Mandy Hickson

Mandy has over 30 years experience within aviation. She joined the Royal Air Force in 1994 and was a the first woman to fly the Tornado GR4 on the front line, After leaving full time service she then served as a volunteer reservist for a further 8 years, flying Air Cadets.

Since leaving the RAF Mandy established her own company, Experience from the frontline. She is highly regarded as a keynote speaker, where she focuses on the promotion of Diversity & Inclusion leading to cultural change. She has spoken to over 500 schools globally as part of STEM awareness, and during lockdown she made it her mission to deliver voluntary sessions remotely to schools pupils, air cadets and university air squadrons, where she talks with humour and great passion to inspire those around her. 

Mandy has served as an Aviation Ambassador for the Department for Transport where her aim was to help raise the profile of the aviation industry through outreach programmes and she formed an integral part of the Reach for the Sky programme. She has also served as a trustee at the Victory Services Club.

Mandy is married to a former Royal Navy pilot and has 4 children.