Making the most of mentorship: insights from mentors and mentees

Making the most of mentorship: insights from mentors and mentees in the defence sector

· Women in Defence UK and Femme Defence invite you to join us online for a lunchtime panel discussion featuring experts from across the UK and Swedish defence sectors exploring the value of mentorship, how to make the most of mentorship opportunities, how to be proactive in developing mentorship relationships and more. Panel Speakers will include Wing Commander Adele Ebbs-Brown, Ben Forsythe, Major General (Ret.) Lena Hallin and Sandra Kallin and the event will be moderated by Tara Zammit.

About the organisations:

Women in Defence UK is an independent not-for-profit organisation, founded in 2011 by former Army officer Angela Owen OBE. With a robust network of over 15,000 individuals, 40+ partners, spanning every level of the defence sector, they are uniquely positioned to stimulate substantial change. Guided by Emmeline Pankhurst's principle of 'Deeds not Words', their purpose is to accelerate gender equity in the defence sector.

Femme Defence is a non-profit organisation founded in 2017 to empower and connect young women in the defence and security sector. Acting as a bridge between emerging professionals and experienced leaders, Femme Defence fosters leadership, competence, and community through mentorship, networking, and training. With over 100 dedicated members, the organisation works toward a more equal and inclusive defence and security sector.

Facilitator: Tara Zammit (Women in Defence UK)

Panelists:

Women in Defence UK: Ben Forsythe and Wing Commander Adele Ebbs-Brown

Femme Defence: Major General (Ret.) Lena Hallin and Sandra Kallin

Ben Forsythe has 20 years’ experience of working within in the UK Defence sector. In this time, he has worked in both the public sector, and in industry, in roles that encompass operational delivery, policy and strategy. Currently he leads a consulting practice for a British headquartered company, focussed on supporting customer sets across the UK. A key part of his roles over the last 10 years have been mentoring, and more latterly coaching. He has personally benefited from the power of mentoring and has seen the rewards of supporting others to flourish. He has a particular interest in mentoring women in the defence sector, given the poor gender balance in the sector, and is an advocate for organisations fostering and investing in mentoring programmes more broadly.

Wing Commander Adele Ebbs-Brown has served in the Royal Air Force for 19 years as an Air and Space Operations Officer. She is currently based in Germany working for NATO as the Headquarters Executive Officer at the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force. With a career that has included operations, standards, training, NATO and extensive command, management and leadership opportunities, she is a strong advocate for the personal and organisational benefits of mentoring and continuous development, fostering a culture of growth mindset and lifelong learning to enhance individual potential and collective performance. Adele was a mentee on the 2022/23 Women in Defence Mentoring Programme and assumed the role of the RAF’s Programme Partner lead in June 2025. Adele is also a NATO Gender Advisor and passionate about integrating a gender perspective and promoting gender responsive leadership. She has just completed a MSc in Leadership and Management which researched NATO’s leadership perspectives on the efficacy of gender policy implementation.

Lena Hallin is a senior leader with extensive experience in defence, intelligence, and international security cooperation. She has served in several key positions within the Swedish Armed Forces, including as Director of the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service. Major General (Ret.) Hallin is a strong advocate for mentorship as a means to empower women and strengthen leadership across the security and defense community.

Sandra Kallin works with ethics and compliance at Saab Dynamics, with a background in law and experience in contract law, export control, and public procurement. As an adept in Femme Defence’s 2023/2024 mentorship programme, she explored her personal values and motivations through honest dialogue with her mentor. The experience helped her reflect on career direction, challenge perfectionism, and connect performance with purpose.