Captain Michael Varney, FRAeS, President, EBT Foundation
Mike presented his idea for what ultimately became EBT to IATA in 2007, and this resulted in the creation of an international working group which he led until the publication of ICAO Doc 9995 in 2013. Mike and his team are now engaged in supporting the implementation of EBT worldwide, with operators, ATO’s and regulatory authorities.
Mike’s career began in the Royal Air Force flying fast jets, followed by time as an airline pilot as commander on the Boeing 757/767. He spent eight years with the UK Civil Aviation Authority in operations and training oversight also flying the Airbus A319/320/321 and A330, before joining Boeing (Alteon) and then Airbus in Toulouse. In his Airbus role of Senior Director Training Policy and Development, Mike began the EBT Project. Between 2009-2011 Mike worked for Mechtronix, now part of TRU Simulation + Training, who with IATA sponsored his activity in developing EBT. He returned to Airbus in 2011 assuming a senior role before becoming Head of Training Strategy for Etihad in Abu Dhabi.
Mike is President of the EBT Foundation, Head of Training Strategy for TRU Simulation + Training and a Director of the LOSA Collaborative.
Captain Simon Henderson, PhD, FRAeS, Director, EBT Solutions
Simon graduated from the Royal Australian Air Force Academy in 1982 and flew Dakota, Hercules and Boeing 707 aircraft. When Simon left the RAAF he was the flying safety staff officer for Air Lift Group. Simon remains a corresponding member of the UKCAA CRM advisory panel, until recently was the airline training representative on Civil Aviation Safety Authorities (CASA) Flight Training Panel and the Industry Co-Chair of CASA’s Flight Crew Licensing Sub-Committee. As a member of the IATA Training and Qualification Initiative helped found the Evidence Based Training Foundation. Simon received his Doctorate in 2009 and is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the University of New South Wales.
Simon is the principal consultant with Aha Research Services and works with a variety of airlines, regulatory authorities and the LOSA Collaborative in that role in addition to working with EBT Solutions. He continues to stay current and contracts to an Asian airline as a trainer and examiner. He has held management roles, trained and examined with Australian based and international airlines. He was a member of the joint PARC/CAST Flight Deck Automation Working Group and a contributor to their report on the operational use of flight path management systems. Simon was the 2002 recipient of the Flight Safety Foundation Award for Achievement in Human Factors and Flight Safety.