About Me

I’ve been an aviation enthusiast since as long as I can remember.

Growing up in a time when there were very few occupational choices available to women, I was fascinated by the more adventurous male-dominated careers. My father was a fighter pilot, and for as far back as I can remember, he entertained us with stories of his personal flight experiences. Hair raising stories about ejecting from jet aircraft, an emergency landing without the nose wheel and many others. I never got to fly or fight in the trenches, but I am fortunate enough to be in a position where I can assist in the selection of those who do.

The journey

I started my career in the military and occupied a range of leadership roles, with a specific focus on the selection and development of military leaders and elite soldiers. In 2004, having reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, I made a career transition to the corporate world and worked as HR professional as well as industrial & aviation psychologist in South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates. Over the years I have designed and delivered numerous bespoke talent identification and development projects and engaged with clients across 85 countries. My career offered opportunities to meet talented employees ranging from graduates to executive leaders in a large portfolio of industries, such as mining, automotive, banking, telecom, security and utilities, and finally peaking in the aerospace industry. I have delivered enterprise talent and transformation programmes and honed my skills in the design of competency frameworks, recruitment and selection strategies as well as the deployment of internet-based occupational assessments.

In September 2020, after a five year tenure at Emirates Airlines, I lost my job due to the impact of COVID-19 on the aviation industry. It was a significant life event that fundamentally shaped my career identity and aspirations.

On a new track

I’ve witnessed the COVID-19-related trauma, financial hardship, job loss and mental health symptoms among aviation professionals and wanted to support people through the pandemic. As a result, I co-founded an international aviation consultancy business, AeroAssess. For the first few months we volunteered our time and expertise to help others bounce back, but by 2021 changed the business model towards a commercial business – providing consulting and psychometric assessment services to our clients.

On a more personal note, I am passionate about the application of technology such as artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to transform assessment data into future insights. I stay abreast of industry trends, conduct continuous research and present papers at conferences whenever the opportunity presents itself. I champion people development and act as coach and mentor to young graduates as well as C-suite professionals. I am a licensed Industrial Psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and a certified Aviation Psychologist with the European Association for Aviation Psychology (EAAP).