Working for a 17-year-old – sounds like a nightmare?
Quite the opposite…
…if the 17-year-old is a pilot flying around the world, the youngest in history, who wants to show the world that young people like himself can really make a difference.
Meet Mack Rutherford (MackSolo).
This British-Belgian pilot is attempting to beat the Guinness World Record as the youngest person to fly around the world solo in a small plane. He qualified for his pilot licence in September 2020, which at the time, made him the youngest pilot in the world (15 years and two months).
Mack has flown a lot with his dad, who is a professional ferry pilot (a guy who flies small planes across the globe). Since he became a pilot, Mack has been planning his solo flight around the world. In the meantime, his sister Zara became the youngest woman to circumnavigate the globe, which gave Mack an additional spur to set off.
And this is how we met. I was helping Zara with communication during her flight (I mean public relations, not radio comms in flight😉). I was working with a wonderful team of people supporting her. And when Mack came up with his plan, I was asked: do you want to do the same for this young man? It took me approximately one second to say “yes”. In fact, every team member said “yes”, too.
And it is enormous fun. It is different from the serious energy topics I communicate in my regular job. But from a professional perspective, it is equally rewarding.
Or even more.
