Robert Sumwalt
Academic, Aviator, Government Official, and Executive Director of Embry-Riddle’s Boeing Center for Aviation & Aerospace Safety
CMG Speaks presents Robert Sumwalt
Robert Sumwalt
Academic, Aviator, Government Official, and Executive Director of Embry-Riddle’s Boeing Center for Aviation & Aerospace Safety
"Organizations with a healthy safety focus are constantly learning. They learn from their mistakes and those of others. Ideally, information regarding prior incidents and accidents is shared openly and not suppressed."
- Robert Sumwalt
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About Robert Sumwalt
Robert Sumwalt is an American academic, aviator, government official and writer. He was a board member of the National Transportation Safety Board for over 15 years, from August 2006 to June 30, 2021, serving as the agency’s chairman from 2017 to 2021. He currently serves as the executive director of Embry-Riddle’s Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety.
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Captain Shults’ message resonates throughout the corporate culture and beyond. As Captain Shults notes, “to those who are given much, much will be required.” Indeed, on April 17, 2018, much was required of Captain Shults when she safely landed the severely crippled Southwest Airlines flight 1380 and helped save the lives of 148 individuals. But what created the calm confidence and nerves of steel to lead her crew and passengers to safety? Through her captivating story as one of the first female Navy F/A-18 fighter pilots to her successful career in aviation at Southwest Airlines, Captain Shults demonstrates the building blocks necessary for successful leadership — fierce determination, teamwork, and the cultivation of strong habits. “Habits on a good day” Shults instills, “become instinct on a bad day. Habits when you are not under pressure become a reaction when in crisis.” It was through these habits and her unwavering persistence that Tammie Jo was able to manage such a crisis under severe pressure. Captain Shults brings a combination of her military training with the skills learned from her professional aviation career to business and faith based communities. For each event, Tammie Jo comes prepared to impart her life experience and the lessons acquired along the way to set your organization’s vision soaring.
Captain Shults has faced many challenges. From being recognized as a serious candidate for the military as a female to becoming a flight instructor, she often faced many closed doors. Yet, through her journey, Tammie Jo learned to discern when “no” was an answer and when it was an opinion. Growing up in rural New Mexico, Tammie Jo learned to “dream without fences;” and indeed, Tammie Jo knew there was a boundless sky waiting for her to take flight. Despite the resistance and adversity she faced along the way, Tammie Jo was determined to pursue her dream of becoming a pilot — a dream that would place her in the right place at the right time. “My dream of flying was only the starting pistol that launched me down the path of my life,” Captain Shults notes. “It was the race that lay before me, the years of hard work without any guarantee of success, that put me in the right place at the right time.” Through her story, Captain Shults demonstrates to organizations how to transform adversity into strength, and strength into the courage necessary to take action.
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