The keynote they still remember on Monday
Former US Air Force, US Navy, US Marine Corps, and Royal Australian Air Force pilots who keynote, run workshops, and put teams through the same performance loop they flew in the cockpit. The Fortune 500 calls them in when execution keeps falling short of strategy.
In 30 years across six continents, they have trained 2.2 million leaders inside more than 3,500 organizations. 85% of the Fortune 500 has booked Afterburner℠. The client rating sits at 4.9 out of 5.
20-minute call, no slides.
Most keynotes don’t survive the flight home
A fighter pilot lands after a two-hour mission and says nothing about how it went. Not yet. The mission isn’t over until the tape is reviewed and the team has pulled it apart, gap by gap, and that debrief can run longer than the flight itself. Only then does anyone really know what happened.
Most companies do the reverse. The offsite ends on a high, everyone claps, and by Tuesday the deck is closed and the strategy is right where it started. The speaker was great. Nothing shipped.
That gap, between a good day and a different Monday, is the one Afterburner speakers are built to close. They don’t just talk about execution. They leave your team running the loop that makes it hold.
The system every speaker runs
Strip away the flight suits and every Afterburner speaker is teaching the same thing: a way of working that fighter pilots live by and most businesses have never been shown. It isn’t a metaphor. It’s the actual cycle they flew, pointed now at the strategy on your slide and the people in your room.
Plan, brief, execute, debrief
Pilots call it Flawless Execution℠, or FLEX℠. Four phases, run on every single mission, no exceptions. The power isn’t in the diagram. It’s that your team can pick it up and run it themselves the next morning, with no pilot in the room.
The debrief is where the real work happens
After the mission comes ORCA: objective, result, cause, action. The team sits down with rank left at the door, Nameless and Rankless℠, and works out honestly what happened and why. A speaker can describe it from the stage. In a workshop, your team runs one for real. On a Top Gun Experience℠, they run it on a mission they flew together minutes earlier.
The bigger picture: the Three Ms
FLEX is the Method. Around it sit two more. Mindset, how a leader holds steady when the pressure climbs. Moments, the handful of decisions that reveal whether any of it is real. Mindset, Method, Moments. Every speaker on the roster teaches from the same three.
Meet the CEO
Three lives, one operating system. Christian “Boo” Boucousis flew over 1,000 missions in the F/A-18 Hornet, then built everything that came after on the way of working that kept him alive in it.
He decided at five that he would be a fighter pilot. Seventeen years later he was flying the Royal Australian Air Force Hornet, one of only about 400 Australians ever to do it, every mission running on the same four phases: plan, brief, execute, debrief. Then an autoimmune diagnosis grounded him for good at 30, with no plan B and no transferable skills, so he wrote a new one. He went to Afghanistan and grew CTG Global from two people and a beaten-up car into one of the world’s largest humanitarian service providers. He developed the $42 million Rydges King Square Hotel in Perth, setting records for prefabricated high-rise construction. He launched Aviator Media and bought the aviation magazines that had hooked him as a boy. In 2023 the story came full circle: he acquired Afterburner from its founder, James Murphy, and took over as CEO.
The thread through all three lives is one operating system, the one he now installs in Fortune 500 organizations. He calls it Flawless Leadership℠, built on Mindset, Method, and Moments and a single idea: you don’t have to be perfect to be flawless. He is the author of the bestsellers The Afterburner Advantage and On Time On Target, with a third book, Flawless Leadership, on the way.
On stage, that is what he teaches. Not the cockpit, but how you lead when the thing that defined you is suddenly gone. Boo anchors C-suite keynotes, executive retreats, and bureau shortlists.
The roster
Every speaker on the roster runs the same system. No exceptions, no variations, no interpretations.
Bobbi “Flash” Doorenbos
Brigadier General, USAF (retired)
F-16 fighter pilot
Todd “Burt” Lancaster
Colonel, USAF (retired)
T-37 pilot
Charles “Chaz” Campbell
Brigadier General, USAF (retired)
F-16 fighter pilot
Zach “Easi” Manning
Lieutenant Colonel, USAF (retired)
F-16 fighter pilot
David “Finch” Guenthner
Lieutenant Colonel, Montana Air National Guard
F-16 fighter pilot
Anthony “Roby” Roberson
Major, USAF (retired)
F-16 fighter pilot
Michelle “Sonic” Ruehl
Colonel, USAF (retired)
C-130 pilot
Dwayne “Spike” Booker
Major, Florida Air National Guard
F-15E Strike Eagle pilot
Don “Stryker” Haley
Colonel, USAF (retired)
F-15E Strike Eagle pilot
Francois “Balky” Garceau
Major, Royal Canadian Air Force (retired)
F/A-18 fighter pilot
Rob “Balz” Balzano
Colonel, USAF (retired)
F-16 fighter pilot
Joe “Cowboy” Wallace
Force Reconnaissance Marine (retired)
Robin “FOXC” Witt
Lieutenant Colonel, Iowa Air National Guard
F-16 fighter pilot
Tom “Mad Dog” Friend
Lieutenant Colonel, USAF (retired)
C-5 pilot
Andrea “Gunna” Themely
Colonel, USAF (retired)
F-15C Eagle pilot
Scott “Hacksaw” Hall
Lieutenant Colonel, USAF (retired)
F-16C fighter pilot
Chris “Tuco” Harrison
Major, USAF (active duty)
F-16 fighter pilot
Eric “Rabbit” Jorgensen
Colonel, USAF (retired)
F-15E Strike Eagle pilot
Connor “Kronk” Ference
Major, USAF (active duty)
F-22 Raptor pilot
Nick “SIC” Krygowski
Major, USAF (Reserve)
F-16C fighter pilot
Stacia “Match” Madsen
Major, USAF
A-10 Warthog fighter pilot
Maximo “Money” Navarro
Major, USAF (active duty)
F-15E Weapons System Officer
Mary “Mojo” Rainaldi
Lieutenant Colonel, USAF (retired)
F-16 fighter pilot
Patrick “Trauma” Ryan
Major, USAF (active duty)
F-22 Raptor pilot
Brennan “Vegas” Sweeney
Major, USAF (active duty)
F-22 Raptor pilot
85% of the Fortune 500 has booked Afterburner.
The honest measure of a keynote isn’t the standing ovation. It’s whether they call you back. Google did, for a second year running. One client has now brought the team in four separate times. That second invoice says more than any feedback form ever will.
The work holds up in the numbers too. When VMware’s End User Computing division was missing its targets, the Flawless Execution loop helped turn it around: twenty percent growth, quarter after quarter, for twelve quarters straight.
Over 30 years and six continents, across financial services, technology, healthcare, manufacturing, energy, and retail, that work has reached more than 3,500 organizations. Among them: Google, IBM, Nike, VMware, Cisco, Eli Lilly, Fannie Mae, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Hear from the rooms we’ve run
No anonymous praise. Real buyers, named, telling you what changed after the room emptied.
“This is the 4th time that I’ve actually worked with the Afterburner group. Each time they far exceed my expectations.”
Your Leaders. Our Flight Suits. One Unforgettable Hour.
One keynote. A room full of leaders who stop reacting and start executing. Tell us about your event, and we’ll design the version built for your stage.
Frequently asked questions about booking Afterburner speakers
Who are the Afterburner speakers?
Afterburner’s speaker roster comprises former Royal Australian Air Force, US Air Force, US Navy, and US Marine Corps fighter pilots and mission commanders, plus civilian facilitators with executive operating experience.
Every speaker has flown the FLEX cycle as a practitioner. The roster is anchored by Christian “Boo” Boucousis, a former RAAF F/A-18 pilot with over 1,000 missions flown and Afterburner’s CEO since 2023. The team has trained 2.2 million leaders in 3,500+ organizations on six continents.
What makes a fighter pilot a credible keynote speaker for corporate audiences?
Fighter pilots operate under high-stakes execution conditions on every flight and debrief every mission to compound learning, which is the discipline most corporate teams skip after a kickoff.
Pilots plan, brief, execute, and debrief on tight cycles. FLEX is that cycle codified for boardrooms. Booking a fighter pilot means hiring a practitioner who has applied the system under real consequence, not a speaker performing the role.
What topics do Afterburner speakers deliver?
Topics center on team performance, execution, debriefing, and leadership under pressure, delivered in 45, 60, or 90-minute keynote formats plus workshop and multi-day options.
Frequently booked topics include Flawless Execution, the FLEX framework, Plan-Brief-Execute-Debrief, and Leading Through Uncertainty. Workshop and Top Gun Experience formats turn the keynote into experiential team development for groups up to 5,000 participants.
How do I choose the right Afterburner speaker for my event?
Match the speaker to the event objective: keynote energy and stage presence, executive credibility, or workshop facilitation depth.
Christian “Boo” Boucousis anchors C-suite and bureau-shortlist bookings. Other roster pilots fit keynote-only formats, breakout sessions, or multi-pilot panels. The events team aligns the right pilot to your brief on a 20-minute discovery call.
What size audience can Afterburner speakers handle?
Audiences from boardroom-size executive retreats under 50 through conferences over 5,000 attendees, with format adjusted to fit.
Keynote format scales to large rooms. Workshop and Top Gun Experience formats work best with 20 to 5,000 participants in team groupings. Bureau-shortlist conferences with 1,000+ attendees are a regular fit. The 4.9/5.0 client rating holds across audience sizes.
What kinds of companies hire Afterburner speakers?
85% of the Fortune 500 has engaged Afterburner, with named clients including Google, IBM, Nike, VMware, Cisco, Eli Lilly, Fannie Mae, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Across 30 years and 3,500+ organizations, the firm has worked across financial services, technology, healthcare, manufacturing, energy, and retail. Repeat engagements, including a client returning for a fourth time and a client booking a second annual conference, are the clearest signal of post-event impact.
Are Afterburner speakers available for virtual keynotes?
Yes. Virtual keynote and workshop formats are available, though in-person delivers the experiential elements that virtual cannot.
Virtual works well for keynote-only delivery. The Top Gun Experience and most team-building formats require in-person delivery to preserve the pressure-and-debrief loop that drives behavioral change.
How is Afterburner different from other military keynote firms?
Afterburner speakers are practitioners running an active 30-year leadership firm, not solo speakers selling individual stage time.
The team has engaged 3,500+ organizations as one firm, not as unaffiliated individuals. Every speaker draws on the same FLEX framework, the same case study library, and the same operational discipline. The roster is a working business, not a list of for-hire veterans.
How does Christian “Boo” Boucousis’s background as an F/A-18 pilot translate to corporate audiences?
Boo flew over 1,000 missions, was grounded at age 30 by an autoimmune disorder, built three businesses, and acquired Afterburner in 2023. He teaches from the failure pivot, not the cockpit.
His framing is practitioner, not guru. He led CTG Global, one of the world’s largest humanitarian service providers, developed the Rydges King Square Hotel in Perth, and runs Afterburner today. He authored the bestsellers The Afterburner Advantage and On Time On Target, with Flawless Leadership on the way. The credibility is operational, not cinematic.
What credentials and awards do Afterburner speakers hold?
Speakers hold credentials including USAF Weapons School graduate status, Mission Commander qualifications, the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) honorific, and Forbes recognition for the firm itself.
Afterburner has been recognized as a Forbes Small Giant, named to the Forbes Small Giants Hall of Fame, and listed on the Inc 5000. Christian “Boo” Boucousis holds the CSP, a credential held by a small percentage of professional speakers worldwide.
Where can speaker bureaus access Afterburner’s official bios and collateral?
Bureau-formatted bios, reels, headshots, and topic catalogs live in the Bureau Partner Kit, with deeper resources in the Speaker Bureau Portal.
Afterburner speakers are listed with BigSpeak, AAE, ESB, LAI, Premiere, and GDA. Bureau agents working a corporate brief can request the Bureau Partner Kit for forwardable collateral that matches each platform’s preferred format.
How quickly does Afterburner respond to bureau availability inquiries?
Same-day response from the events team is standard, with most bureau inquiries returned within a few business hours during working windows in Eastern and Australian Eastern time.
Bureau-shortlist requests carry tight client deadlines. The events team prioritizes turnaround and provides confirmed availability, fee tier guidance, and topic fit in a single response. Bureau-formatted collateral arrives in the same thread.
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