I was able to experience many different parts of the business as I moved from supply chain into fleet and contract forecasting and management , then on into management of strategic services programs , before returning to the supply chain to lead R & D and cost reduction projects . During this time , I travelled to many countries to visit company sites , suppliers and customers . I will never forget my first business class flight , as I sat there tearing up with pride as I thought about how far the spirited girl from an industrial town in the north of England had come .
In 2013 my whole world changed when I was relocated to Seattle as the Customer Business Director to Boeing . As the face on the ground for Rolls-Royce , I was proud to represent the Sales , Marketing and Services teams in meetings with senior management at the Boeing Company , to determine how the Trent 1000 could become more successful with the Boeing 787 , and to determine how TotalCare could better align with Boeing ’ s GoldCare service program . But my favorite part of the job was participating in the first airplane delivery celebrations . As the red carpet was rolled out , the ribbons were cut and customers excitedly paraded around their new airplane in awe , I felt I truly understood the magic of the industry . It is a feeling I wish I could bottle up and send to everyone in the supply chain .
Later in my career I was headhunted by Parker Aerospace , before I decided to pivot into launching my own coaching and consulting business , Ready To Fly , and joined the leadership team of the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance . I had always been passionate about connecting and empowering others and this provided the perfect combination to connect my love of aerospace with my love of developing people .
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One of the huge draws of PNAA was their Annual Women in Aerospace conference . During my time at Rolls-Royce I had played a very active role in their Rolls- Royce Women ’ s association , eventually sitting on their board as the Mentoring and Coaching Chair . Nothing gave me more joy than seeing women light up as they connected to others in the company and began to develop a true understanding of their talent and potential . At PNAA I used this experience , coupled with my project management and business development background , to up-level the conference and almost doubled the number of attendees .
Today I work full-time on my coaching , corporate training , and public speaking business , specializing in leadership , change-management , resilience and confidence building . I have rebranded my business as McKay Unlimited , utilizing Ready to Fly as one of my programs . I truly believe that anything is possible with enough tenacity , grit and resilience and I love seeing the transformation of great leaders into extraordinary leaders . I work with many aerospace executives and emerging leaders across the country , in addition to clients from other industries . I also support AirInsight Group as their Aerospace Culture Thought Leader .
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