MEET JAMIE MITCHELL - COO EMEA

Jamie Mitchell is PHI Aviation’s COO for its EMEA region – covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

HomeBase sat down with Jamie to get to know him better.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Working with great people. Everyone I meet has a story to tell, whether that be how they got to where they are today, what their aspirations for the future are, the pride they have in their work and—of course—their ideas for how we can continue to make PHI better. PHI is all about its people. I am very lucky in my job in that I now have a fantastic team around me in EMEA and I travel a lot, allowing me to meet many people from so many different parts of the world. We have a very diverse landscape at PHI, and I believe that truly adds value to the company.

How would you describe your job to a class of five-year-olds?

It was a lot easier when I was actively flying, and it was always a lot of fun to take a helicopter to a school and show the kids around. Now, I say I am helping others to fly and fix helicopters.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

My father served his entire career as a submariner in the Royal Navy, so I spent a lot of my childhood surrounded by the wider military family. I was also fortunate to get a number of helicopter rides, so from about the age of about 12, I was hooked on being a military helicopter pilot.

Do you have a favourite family recipe?

During the Second World War, my grandmother used to bake a particular type of fruit cake using the ingredients she could find during rationing and would hand it out to local families who had been impacted by the blitz. My mother learned to bake the cake as a child and then through my childhood, it became a firm family favourite. The recipe continues to be passed down through the generations and my kids now love it too. It’s called Gargie cake as my grandmother was known as Gargie.

What has been your career highlight at PHI to date?

Being appointed to my current role as COO of EMEA is an amazing privilege and an opportunity to help shape the future of the company. The EMEA business unit has huge potential, and we are at the very beginning of that growth.

What was your first job?

I was lucky to be sponsored by the Royal Navy through University and then trained as a pilot, initially specialising in anti-submarine warfare—my dad wasn’t impressed! I spent 19 years in the military, doing a range of different operational flying roles. During the last 10 years of my time in the military, I specialised as a Search and Rescue commander and instructor.

What keeps you busy outside of work?

I am a member of a local voluntary search and rescue organisation, Surrey Search and Rescue. We provide specialist assistance to the emergency services to find lost, missing or vulnerable people in our community. We also support them during emergency events such as flooding or wildfires. The team is equipped with drones, dogs and water teams to help, but we also spend a lot of time searching on foot. Volunteering in this capacity brings together a range of different skill sets, and I get to meet interesting people from other walks of life.

I also have a crazy two-year-old cocker spaniel, Billy. I hope to train him to be a search dog for the team, but it requires a lot of discipline and patience and right now he is a little too neurotic…and I’m a little too busy!

What keeps you grounded?

Without a doubt, my family. They have been amazing in supporting me through my career, particularly in the military with all the moves and challenges that military life brings. I have three sons and they are my fiercest supporters but also my biggest critics. My eldest is an active campaigner for the climate crisis and challenges me regularly on what PHI is doing to make a difference in this space. I also have twin sons currently at university—one is considering a life in the military too, although probably not as a pilot, and the other is a big rugby union fan. He plays for his university, and we are all off to watch the World Cup in France in 2023—Covid permitting!