Rachel Gardner-Poole OBE
“Aviation has always inspired me because, for me, it has never been simply about flying. It is about the difference aircraft can make, reaching people in need, saving lives and transforming communities”
Rachel Gardner-Poole OBE FRAES is a senior aviation leader with extensive experience across sustainability, innovation and transformation. She has held leadership roles at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the UK Space Agency and Connected Places Catapult, and previously chaired the UK Jet Zero Council Zero Emission Flight Delivery Group.
Rachel now helps major organisations navigate complex change, shape strategy and build consensus across diverse stakeholders. She is also a Board Advisor to Astroscale and a Board member of the British Aviation Group.
As a Chartered Mathematician, she previously held a commercial pilot licence and was appointed an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to aviation.
Qualifications, Professional Bodies and Associations
- OBE - Officer of the Order of the British Empire
- FRAES - Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society
- C.Math/MIMA - Chartered Mathematician/ Member of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
- MSc - Master of Science, Mathematical Modelling
- ALCM - Associateship of the London College of Music
- Commercial Pilot Licence, Multi-IR (lapsed)
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