Dan Temple

Dan Temple – Human Factors, Mental Resilience & High-Performance Specialist

With over two decades of frontline experience as a Chinook helicopter operator in the Royal Air Force, including multiple operational tours and being selected for train-the-trainer roles across UK Defence, Dan has navigated extremes and learned from both triumphs and critical incidents. One such event, surviving a Chinook helicopter crash, became a defining moment that shaped his approach to safety, leadership and resilience.

His RAF career was later cut short after being medically discharged with PTSD, an experience that reshaped his life and gave him a new mission.

Today, as founder of Cobalt Human Solutions and keynote speaker, Dan translates aviation-level insights into transformative learning experiences designed to elevate human performance in high-stakes and complex environments. His approach integrates psychological safety, just culture and human factors, grounded in both evidence and lived experience, to challenge assumptions and inspire sustainable change.

Dan also speaks openly about mental health and resilience, using his lived experience of PTSD to break down stigma and highlight how the pressures of service, leadership and daily life can silently build up. He makes the case that it is not just the events we go through, but the emotions, thoughts and meanings we attach to them that shape our wellbeing. His talks resonate strongly with blue light services, Defence and high-pressure industries including sales and operations, helping audiences see how trauma can be normalised until it becomes damaging, and how to move from the unknown to the known.

With a passion for leadership rooted in inspiration rather than command, and a belief that humans are the solution to our toughest problems, Dan brings audiences real-world stories, practical frameworks and the emotional intelligence to connect. His presentations explore:

• How to build organisational environments that enable, not inhibit, exceptional human performance

• The power of psychological safety in learning, innovation and continuous improvement

• Strategies for mental resilience and wellbeing amidst pressure

• Aligning leadership and culture with accountability, compassion and performance

Highly engaging in keynote talks, interactive workshops or tailored training sessions, Dan’s delivery is rooted in authenticity, expert insight and a unique ability to contextualise lessons from the military into any sector. Whether in Defence, healthcare, construction or corporate sales, he shows that human factors, psychological safety and resilience are the foundations of sustainable high performance.

Endorsed by clients for bringing “personality, structure and profound impact,” Dan equips leaders and teams with the knowledge, skills and confidence to thrive under pressure, and to create environments where people can perform with purpose, resilience and humanity.