Hi I'm Paul,
Thank you for looking at my PPWD profile.

From an early age I’ve been fascinated with human performance. As a runner in my youth and then as a Division 1 athlete in the USA I strove to perform; often in the wrong way, sometimes with success.

Along the journey was a connection with who I am and how many external factors affected my times over the country or on the track. Diet, sleep and training were obvious, but an athlete often intrinsically knows mood, mental health and general wellbeing is as important as more tangible factors.

I have Served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) since 1997 with 16 years as a Regular and since as a Reservist. Operationally I deployed to the Middle East on several occasions and each time in safety critical combat roles. I am currently working part-time on an engineering and logistic innovation project at RAF Coningsby.

I have worked with PPWD since 2015 and I have loved the personal development it has afforded in adult learning and understanding safety. I look back and wish I had attended a PPWD course as a young Officer. Most of the near misses I experienced, that now make a good story, need never have happened!

I continue to be motivated and excited about the style and manner of PPWD delivering safety differently. The application of theory to practice we provide to our delegates is inspiring as is hearing their stories and being part of their learning journey. My understanding of human performance has now become focused on safety and no longer on how fast I can run.

My family is my anchor and I’m blessed to have chosen wisely in my early 20’s (it might have been luck) with my wife Heather. I love the way we have grown together through the challenges of both being in the military and our intense, some say neuro diverse, children. Georgia is at university and Mo is studying for his A-levels. We are all passionate about sport and I’m proud to say all the family have competed at the elite level, continuing the human performance tradition.

One of my favourite memories is being taught to be a falconer by Mo during the 2020 lockdown, re-writing the traditional father-son learning cycle.

Safety is intrinsically linked to industry culture and human behaviour. Culturally I have been part of the change in the RAF, having witnessed the immediate aftermath of the Nimrod crash in Afghanistan and the ensuing cultural change in safety management. This started my interest in types of change. I believe safety culture can evolve over time through the influence of minor incidents, leadership and training and it can change overnight through a catastrophic event resulting in large regulatory alteration.

PPWD is influencing safety culture and I am proud to be part of the conversation in creating an open and honest safety culture which leads to less injury and loss of life as well as bringing an improved wellbeing for the humans involved.

I’m not quite ready for retirement yet but I am feeling the urge to live into my senior years in an environment that inspires me. This is currently a house in the Pyrenees but I’m aware other mountain ranges are available.

Before this occurs I’m enjoying the challenges of balancing PPWD and its drive to change whole industries, the RAF and last (but not least) my family.

Per Ardua

Paul.