Sarah Furness

Sarah Furness is a former RAF Combat Helicopter Pilot, motivational keynote speaker, and inspirational trainer.

After graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in Natural Sciences and Theology, Sarah joined the Royal Air Force, first as an air safety trainer and then as a helicopter pilot. During her two decades there, she worked on tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, commanded a 120-man team across Kabul, and planned special forces operations.

Her experience in such hostile and challenging environments led to her transition into an inspirational and motivational keynote speaker. But she still has her mission: “To share the secret to outstanding resilience, performance and courage under fire”.

Contact Great British Speakers today to book former RAF combat helicopter pilot, leadership and teamwork speaker Sarah Furness for your next event.

Type Of Talent

After DinnerBusiness & FinanceCreativity, Change & InnovationDiversityEquality, Diversity & InclusionExploration & MilitaryFemale SpeakersHealth & WellbeingInternational Women's DayLeadership & TeamworkMental HealthMotivationalPersonal DevelopmentResilienceSales & MarketingSpeakerVirtual Speakers

More About Sarah Furness

In 2022, Sarah put her experience down in her debut book Fly Higher. Billed as part memoir and part training manual, Sarah divulges her mental training techniques, such as meditation, that have helped train her mind in the most extreme of situations. The book reached the Amazon bestsellers list in three categories: Business Biographies, Psychology and Mental Health, and Business Leadership Skills.

Sarah Furness Coaching

In 2022, Sarah founded Well Be It, a coaching company determined to help “people to feel as strong as they look”. She believes that most modern ways of coping with problems – such as discussing vulnerabilities and being aware of workplace trauma – often breed more negativity. Therefore, her coaching aims to make people stronger by telling ourselves we are brave, powerful and strong.

Specialising in employee performance and resilience under pressure and empowered leadership, Sarah offers hands-on workshops, one-to-one coaching sessions, and keynote speeches. Her primary focus is through her own unique formula – Healthy Automatic Behaviours in Threatening Scenarios (H.A.B.I.T.S). She believes this formula provides a way to train one’s mind to accomplish high levels of self-belief.

Sarah Furness Keynote Speaking

Since leaving the RAF in 2021, Sarah has become a popular keynote speaker, honestly talking about her experiences in war and civilian life and how she learned how to feel stronger, perform better and lead others whilst under extreme pressure.

She has amassed a large social media presence (with over 5,000 followers) plus appeared in the Henley Standard (2022) and on the cover of the March 2022 edition of Henley Life magazine. She was also named in the Entrepreneurs Herald’s Top 30 Inspiring Women to Look out for in 2022.

Sarah Furness - Book RAF helicopter pilot Keynote Speaker Executive Coach leadership teamwork motivational at Great British Speakers

Sarah Furness Keynote Talks

Train Hard, Fight Easy: Sarah provides the secret to performing well under pressure, leading to greater productivity, increased resilience under stress, and better thorough decision-making.

See an excerpt from Sarah’s Train Hard, Fight Easy talk below:

Feel as Strong as you Look (the secret to bombproof resilience): This talk creates greater resilience through difficulty. Future-proofing of teams against uncertainty, Increased staff engagement and retention. Sarah has witnessed strength in people and not always in the people you expect. By making people feel powerful, they will act like it, leading to increase staff engagement and retention and a calmer approach to uncertain situations.

See an excerpt from Sarah’s Bombproof Resilience talk below:

How to be Fearless: Fear is one thing that holds people back more than anything. The fear of rejection or saying the wrong thing. Sarah explains why people’s relationship to fear needs changing, leading to better team cohesion, improved success rates, and improved levels of diversity.

See an excerpt from Sarah’s How to be Fearless talk below:

Sarah Furness Speaking Topics Cover:

– Adversity and Resilience

– Inspirational Women

– Leadership and Peak Performance

– Mental Health and Wellbeing

– Teamwork and Communication

Clients: National 2022 Sales Conference, ICMI, We Champ, MD2MD, Event Raptor, Abstract, CMI.

Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book motivational leadership speaker Sarah Furness for your corporate event.

Contact us.

Testimonials

Ex-RAF Squadron Leader, Combat Helicopter Pilot, motivational speaker and yoga warrior – just a few ways to describe Sarah Furness, who regaled our Women’s Inclusive Network today with an inspiring account of how she juggled childcare arrangements as a young mother while managing a squadron of helicopter pilots in the Afghanistan war zone.
Sopra Steria

It was a pleasure to hear you speak earlier, and sparked a number of nerves on my part. If I had known it was going to be that good, I would have closed the office and told the team to hear you speak.
Ex-Special Forces Member

There is nobody worth listening to more than Sarah Furness in today’s world. Real experience, real stories no out-of-a-book fluff.
Paul Lloyd

Utterly humbling…I could listen to Sarah all day – her delivery was calm, logical and compelling. Please come back soon – your session was one of the best that I have ever attended.
Anonymous

Wonderful day of Winefulness with Sarah Furness…an excellent combination of ‘Military-Grade’ mindfulness (training your brain to perform under pressure) through the joyous pleasure of wine tasting. An excellent approach for any business to consider in these turbulent times.
John Peters, Director, Monkey Business

Fly Higher is the best book I’ve read for a long time. The balance of humour, personal reflection and self-help is spot on. Not only is it hard to put down, but the techniques can easily be implemented in your daily life from the word go. Outstanding.
Mark Keen, Head of International Stakeholder Engagement USVF, Defence Infrastructure Organisation

Fasten your seatbelts, working with Sarah puts you in the driving seat! A no-nonsense approach coupled with techniques that I could revert to at my own pace was exactly what I needed.
Anonymous

Sarah is a phenomenon. She flew helicopters in combat zones for 20 years, crashing the odd one and turning those experiences, that would scare the life out of most of us, into entertaining stories. She’s now helping the world by educating us on how to perform and thrive under pressure.
Russell Silverman, Silverman Consulting