Speakers

Philip Intallura, Group Head of Quantum Technologies, HSBC

Philip is the Group Head of Quantum Technologies at HSBC. Part of the Emerging Technologies team, Phil is supporting the bank leverage new and emerging technologies to serve customers better, develop competitive advantage and enhance cyber resilience. Phil has a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Cambridge, and showed the world’s first demonstration of telecom... fibre-based quantum key distribution using single photons from a quantum dot.
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Valentina Soria, Global Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence, UBS

Valentina is Global Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence at UBS. She joined UBS in May 2023. In her current role, she manages a global team of threat analysts across the US, EMEA and APAC, overseeing daily monitoring, collection, analysis, and escalation operations. She’s also Deputy Head of UBS’s Cyber Intelligence Center. Prio to joining UBS, Valentina spent 6.5... years at Morgan Stanley where she built the firm’s global Cyber Threat Intelligence function as part of Morgan Stanley’s Cyber Fusion Center. Valentina built a Follow-the-Sun coverage model ensuring continuity of operations across all regions. In 2020, as the Fusion Center broadened its scope to become the Fusion Resilience Center, Valentina was tasked with expanding the remit of the intelligence function to cover any type of operational risk and threat, including, cyber, cyber-enabled fraud, geopolitical risk, civil unrest, extreme weather events, terrorism, and pandemic risks. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2017, Valentina spent 3.5 years at the Bank of England, starting as senior intel analyst and taking over as Head of CTI after 18 months. Throughout her career in the cyber intel space, Valentina has been an active contributor to a number of industry intelligence sharing initiatives and communities, and has spoken to a number of industry specific events and conferences as threat intel SME.more

Peter Drissell, Director Aviation Security, UK Civil Aviation Authority

Appointed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as its first Director of Aviation Security in 2013 and led the transition of operational aviation security functions from the Department for Transport (DfT) to the CAA on 1st April 2014.  He previously served as Director of Security & Business Continuity for the Home Office for 5 years.  Prior to this,... Peter had served for 32 years in the Royal Air Force from which he retired as an Air Commodore in April 2007.  His last appointments were as Provost Marshal for the RAF and Commandant General of the Royal Air Force Regiment.  Peter was recently was appointed Honorary Air Commodore of 2624 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.more

Cdr David Wilcocks MBE, Chief of Staff Cyber Defence At Defence Digital, MoD

David joined the Royal Navy in 2003. The first half of his career was as a Warfare Officer, specialising as a Fighter Controller before becoming a Principal Warfare Officer in 2013. He then specialised in Cyber for Defence in 2015 after completing the Royal Navy Advanced C4ISR course. He has completed several Joint postings, including Permanent Joint Headquarters... and Defence Digital in Cyber Operations working across Departments and with other Nations. He is an ISACA Certified Information Security Manager and was made an MBE in 2018.more

Alex Harris, Head of Future Cyber Capability, Cabinet Office

Alex is Head of Future Cyber Capabilities at Cabinet Office where he is leading the design of a new operating model for government-wide cyber security that will better meet the threats government and the public sector faces. Prior to this, he has worked in numerous public sector facing cyber roles including at PwC as a Government Cyber Senior Manager, in the Dept... of Health and NHS England Joint Cyber Unit as Head of NHS and Social Care Cyber Risk, as well as in Department for Education and Government Legal Department.more

Phil Huggins, Director for Cyber Policy & NCISO, Health & Care

Phil is a proven security leader with a career spanning over 25 years in both government, healthcare and the private sector. Currently serving as the National Chief Information Security Officer (NCISO) for Health and Social Care, he spearheads the delivery of the Government’s Cyber Security Strategy for Health & Social Care 2030. In this role, Phil is instrumental... in strengthening England's health and adult social care system against cyber threats.As the NCISO, Phil sets the cyber policy, strategy, and architecture for the Health & Social Care system; comprising over 140,000 organisations.Phil is currently a regulator and has experience of advising regulators and leading cyber risk management in regulated firms. Phil is also the Senior Responsible Owner of a Government Major Projects Portfolio transformation programme focused on cyber transformation in the health and care sector.Phil’s previous expertise extends to building and operating critical national infrastructure, sensitive government programmes, and global financial services organisations, where he has provided advice and managed security. more

William (Bill) J Buchanan OBE, Professor, School of Computing, Edinburgh Napier University

William (Bill) J Buchanan OBE is a Professor in the School of Computing at Edinburgh Napier University, and a Fellow of the BCS and Principal Fellow of the HEA. Bill was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to cybersecurity, and,  in 2024, he was appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh... (FRSE). In 2023, he received the "Most Innovative Teacher of the Year" award at the Times Higher Education Awards 2023 (the "Oscars of Higher Education"). Along with this, he has won the Best Lecturer/Tutor for Computing at the Student-voted Excellence Awards six times (2011, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020 and 2023).

Bill lives and works in Edinburgh and is a believer in fairness, justice, and freedom.  His social media tagline reflects his strong belief in changing the world for the better: "A Serial Innovator. An Old World Breaker. A New World Creator." He also has a strong belief in the power of education and in supporting innovation from every angle and currently leads the Blockpass ID Lab and the Centre for Cybersecurity, IoT and Cyberphysical, and the Director of the Scottish Centre of Excellence in Digital Trust and DLT. 

Bill works in the areas of cryptography, blockchain, trust and digital identity. He has one of the most extensive cryptography sites in the World (asecuritysite.com), and is involved in many areas of novel research and teaching.  He has published over 30 academic books and over 450 academic research papers. Along with this, Bill’s work has led to many areas of impact, including a number of highly successful spin-out companies (including Zonefox, Symphonic Software and Cyan Forensics), along with awards for excellence in knowledge transfer and for teaching. He recently received an ”Outstanding Contribution to Knowledge Exchange” award and was included in the FutureScot "50 Scottish Tech People Who Are Changing The World”, along with being a regular keynote speaker at a range of conferences.  Bill’s true academic passion is building, analysing and breaking cryptographic methods.more

Katie Wood, Information Security Architect, Bibby Financial Services Limited

Katie is a highly accomplished subject matter expert in cybersecurity, with extensive experience guiding businesses across various sectors through the complexities of digital threats. Her work has focused on helping organisations protect their most valuable assets—their people and data—by building resilient security frameworks and fostering a culture of proactive... defence.
Katie’s journey began in academia as a university lecturer in computer science, where she specialised in security domains and the adoption of cloud computing. Her deep expertise and forward-thinking perspective on technology naturally led her into industry. Katie emphasises the critical importance of continuous education and awareness in empowering organisations to better defend against evolving cyber risks and how we need to collectively work together to strengthen our defences and create a safer digital future. A passionate advocate for mentorship and diversity, Katie is dedicated to fostering inclusivity within the tech sector. She believes that creating diverse and inclusive teams is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic advantage in tackling today’s complex security challenges. more

Wendy Ng, BISO, Marks & Spencer

Experienced security business leader with a strong background in technology strategy, cloud security, and DevSecOps. Proven track record in leading and managing teams, developing and implementing secure technology strategies, and aligning them with business objectives. Adept at communicating complex technical issues to senior management and fostering an enabling... technology and security culture within organisations. Demonstrated commitment to advancing the technology field through community contributions, including 100 articles and blogs for organisations such as the Cloud Security Alliance and Deloitte UK.  Technical acumen honed through experiences in architecture and systems design at Cisco, PwC, and Deloitte. Practical experience in machine learning and artificial intelligence, which underpins LLMs and MLLM. Scientific training with a doctorate from the University of Oxford.more

Natalia Shevchuk, VP, AI Security Architect Citi

Natalia is an experienced Security Architect with a specialised focus on AI Security. With over a decade of experience in the cyber security field, Natalia's expertise spans cyber operations, penetration testing and security architecture. Her deep understanding of both offensive and defensive strategies, combined with her academic background in Computer Science and... Machine Learning, gives her a unique perspective on securing modern AI-based systems.more

Ian Wood, Senior Director EMEA North Sales Engineering, Commvault UK

During his 25+ years in the software industry, Ian has worked in a variety of roles in data management and security practices, previously at Symantec and Veritas. Ian currently serves as Commvault’s Senior Technical Director for Sales engineering across Northern Europe. Ian and his team are engaged with customers to design Cyber resilience solutions to solve complex... problems for organisations across multiple business sectors. Ian’s interest and experience into Cyber and Business and Disaster recovery provide a unique perspective in defending and recovering organisations and institutions from Cyber threats in the 21st century.more

Craig Hinchliffe, Regional Sales Engineer, CrowdStrike

Craig is a Sales Engineer covering Northern Europe, bringing a wealth of experience from across the security, identity, authentication, and cloud automation sectors. Over the course of his career, Craig has worked with leading vendors, including Citrix, Okta, and HashiCorp, where he honed his expertise in delivering cutting-edge solutions to address complex technical... challenges. With a strong background in these critical areas, Craig provides invaluable insight and support to customers in navigating today’s evolving security landscape.
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