Justin Hughes is a former Fighter Pilot and Executive Officer in the world-famous Red Arrows.
After 15 years as a consultant on building high-performance cultures, Justin is uniquely positioned to inspire and offer practical insights into the drivers of excellence.
Justin started his career in the RAF. During officer training, he was awarded the Wilkinson Sword for Outstanding Leadership and graduated as the top cadet of his entry.
Following his flight training, Justin eventually flew the Tornado F3 – a fighter aircraft used for front-line air defence.
During his career, Justin participated in training and operational deployments worldwide, including UN peacekeeping operations in Bosnia. He was qualified to lead any Tornado mission.
After that, Hughes was selected to join the world-famous aerobatic display team – The Red Arrows.
Justin was a member of this elite hand-picked team of only nine pilots for three years. He performed in over 250 displays worldwide and took part in three international tours.
As Executive Officer, he was responsible for the day-to-day operational management of the flying team and its 90 support personnel.
Justin is the CEO of biotech/climate startup NetZeroNitrogen. Combining that with turnaround experience as a senior corporate executive, former fighter pilot and Executive Officer of the Red Arrows, Justin has ‘skin in the game’ when building high-performance cultures.
Justin Hughes – Motivational Speaker:
Justin is a leading motivational speaker in both high-performance and high-risk environments.
Delivery options include keynotes, facilitation, and workshops. He has extensive experience with diverse US, Europe, the Middle and Far East, and China audiences.
Speaking topics include:
- Building High-Performance Teams and Organisations
- Leadership
- Strategic Ambiguity and Agility
- Decision-Making and Risk
- Behavioural Safety and Safety Culture
- Culture, Leadership and Priorities
- Psychological Safety: Right Environment, Right Attitudes, Right Processes
Justin combines a highly engaging delivery style with clear, actionable insights based on first-hand knowledge of the most demanding operating environments.
His passion for high performance evolved from his military experience, flying in over 250 displays worldwide on the Red Arrows.
Justin’s BETTUR (Better Understanding of Reality) model is based on personal learning about how to plan, execute, and adapt in situations characterised by ambiguity, imperfect information, speed of change, and pressure to deliver.
As an experienced speaker, Justin has presented at hundreds of management meetings, conferences, academic forums, and dinners worldwide.
Clients range from global corporations (e.g. 3M, Microsoft) to the public sector (e.g. Bank of England, NATO) and world championship-winning sports franchises (e.g. Mercedes F1). He was also a guest presenter on Oxford University’s MSc in Major Programme Management London Business School’s ‘Executing Strategy for Results’.
Justin’s most popular presentation, ‘The Business of Excellence’, is based on his book of the same name. It explores and examines the drivers of high performance in teams and organisations, drawing on examples from business, sport, the military, and his personal experience as a fighter pilot and member of the Red Arrows.
Justin’s breadth of operational, speaking, academic and consulting experience allows him to develop tailored content specific to the client audience.
Justin has an MBA with Distinction from LBS and a BSc (Hons) in physics from the University of Bristol.