Dr Mary Haigh is Deputy Global CIO and Director of Digital Delivery at BAE Systems.

Mary joined the company in 2015 and has held a number of roles including Global CISO for 4.5 years and prior to that Director of Cyber for BAE Systems Digital Intelligence. She is a speaker at events around the world, particularly in the field of secure digital transformation and sovereignty. She is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, founding R.I.S.E, the women in cyber security cross industry mentoring scheme.

Mary is a Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and a Trustee on the Board of the UK Cyber Security Council.

Mary has worked in the digital domain since 2009, prior to that working in semiconductors research and then specialising in Intellectual Property management. Her PhD was in semiconductor physics.

Dr Allison Gardner has been a Labour MP for Stoke on Trent South since 2024 and currently Chairs the AI APPG and is also a Member of the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill Commons Select Committee.

Dr Gardner previously worked with the NHS as a Senior Scientific Adviser for Artificial Intelligence. She also served as a Director of ‘Women Leading in AI’ and worked internationally with governments and organisations such as the UN to advocate for the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence.

Before joining the NHS, Dr Gardner spent over twenty-five years as a Science and PSHE teacher in secondary schools. During that time, she completed a PhD in Molecular Biology (for fun!) and later lectured at Keele University, where she led the Data Science Degree Apprenticeship programme.

Dr Gardner spent six years as a Councillor in Newcastle-under-Lyme, where she also served as Chair of the CLP. She was the campaign coordinator for the 2017 general election, achieving a remarkable victory against all odds. Additionally, she was one of the leading campaigners to save Bradwell Community Hospital and have earned respect across North Staffordshire for her passionate commitment to the area.

As a ‘military baby,’ Dr Gardner was born in Singapore, where her Navy father was stationed, where she was raised by her Irish mother, who worked as a factory manager. She credits her mum, who began her working life as a cleaner, for instilling in her a strong work ethic, resilience, and determination to succeed.

Nicola Fulford advises clients on the full range of privacy and cybersecurity issues from international data transfers and privacy policies to online profiling, marketing consents, impact assessments and compliance strategies. She provides pragmatic, solutions-focused advice, with a good understanding of technology.

Knowing data protection challenges can arise at any time, Nicola guides clients through the regulatory and reputational challenges. She is a trusted advisor to companies, whether responding to breaches, dealing with regulators, negotiating agreements or considering the optimal way to balance data protection risk and business and customer expectation.

Nicola is a member of the LexisNexis Information Law consulting editorial board. She regularly speaks and is published on information law issues and has written sections of key textbooks.

Nicola has particular understanding of the demands of putting compliant projects into operational practice, having worked in-house for an investment bank and an IT services company and been seconded as Privacy Counsel to a leading Internet company.

Mariarosaria Taddeo is Professor of Digital Ethics and Defence Technologies at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford. Her work focuses mainly on digital ethics, the ethical analysis of artificial intelligence (AI), ethics of AI for national defence, cybersecurity, cyber conflicts, and ethics of digital innovation. Her research has been published in major journals like Nature, Nature Machine Intelligence, Science, and Science Robotics.

Mariarosaria has received multiple awards, the 2010 Simon Award for Outstanding Research in Computing and Philosophy; the 2016 World Technology Award for Ethics. In 2018, InspiringFifty named her among the most inspiring 50 Italian women working in technology. ORBIT listed her among the top 100 women working on Ethics of AI in the world. She is one the twelve 2020 “Outstanding Rising Talents” named by the Women’s Forum for Economy and Society. In 2023, she has been awarded the title of Grande Ufficiale al Merito Della Repubblica Italiana, by the Italian President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella.

Since 2016, Mariarosaria serves as Editor-in-Chief of Minds & Machines (SpringerNature) and of Philosophical Studies Series (SpringerNature). Since 2020, Taddeo serves in the Ethics Advisory Panel to the UK Ministry of Defence.

In 2024, Mariarosaria published a book entitled ‘The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Defence’ with Oxford University Press.

Adam Avards joined UK Finance in 2022 as Principal for Cyber and Third-Party Risk Policy.

Adam 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 fifteen years within the UK’s Intelligence Community, dealing with both physical and digital security, operations and policy.

Drawing on more than two decades of cybersecurity expertise, Sudarshan Ratnavuelu is a distinguished international speaker and thought leader who has shaped security strategies across finance, retail, utilities, and government sectors. As a former security advisor to the UK central government, he brings a unique perspective on national-scale cybersecurity challenges and their solutions.
Over the past decade, Sudarshan has been instrumental in transforming risk management and security operations within financial services, implementing enterprise-wide solutions that drive measurable business outcomes. Combining hands-on development expertise with board-level strategic thinking, he has become a trusted advisor to FTSE100 executives and a catalyst for organisational transformation.
Sudarshan’s forward-thinking approach to security automation and risk management continues to influence industry standards and shape the future of cybersecurity.

A former Second Permanent Secretary of the UK Ministry of Defence who retired after thirty-four years in the civil service in 2009, Ian continues to pursue a wide range of security interests. From 2009-2013, he was Non-Executive Chairman of the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) – now part of the National Crime Agency. As a Non-Executive Director of NHS Digital from 2013-2018, he took a particular interest in information assurance and cyber security.

For much of the last twenty years, Sir Ian has been closely involved in the leadership of transformational change in large and complex organisations in the national security space. A former Senior Adviser to the Transparency International Defence and Security Programme, he is currently one of the Vice-Chairs of the UK National Preparedness Commission. Recent years have seen him providing support to UK Defence Engagement, particularly in Latin America, and contributing to various public sector and academic leadership initiatives.

Paul Fyfe is currently the Futures Director of the UK’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), responsible for the regulation of the civil nuclear sector’s protective and personnel security, and Cyber Security & Information Assurance. He is also responsible for regulation of Civil Nuclear Safeguards and the UK’s State System of Accountancy for and control of Nuclear Materials. 

Paul previously worked at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) where he was the Chief Security & Resilience Officer. He joined the MOD from a career in the Royal Air Force where he served in senior positions within: Defence Intelligence; Defence Cyber Operations Group; Chief of the Air Staff’s Office and various roles within the RAF Police including ultimately the Deputy Chief of the Air Force Police and Chief of Staff. He deployed to various operational theatres throughout his RAF career including to Afghanistan as the Director of Afghan Police Strategic Planning with NATO in Kabul. He has also been seconded to both the Home Office and Security Service (MI5) in personnel security and counter terrorism roles respectively. 

Paul holds a distinction Master’s Degree in Corporate Security and Risk Management, and is a member of various professional security and management bodies. He is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Director General’s Advisory Panel for Security. 

Steve Buckley is a highly focused, proactive, approachable information security professional with broad knowledge. Having the benefit of both a technical and compliance background, he aims to elevate the security landscape through expert insights and proactive measures, having a passion for safeguarding sensitive information and mitigating risks against emerging threats.  
 
Utilising his deep understanding of industry best practices and staying at the forefront of technological advancements, Steve continuously enhances organisational resilience and ensures the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of critical assets.  
 
Collaborating closely with cross-functional teams, executives, and stakeholders, Steve communicates complex security concepts concisely and compellingly, bridging the gap between technical intricacies and organisational objectives. He is adept at translating regulatory requirements into actionable plans, ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulations while driving continuous improvement. 
 
By fostering a culture of security awareness and implementing robust protocols, Steve empowers businesses to confidently navigate the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape while instilling trust among stakeholders. 

Ministry of Defence (MOD) 

Eleanor Fairford joined the Ministry of Defence MOD in 2024 as Director Cyber Defence and is accountable for driving defensive cyber strategy, capability development and defining policy and defence-wide cyber requirements and compliance including through the defence industrial base.  

Prior to joining MOD, Eleanor worked in a range of roles across the UK government and overseas.   

A generalist civil servant, Eleanor pivoted on her intelligence assessment experience and joined the National Cyber Security Centre when it opened in 2016 and led work on strategic cyber threat assessment.  She then moved to apply this experience in practice and led the NCSC’s incident management for four years, dealing with nationally significant incidents hitting the UK from Solar Winds to criminal ransomware.   

Eleanor has extensive experience working with Boards and Executive leaders to help them understand the cyber threat landscape and respond to cyber incidents.    

With over 25 years of technical and information security experience across a variety of sectors, Jennifer champions engagement in cybersecurity for everyone.

Her inclusive approach helps to demystify the subject, so that people have confidence in their cybersecurity skills for their professional and personal life.  In the NHS, these skills drive patient safety, which is dependent on confidentiality, integrity and availability of data and systems.

She has been with Moorfields Foundation Trust since 2024, leading a multi-disciplinary unit responsible for a diverse array of security functions across risk, threat monitoring and proactive defence capabilities. Her first role in the NHS was at Guy’s and St Thomas, where she was integral to cybersecurity assurance during  a time of significant digital transformation and major incidents arising.

Managing risks in such a sensitive field requires continuous, rhythmic effort to balance digital innovation with security posture. In correlation, outside of work, Jennifer enjoys playing the drums, and jogging.

Dr Mary Haigh is Deputy Global CIO and Director of Digital Delivery at BAE Systems.

Mary joined the company in 2015 and has held a number of roles including Global CISO for 4.5 years and prior to that Director of Cyber for BAE Systems Digital Intelligence. She is a speaker at events around the world, particularly in the field of secure digital transformation and sovereignty. She is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, founding R.I.S.E, the women in cyber security cross industry mentoring scheme.

Mary is a Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and a Trustee on the Board of the UK Cyber Security Council.

Mary has worked in the digital domain since 2009, prior to that working in semiconductors research and then specialising in Intellectual Property management. Her PhD was in semiconductor physics.