Leading high-performing teams in a supersonic speed

As part of the Distinguished Guest lecture series, MCI | Entrepreneurial School® was pleased to welcome Nicola Winter, Eurofighter fighter pilot, ESA reserve astronaut and space scientist.

Nicola Winter (*1985) is a pilot, keynote speaker, engineer and university lecturer for emergency and crisis management.

Nicola was Germany’s second female fighter pilot ever, one of only three women to fly the coveted Eurofighter, an instructor pilot and a staff officer. Today – after an excursion in management consulting and the industry – she is a project manager at the German Aerospace Center (DLR e. V.) and a lecturer in emergency and crisis management at the Carl Remigius University, working towards her doctorate in aerospace sciences and getting her license to become a commercial helicopter pilot. Nicola also works as a paramedic and is the mother of a young daughter.

Flying, space and adventure are Nicola's passions - "I enjoy being a pioneer, the goal could just as well be the Moon or Mars," according to her own statement. In 2017, the Boston Consulting Group and the Handelsblatt newspaper named Nicola "Visionary of the Year". She convinced the selection committee because she continuously "overcomes technical, physical and social borders."

In her keynotes, Nicola shares her collected experiences and knowledge on topics such as new leadership, empowerment and risk and crisis management with her audience. Her credo: With grit, empathy, discipline, passion and a little bit of luck, we can reach for anything - even the stars.