Speakers

Sam Rea, Head of Enterprise Security Architecture, Bupa Group

Sam Rea is a senior cybersecurity leader with experience across government, consulting, and global enterprise. He leads enterprise security architecture for Bupa Group, a £16bn international health and insurance organisation, where he shapes strategy across digital trust, secure transformation and responsible AI.

Stuart Seymour, Group CISO and CSO, Virgin Media O2

Stuart is Group Chief Security Officer (Group CISO and CSO) at Virgin Media O2. Stuart is proudly dyslexic and a Cyber Security and Physical Security Leader with over 25 years of global remit and experience. Stuart has a proven track record of building Security Functions and teams globally at major multinationals. He was ranked #1 CISO at the CSO 30UK awards in 2023... and received an award for Diversity and Inclusion for his work on Neurodiversity the same year. In 2024 Stuart was awarded the Outstanding CISO of the year by the Cyber OSPAS. Multilingual with global experience in security consultancy, physical security, cyber security, cyber incident response and all aspects of business resilience. Stuart has designed, managed and delivered complex, fiscally prudent physical and cyber security solutions / programs finding the balance between security, availability and business enablement. Stuart has an ability to lead a diverse and virtual workforce spread across four continents during periods of significant pressure, recognised for developing and mentoring staff to achieve more than is expected of them. He is the Past Master and Court Member of Worshipful Company of Security Professionals and was the Board Special Advisor to Care International UK. Stuart is on the OSAC UK Executive Committee member; and Chartered Security Professional.more

Simon Goldsmith, Director for Information Security, OVO Energy

Simon has been in security for over 20 years and has built security and intelligence capabilities for military platforms, national security, financial services, energy and global retail sectors. He has lived and worked in Asia, mainland Europe, Middle East as well as the UK and can speak to both successes and failures in national... security, security and privacy regulations, financial crime and securing DevOps transformation in both large and small enterprises. A passion for sport and a semi-professional career in rugby provide an alternative perspective on business resilience and performance. Simon is a passionate advocate for security as a team sport with an urgent need for more diversity and inclusive behaviours in the profession. more

Steve Davies, Head of Cyber Security, DLA Piper

As the Head of Cyber Security at DLA Piper, I lead a global team of security professionals who are responsible for protecting the firm's data, systems, and reputation from cyber threats. With over 10 years of experience in the information security field, I have successfully developed and executed cybersecurity strategies and initiatives that align with the firm's... business objectives and risk appetite.

My core competencies include security architecture, engineering, and operations, as well as crisis management, compliance, and vulnerability management. I have in-sourced Security Operations, established Security Engineering capabilities, and driven vulnerability management processes across the firm. I have also implemented SIEM solutions, intrusion detection systems, and technical guardrails for public cloud adoption, leveraging my expertise in Cloud Security and SABSA. My mission is to foster a culture of security excellence and resilience, and to enable the firm to deliver innovative and secure solutions to its clients. more

Joe Tidy, Reporter, Presenter & Author, BBC

Joe Tidy is the BBC’s first ever Cyber Correspondent and the foremost voice in the corporation on cybercrime and hacking. Over the past ten years he has covered all major cyber-attacks for BBC and Sky News working across TV, Radio, social media and news websites. He has made documentaries about cyber security travelling to the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Argentina,... Germany and Ukraine to track down stories and characters. 
His book Ctrl+Alt+Chaos: How Teenage Hackers Hijack the Internet investigates the dark side of teen hacking culture and why we are repeatedly failing as a society to address the growing issue of teen cybercrime.more

Lee Elliott, Senior Director of Solutions Engineering, BeyondTrust

Lee Elliott is the Sr Director, Solutions Engineering, for BeyondTrust. A highly capable security leader with 20+ years’ experience, Lee has acquired a wide range of security and identity management experience and knowledge, working across multiple industries in both vendor and client-side organizations. As a regular speaker at industry... conferences, Lee delivers disruptive technical and strategic thought-leadership insight to the international cybersecurity community.more

Michael Adjei, Director, Systems Engineering, Illumio

Michael has over 2 decades of experience. He is the Director of Systems Engineering where he is responsible for overseeing the go-to-market systems engineering team.   Michael is an accomplished public speaker, regularly speaking at conferences and webinars. He holds a MSc in Network Systems Engineering and a BSc in physics in addition to several cyber industry... certifications.more

Khetan Gajjar, EMEA CTO, Mimecast

Khetan Gajjar brings over 25 years of leadership and expertise in the ICT sector to his role as Field Chief Technology Officer for EMEA at Mimecast. He sets the long-term vision for cybersecurity in the region, focusing on innovative solutions and integrating customer needs into strategic business plans. Khetan’s career includes leading roles at... Meta, where he led the OpenWiFi Project Group, and executive positions at Vodacom, VAST Networks, and Internet Solutions. As a trusted advisor, he shapes strategies to secure businesses against evolving cyber threats.more

Rob Ainscough, Chief Identity Security Advisor, Silverfort

Rob Ainscough is the Chief Identity Security Advisor at Silverfort and a seasoned leader in identity and access management. With over a decade of experience building and scaling IAM programs in complex, global environments, Rob brings deep expertise in access governance, privileged access, and secure credentialing. He is known for simplifying identity security... challenges and driving automation and risk reduction at scale.more