a copy of her best selling book ‘An Officer, Not a Gentleman’ here. And learn more about her work here.
Be sure to listen in fast, I promise this episode will fly by and be a blast ;)