In June 2013, British Airways hosted UnGrounded, a group of business leaders and creative thinkers who met to address significant global problems. Whurley was one of 100 passengers to take part in the initiative, which took place on an 11-hour transatlantic flight from Silicon Valley to London. His group worked on strategies for getting more women involved in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The passengers later presented their ideas as part of an innovation conference held during the 39th G8 summit, as well as to the United Nations' International Telecommunications Union.