Colin Russell is the Head of Safety for Lilium, an exciting company developing the first electric VTOL jet. In this role he is responsible for leading the build and implementation of safety management systems and enabling the effective leadership of its safety performance. After almost 20 years as an Air Engineer Officer in the Royal Navy where he led teams working on some old (Sea King HC4) helicopters and not so old ones (Merlin HM1) as well as time at sea (lumpy) the desert (hot) and headquarters (most challenging!) he took his budding passion for safety leadership and culture into civilian life, working for Baines Simmons, a specialist aviation safety consultancy supporting airlines, MROs and manufacturers around the world before then taking on the role as Group Safety Director for the Thomas Group Airlines (5 Airlines and 3 MROs), and then as Safety Director for Flybe, a regional UK airline. He is passionate about the role of leadership and culture in helping teams perform safely across the aviation spectrum.
