She wanted to fly fighter jets. Her eyesight said no. So she went and joined the organisation that builds them instead. Scott Hamilton sits down with Tina Wilson, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel for BAE Systems International Business, working across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia Pacific for a conversation about being shaped by challenge, leading through ambiguity, and the courage it takes to make decisions that affect people's lives, not just budgets. Tina's path wasn't planned: rejected from RAF cadets over her eyesight, a stint as a trainee army officer, then a career in international finance and oil & gas before a chance job ad, featuring a Tornado fighter jet — led her to BAE Systems. In this episode, Tina opens up about being held back a year at school and how it shaped a lifelong drive to never fail again; setting up business operations in a war zone in Ukraine; the real weight of deciding who gets evacuated during the Middle East tensions; why she defines herself as "a business leader who happens to be a lawyer"; trusting gut instinct as a data point, not a feeling; and why she took up guitar lessons alongside three-year-olds to remind herself what it feels like to be a beginner again. 🎧 Listen to the full conversation and subscribe for more at thethirdhalf.uk The Third Half — People · Planet · Progress. Conversations with the people who continue to challenge, create, and inspire. #TheThirdHalf #Blueprint #TinaWilson #BAESystems #Leadership #WomenInLeadership #Podcast