Speakers

Ioan Nascu, GenAI Security Assurance specialist, Citi

Ioan is a seasoned cybersecurity professional with extensive experience across financial services, healthcare, and regulatory environments. He is currently Vice President for GenAI Security Assurance at Citi, where he helps drive the secure adoption of generative AI technologies within a global financial institution. Prior to this, he held leadership roles at IQVIA... and AXA, focusing on information security assurance, vulnerability management, and security strategy.
With a diverse background spanning security operations, architecture, and vulnerability management, Ioan built broad expertise early in his career through roles at ClearBank, the Financial Conduct Authority, and Winton Group.
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Steve Armstrong-Godwin, Lead of Security Incident Response and Threat Management, Danske Bank

Steve is a highly experienced IT Security leader, with extensive hands-on technical abilities, strong presentational and team building skills and a jovial sense of humour that allows him to disarm and educate senior and executive level staff. He was the concept designer and patented inventor of CyberCPR and he teaches for SANS worldwide and has developed talks, workshops,... modules and full training courses for them. With a rare blend of technical, management and most importantly business experience, he has a different view of security, one that is grey, not black and white. With this background, he helps people develop security strategies that are effective, realistic and achievable (thus they actually get implemented).
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Gill Fenney, Head of IT Risk Governance, Bupa

Gill has had a long career in IT working across financial, retail and services sectors, initially in technical roles but with the last 17 or so years specialising in Information Security. She has worked as a consultant running compliance programmes such as SOx, ISO 27001 and PCIDSS for various companies during this time. She is now Head of IT Risk Governance for Bupa.

Adam Avards, Principal for Cyber and Third Party Risk Policy, UK Finance

Adam Avards joined UK Finance in 2022 as Principal for Cyber and Third Party Risk Policy. He leads UK Finance’s engagement on the Critical Third Party regulatory pathway and chairs a number of industry forums and committees on Third Party Risk Management, Cyber Security and Cloud. Before joining UK Finance, Adam spent over 15 years within the UK’s Intelligence... Community, dealing with both physical and digital security, operations and policy.more

Heena Patel, Business Resilience Analyst, Marex

Heena is a proactive and results-driven resilience professional with extensive experience in business continuity, operational resilience, and risk management across the financial services and technology sectors. Currently serving as a Business Resilience Analyst at Marex, she plays a key role in strengthening organisational resilience frameworks and ensuring the firm’s... ability to anticipate, withstand, and recover from disruptions. Previously, at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Heena specialised in business continuity and operational resilience, leading initiatives in emergency response planning, strategic risk assessment, and enterprise-wide recovery planning.With over 18 years of experience as a Business Continuity professional in vital services, I am recognised as a proactive and results-driven leader with a proven track record of building organisational resilience in global and complex environments. My career has been dedicated to safeguarding critical operations, ensuring continuity under pressure, and embedding resilience as a strategic advantage.Skilled at rapidly identifying risks, shaping actionable strategies, and driving sustainable solutions, I like to work closely with stakeholders and leadership teams to enhance business continuity, operational resilience, and crisis readiness. My approach balances strategic oversight with practical, hands-on delivery, enabling organisations to adapt, recover, and thrive in the face of disruption.more

Stephanie Phelps, Global Operational Resilience Specialist, RGA

With roots in the consulting field helping business of various sizes and sectors in risk, resilience and business continuity, Stephanie now acts as Operational Resilience Specialist for RGA. This has allowed her to focus her wider experience onto the specific demands of the financial sector. In addition to her MBA in international business, her multi-lingual and multi-cultural... background proves an advantage in navigating large global organisations.Passionate about resilience in both corporate and personal settings, Stephanie has been affectionately described by colleagues past and present as an “ISO nerd” (22301 is her favourite standard) and is known for including positivity in her approach to blending resilience, readiness, and response.more

Claire Schrader, Senior Cyber Security Specialist, Lloyds Banking Group

Strategic and operational leader driving transformation across AI security and broader change initiatives within Lloyds Banking Group, leveraging threat intelligence expertise to ensure decisions are threat-led. Proven success in supporting secure innovation, embedding governance frameworks, and aligning cross-functional teams to deliver scalable, compliant, and business-aligned... solutions. Recognised for bridging technical and business domains, fostering collaboration, and shaping enterprise-wide security posture. Career history includes a lengthy time in the threat intelligence field, with a geopolitical focus, shifting into cyber threat intelligence and more recently relationship management to ensure security features in change delivery across the LBG. Experience also includes leading an AI security task forced on the secure adoption of AI technology.more

Ryan Virani, Director, Adeptis Group

Ryan Virani is a dynamic and experienced Cyber Security talent acquisition expert specialising in the EMEA and US regions. As a Director at Adeptis Group, Ryan's unwavering commitment lies in transforming conventional hiring approaches and delivering comprehensive solutions that empower businesses to seize the talent required for consistent scalable growth. With an... unwavering passion for fostering innovative strategies, Ryan Virani is your go-to partner in revolutionising how companies attract and retain top-tier professionals, providing end-to-end solutions that empower businesses to harness the skills needed for growth. With an impressive eight-year tenure at Adeptis Group, Ryan has played a pivotal role in empowering cutting-edge companies to thrive amidst the digital revolution and demands of cyber transformations. His expertise lies in cultivating high-performing teams that give businesses a decisive advantage. As a key leader in Adeptis, Ryan & Adeptis offer a range of services dedicated to accelerating growth in the dynamic cyber world.   
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Evie Wild, Information Security Officer, EMEA Region, LBBW Bank

Evie Wild formerly worked at the Financial regulator where she was responsible for policy formation and Sourcebook creation in relation to Operational Risk.  Since then she has worked in various Risk Management positions in the financial sector, specialising in Information and Cyber Security for the last 10 years.  She is currently the Information Security... Officer, EMEA Region, for LBBW bank. more

Federico Iaschi, Information Security Director, Starling Bank

Federico Iaschi is a multilingual Information Security Director at Starling Bank with over 20 years of experience across global private and public sectors. He specialises in cyber security resilience and observability, building robust practices to proactively identify and mitigate risks across diverse systems. A recognised speaker and author, Federico holds extensive... certifications including CISSP, CISM, and CCISO, underscoring his deep expertise in information security and risk. His strategic insights are vital for navigating the evolving landscape of financial services cybersecurity and resilience.
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Jonathan Freedman, Head of Technology & Security, Howard Kennedy

Jonathan Freedman is the Head of Technology & Security at London law firm Howard Kennedy, with a background in Enterprise Architecture and systems engineering within the UK professional services sector spanning more than 18 years, now focusing on information and cybersecurity. Working closely with teams from across the firm, his role includes both the review,... development and implementation of new technology within the firm and leading the firm’s internal cybersecurity/cyber awareness programs. In addition, he holds multiple industry certifications including, Certified Ethical Hacker, CGEIT, CISSP, TOGAF, and ISO27001 with special interests in cybersecurity, ethical hacking & penetration testing, data protection, cryptography, secure systems design, mobile device security and technology innovation. more

Jonathan Turner, Head of Cyber Security, Farrer & Co

Jonathan Turner is a cyber security professional with more than a decade of experience across technical operations, governance, risk, and compliance. His background includes cyber strategy, incident response, auditing, and regulatory compliance. He is currently Head of Cyber Security at Farrer & Co, where he is responsible for strategy, incident management, and... resilience.  Previously, he held senior positions at L3Harris Technologies, where he managed complex infrastructures and delivered projects ranging from site migrations to policy and security overhauls, while also guiding the business through certifications and compliance.more

James Derbyshire, Cybersecurity Entrepreneur, Harmonic Security

James Derbyshire is a proven cybersecurity entrepreneur with a track record of building, scaling, and successfully exiting high-growth startups in some of the most complex and security-conscious industries. James has experience in startup inception through acquisition, navigating regulatory landscapes, advanced threat environments, and enterprise-scale deployments.

Mark Schembri, Field Software Engineering Manager, Invicti Security

Part of the Solutions Engineering Team at Invicti Security, Mark graduated in Computing and Information Systems and has more than 15 years of experience in Email Security and Communication solutions through various roles in QA and Software Engineering. He is passionate about cybersecurity and technology in general.

Guy Batey, Head of Specialist Engineering EMEA, Rubrik