One of my colleagues shared a dinner table with her after some NATS back slapping session somewhere, at which she had a little too much to drink and her true feelings towards controllers came out. We are not held with the highest regard and with quite a bit of contempt, allegedly!

Suffice to say she was led away quite quickly before a scene was caused.

One less in the company and the CEO going as well is good news for me. :E

And yet it seems that alcohol is not needed for some of us to condemn those we haven't met.

Dear Hootin and a Roarin

I have never heard her say anything negative about the operational community. She is only supportive in the conversations i have witnessed. Always a true professional - even with a glass of wine in her hand. It shows she was in contact with the shop floor - how best to get to know us than at the bar (rather than a CTC meeting room). I bet she picked up the tab as well!

definitely "in contact"

I will miss Gretchen. She is one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the ATCO community and has never shied away from giving them her full support. As the company safety conscience she has never found it "too difficult" to put safety first.
Gretchen has always made a point of talking to operational staff whenever she visited a unit and yes she has been to Farnborough (I was there).

It will be a real challenge for her at SRG but i think that the regulator will be better for it!:)

In my limited experience of meeting Gretchen - just two or three times, and always in a relatively formal situation - I have to say that she appeared to be one of the best.

Whether any particular person working in NATS knows who she is or not is, perhaps, less important than whether the systems which she put in place within the organisation to help to manage safety are working. In this respect, judging from some of the comments in this thread, there are still a few dinosaurs in NATS who believe that if the controller does his or her job properly, then safety gets a tick in the box. Sadly, it seems that NATS does a better job at PR - costing itself as a world leader in safety management - than it does at internal communication and maybe spreading a modern corporate culture.

After speaking with Gretchen, I, and I suspect many others, came away having had a thought provoking discussion - perhaps not agreeing with all of her views, but undoubtedly having gained something.

I wish her well in her new role. As others have suggested, SRG is not the most dynamic 'go ahead' organisation, and she will have many challenges in the months and years ahead. But it is probably far better that someone knowledgeable from outside now heads up the organisation rather than someone who has spent years climbing the ladder and lost touch with the real world.

Gonzo

If that was aimed at me then do not assume that I have not met the person.

I was simply relaying an incident that was told to me by a friend when I was not there.

More likely at me Hootin, although I don't consider I've condemned her.

Spitoon,

Whilst agreeing with you in general, I've met one senior person at SRG who has climbed the corporate ladder, yet not lost touch with industry. They would have made an equally good GDSR.

And yet I can't help thinking that, with a new Chair and CEO from without our industry, such an appointment was 6-4 on.

Sir George Cayley

Hootin

So assuming from that comment that you have, what were your impressions? much better than a 2nd hand one surely?

I have always been given the utmost respect from her in the few conversations that I have had with her and not once did I get the impression she doesn't respect all of the operational staff in the organisation.

My opinion is a sad loss to NATS.

shop floor workers always "leave" or "get sacked"

management go on "to pursue new challenges" ;)

Good luck
 

The NATS Director Safety & Quality was the title of the job when I was in NATS. The first Director Safety was Richard Profit (came to NATS after retirement from the RAF). After him came Euan Black - also RAF background. There was Fergus Cusden (appointed Director in 2003). He became GM at Luton when Gretchen was appointed Director in, I think, 2006.

The Director Safety role is not in ATC "line management." The role was concerned with ensuring that there was a suitable Safety Management System within NATS and the post also headed up "Quality."

I think Gretchen only came to NATS in 2000. I was in NATS (and its various predecessors) from 1963-2002. However, I remember Gretchen coming and she made some immediate impact on (as far as I remember) incident investigation.

I guess she will make a positive impact at CAA.