In this episode, we are delighted to be joined in conversation by Jenny Body CBE.
This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at Aerospace Bristol on the morning of our annual awards ceremony on the 13th of October this year. The recording was made almost within touching distance of Concorde, an aircraft that Jenny had the privilege of working on some years ago.
Jenny Body is a British Aerospace engineer and former President (the first ever woman to hold this post) of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Jenny grew up in rural Gloucestershire; her father was an aerospace engineer, and her mum worked hard to qualify as a dispensing chemist. Growing up, Jenny was naturally good at maths/physics but also developed a passion for English, which still stays with her to this day.
Told by her headteacher that engineering was "not a suitable career for a young woman", she thankfully ignored this advice and, throughout her career, has worked to demonstrate that gender should be no barrier to progression in her chosen profession.
Working in the avionics group at British Aerospace, Jenny was part of the team that generated some of the first 'fly by wire' software. She established and led the Next Generation Composite Wing Programme, one of the most extensive and expensive research programmes in the history of British Aerospace. In 2002 Jenny was made engineering lead on the Nimrod wing design team.
In 2013, Jenny became the first female President of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Whilst she very humbly places this in our conversation, this was hugely significant as not only her gender was in play here, but also her route to this role and the fact that she came from a civilian background and not through the RAF, where many of the previous holders of this post had graduated from.
Already an OBE. Jenny was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours list this in recognition of her services to aerospace engineering.
This is a fascinating conversation with a groundbreaking engineer as we trace her journey from school to working with government to secure funding and lead a huge engineering team to advance British Aerospace.
So sit back, grab an hour to yourself and enjoy Designed for Life in conversation with Jenny Body CBE.