Guest Speaker: David Winstanley MA FCMI, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Birmingham Airport David has spent the vast majority of his professional career within or associated with aviation, firstly as an officer in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force and currently as Chief Operating Officer at Birmingham Airport. David originally joined the Royal Navy in 1984 and attended Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth before joining the Royal Air force in 1986. Originally trained as an Air Traffic Control officer in the RAF, David enjoyed a wide-ranging and varied military career, serving across the UK and abroad. He spent the early part of his career as a controller and then later gained functional expertise in airfield operations, career management, project and requirements management, regulatory compliance, risk management and leadership development. Promoted to Wing Commander in 2002, he was selected to attend advanced staff training at the Military Defence Academy in Shrivenham, on completion of which he gained his Masters degree in International and Defence Studies with Kings College London. In the last 3 years of RAF service, he established a reputation in the field of leadership development and played a key role in the establishment of the now highly regarded RAF Leadership Centre. David left the Royal Air Force October 2006 and joined Centrei Ltd as a Director and consultant to continue his work in the leadership development arena. David joined Birmingham Airport in 2007 as Head of Regulatory Compliance and Safety. In May 2009, David took over responsibility for all operational security matters and fulfilled the role of Head of Aviation Security prior to being promoted to Operations Director in June 2010. David took up his current role as Chief Operating Officer in May 2014. David lives in Rutland with his wife Lindsay and their 2 children, Laura 19 and James 17. David lists his main interests as military history, cricket, skiing, cycling and keeping fit.