Community Profile

Susan Gray, Board Mentor, Criticaleye
Susan Gray
Board Mentor
Criticaleye

Born in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, Sue commissioned into the Engineer Branch of the Royal Air Force in August 1985, after gaining a degree in Electronics from Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic. Her career has encompassed service on VC10 transport aircraft, taking her all over the world, followed by an extensive period with the Support Helicopter Force - during which time, she deployed on Gulf War 1 and 2, in charge of the life support & logistics and was Chief Engineer for the Joint Helicopter Force.
 
Back in the UK, tours as the Senior Engineer Officer on 27(R) Sqn (Chinook and Puma Helicopters) and as Officer Commanding Engineer & Supply Wing at RAF Benson (Merlin and Puma Helicopters) were interspersed with staff appointments in Headquarters Air Command, plus gaining an MSc in Aircraft Design.
 
Moving into the Acquisition arena within Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), she led the Combat Clothing Project Team, delivering new body armour, helmets and combat clothing to front line troops, then the department delivering Remotely Piloted Air Systems (RPAS). Sue was appointed as Director Combat Air for DE&S in January 2014, with responsibility for the procurement and through-life engineering and logistics support of all fighter aircraft, training aircraft and RPAS for all 3-Armed Services.
 
In June 2016, she was appointed Air Officer Commanding Number 38 Group and Chief of Staff Support for HQ Air Command with responsibility: for circa 3,000 personnel across multiple disciplines (Engineering, Logistics, Aviation Medicine, Catering, Musicians) engaged in supporting worldwide operations; advising the Chief of Air Staff on Engineering policy and safety, as the senior engineer in Air Command and leading the in-sourcing of RAF Infrastructure, capital projects and maintenance activity, across the whole of the RAF estate.
 
In April 2019, on promotion to Air Marshal, she assumed the appointment of Director General Defence Safety Authority - the Principal Safety Regulator for Defence. Empowered directly by the Secretary of State to: investigate all non-operational fatalities, major injuries and loss of capability; provide independent assurance of all Defence activity worldwide; and ensure compliance with UK Law, Defence Regulations and associated policy on Health, Safety and Environmental Protection (HS&EP). Leading a team of over 450 specialists working across 8 domains (Aviation, Land Systems, Maritime, Ordinance and Munitions, Fire, Medical Services, Nuclear, and Environmental Protection).
 
Sue's hobbies include competitive equitation, holiday skiing, fair weather walking and travelling when time allows.
 
Leaving the RAF after nearly 37 years’ service, Sue is now looking to put her skills to good use in growing solutions to deliver UK Environmental and Sustainability targets.