A world-class pool of security and commercial leaders

Anthony Finkelstein is President of City, University of London. Prior to this he was Chief Scientific Adviser for National Security to HM Government, a senior strategic and operational role that involves leadership of science, research and innovation across the UK's national security community.

Anthony is a Professor of Software Systems Engineering and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He is a Distinguished Fellow of RUSI. He was granted the title of Knight Bachelor in 2022 for public service. He was previously appointed a CBE for services to computer science and engineering. He has successfully exited two tech companies in data and AI.

Our technical due diligence and optimisation effort is led by a distinguished ex-HMG leader with 20 years’ experience in cyber related operations and technology. He has deep experience in due diligence and acquisition reviews in support of investment activity.

Dr. Robert Hercock is a Chief Research Scientist in the British Telecommunications Security Research Practice. He served as a member of the Royal Society Science and Industry Committee and is a regular adviser to the Royal Society on AI and Data Science issues.

He has over thirty international publications in AI and security concepts, in addition to over 30 filed patents. His research interests include Cyber Security, AI, Robotics and Complex Adaptive Systems.

A Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET), he is also a Visiting Fellow at the Changing Character of Warfare Centre, in Pembroke College, Oxford University. He also provides independent technical expertise for the UK MoD Defence Science Expert Committee (DSEC) and was a Business Research Fellow at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico.

Ben Johnson is CTO and co-founder of Obsidian Security, a SaaS-focused cybersecurity provider in California. Ben is also the President of NGO-ISAC, the ISAC dedicated to the non-profit sector. Before Obsidian, Ben co-founded Carbon Black, an endpoint security company that successfully established the EDR space and was ultimately acquired.

He also was the founding teacher of "Entrepreneurship in Technology" at the University of Chicago. Early in his career, Ben served as an intrusion engineer at NSA and continues his national security mission as an advisor to the FISA Court within the US Department of Justice.

Mr. Johnson also enjoys serving non-profits, advising entrepreneurs, golfing, surfing, and hiking. He is located in Newport Beach with his amazing wife and three incredible sons.

Gaven is an internationally recognised engineering leader with more than 30 years of experience in UK National Security. Until late 2023, he was the Director General for Technology and Chief Technology Officer at GCHQ. In his 7 years as CTO, he was responsible for the research and development of a wide range of critical UK national security capabilities. He led and managed a large and highly-expert technical team based in the UK and overseas. He was accountable for a range of mission-critical investment programmes and for transforming data capabilities across the wider national security community. Prior to becoming CTO, Gaven held a number of technology leadership roles that invested in cutting-edge technology to support GCHQ’s rapidly changing mission. Gaven is now an academic, a technology advisor, and an active advocate for online safety. He is a passionate champion for inclusion in engineering. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2022 and was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 2023.

Eddie culminated his 35-year career in the British Government’s Defence and Security community with his appointment as Chair and CEO of HMGCC. He spent five years there leading a world-class engineering team, focused on the development and integration of high-end technology capability of various kinds.

Today, Eddie helps early-stage British tech companies to grow and scale. He has built a portfolio of Executive and Advisory roles with a number of innovative British tech and cyber security start-ups and scale-ups, especially in London and Oxford. He is Chair of General System, and on the Board at iProov. He is a Fellow of the IET.

Elisabeth is a global security thought leader, focusing on non-military national-security threats such as economic subversion and exploitation of research and innovation. She’s considered one of the pioneering strategists in this area and regularly delivers talks to military, political and business audiences about the West’s changing national-security environment.

Elisabeth is a Senior Associate Fellow at the European Leadership Network and a columnist with Foreign Policy and Politico Europe. She's also a member of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy’s advisory council, a member of the UK National Preparedness Commission, and a member of the Aurora Forum’s steering committee and the author of Goodbye, Globalization: The Return of a Divided World (Yale University Press, February 2024). Her book The Defender’s Dilemma: Identifying and Deterring Gray-Zone Aggression was published in 2022. She’s also the author of God’s Spies, about the Stasi. Prior to the ELN, Elisabeth worked at the American Enterprise Institute, RUSI (the Royal United Services Institute) and Control Risks, following a career as a journalist. She attended university in Germany, graduating with an MA in politics and German literature.

Ed has nearly 40 years of experience leading and delivering high value outcomes in extremely challenging environments, both commercially and in the military. He has comprehensive experience of managing and dealing with all types of intelligence, political and malicious risk, confrontation analysis, complex project management, business development and resource allocation.

He has been part of the leadership team that built two successful small businesses and spent 7 years as Chief Resilience Officer at Pool Re, the Government backed terrorism reinsurance scheme. He is a Senior Independent Advisor to the licensee Board of EDF Energy Generation, the operating company for UK’s nuclear industry and to Northcourt, the Nuclear Risk Specialists. He was privileged to command 22 SAS over 9/11 and led British forces in Afghanistan in 2006. Ed has been formally recognised by Her Majesty's Government on six occasions for his service to the nation.

Priya is a senior leader in technology and innovation who was recognised in June 2022 by InspiringFifty as one of the Top 50 Women in European Tech. She is a Venture Partner at Merian Ventures, investing in women-led innovation, an Advisor to Kheiron Medical Technologies, a NED at UK Research & Innovation, the Digital Catapult and Adjunct Faculty at the Ashridge Hult Business School.

Priya used to be a career diplomat, most recently as British Consul General to San Francisco. She sits on the Royal Academy of Engineering International Committee, Tech London Advocates & Global Tech Advocates Advisory Boards and is a TechSheCan Trustee. Priya was awarded an MBE in 2021 for services to international trade and women in innovation.

Tom served as the most senior Homeland Security Advisor to the last four British Home Secretaries. He led cross-government work countering state threats, cyber crime and security, disinformation, money laundering, online harms, child sexual exploitation and terrorism. He also oversaw the domestic operations of the intelligence agencies, CT Police and the National Crime Agency.

During his thirty years working on national security, Tom has played a leading role on international as well as domestic security issues, especially within the Five Eyes community. Tom was also a member of the UK’s Joint Intelligence Committee, the UK's most senior analytical body on national security issues. As a result of his experience in mastering science and technology to achieve better operational outcomes, Tom was asked in mid-2020 to set up from scratch, and at pace, the UK’s Joint Biosecurity Centre, a data-led organisation that brought data science and public health expertise together in one place to spot earlier and more accurately outbreaks of COVID-19. He was appointed OBE by Her Majesty the Queen in 2011 and CB in 2020 for his services to national security.

Josh has enjoyed a 30-year career driving innovation in security and technology across numerous industries. His ability to anticipate and solve complex business problems using technology as his strategic lens has seen him work with the world’s largest and most respected organisations.

Josh led Accenture’s security practice across Asia Pacific and Middle East during a period of hypergrowth, increasing security revenues tenfold in three years. He’s devised and led a range of complex cyber and national security projects for government and industry.

Josh brings experience at all stages of the investment cycle with investments in cybersecurity, space and quantum technology and advises private family offices and funds in Asia, the Middle East and the UK on emerging technology investments.

Jonathan Kewley is an international lawyer, board advisor and tech ethicist. He works with many of the world’s largest companies on M&A and complex projects spanning cyber security, AI, data privacy, and ESG / sustainable Tech development. He co-chairs the Tech Group at Clifford Chance, the global law firm.

Jonathan is a recognised expert in the area of Tech and data ethics, and works with Oxford University, The Alan Turing Institute and American Enterprise Institute to further discussion and research in AI regulation, cyber security and sustainable technology development.

In 2020 he founded a bursary programme at Oxford University to address lack of diversity in tech education, encouraging more women and people from minority backgrounds to study Computer Science.

Simon has 18 years CEO experience building and successfully selling three PE/VC backed, technology-based companies. He grew revenues at image.net and Peach 10 times developing each from a UK base to global, platform businesses with clients and operations in every continent. As well as driving organic growth, he has extensive M&A experience, including initiating, closing and integrating over a dozen acquisitions for Peach in territories including China, India, Singapore, Chile, Spain, Ireland and the UK.

Simon was previously COO of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, a FTSE 250 company, and Group Finance Director of Zenith Productions.

Ben Legg is GALLOS’s Co-builder in Chief, charged with onboarding and leading the internal GALLOS team of co-builders.

Ben is originally an engineer whose early career included British Army Officer, McKinsey strategy consultant, executive at Coca-Cola, before becoming the Chief Operating Officer of Google Europe and thereafter various global technology CEO roles. Today, he has a portfolio career. He is CEO and CoFounder of The Portfolio Collective, a global community of world class portfolio professionals working in the start-up & scaleup ecosystem. Ben also mentors start-up & scaleup founders, helping investors pick winners and supporting Oxford University's entrepreneurial initiatives. He is acknowledged as a thought leader on the Future of Work.

Ben has lived in nine countries and has a massive network throughout the technology industry. He is also the author of the award-winning book: Marketing For CEOs - Death Or Glory In The Digital Age. He is an avid fitness nut, has five children and lives in London.

Vipul brings a track record of over 20 years scaling B2B Data and SaaS businesses in the UK and USA. With hands-on operating experience as a senior executive, he has organised major product initiatives that have created commercial value and supported successful exits.

As an investor and advisor with an entrepreneurial mindset, Vipul now helps startups create enterprise value through their product strategies. Amongst other roles, Vipul is a Mentor with the Silicon Valley headquartered Plug and Play Tech Centre.

Vipul was formerly the Chief Product Officer at OAG and previously Head of Product at Ascend Worldwide. He has also worked with recognised global brands such as Standard & Poor’s and Dun & Bradstreet during his career.

Phil is a serial open source technology entrepreneur having led the international business efforts of some of the world’s most transformative (now leading) software firms covering the entire technology stack (silicon chips, embedded/IoT, operating systems, middleware, virtualisation, mobile/cloud computing, big data and blockchain). An open source veteran, he helped many Fortune 1000 companies to embrace new disruptive technologies, often displacing entrenched solutions from competitors like IBM and Microsoft. Phil led the European, USA and Asian businesses for Red Hat, VMware, Santander and Deutsche Telekom - where as corporate cloud entrepreneur he created their global Telekom Public Cloud business unit.

Ben is the Chief Risk Officer at Sage Group plc, where he is accountable for the security of Sage’s technology estate and software products and cloud services used by millions of Sage customers globally. Ben also leads Sage’s enterprise risk, internal controls, business continuity and data and AI governance functions.

Ben joined Sage as Global CISO in 2018, after almost 20 years in the UK Government in a variety of technology and national security roles. Ben left public service as director of the Cabinet Office Government Security Group and Deputy Chief Security Officer for government.

Ben is a member of the UK Cyber Security Council’s Strategic Advisory Panel.

After a highly commended 20 year service within UK policing, Kevin joined BT in 2012 initially transform its ability to manage risk but within several years progressed to leading and building a $1 billion cyber security business. Kevin left BT in 2023 to further his cyber security career and is now the COO of NCC Group.

Through his 30 year career, he’s developed a truly holistic experience of security with a proven ability as a CISO/CSO, as well as devising innovative commercial growth strategies for public and private sectors. He has achieved this by building brilliant diverse teams.

Kevin’s collaborative leadership has forged close working with the WEF, not for profits, national security, and many industry groups. He has been a driving force behind public-private partnerships across the world.

Alex is a Cyber Security leader and former military intelligence expert with 15 years’ experience in delivering world class strategic risk, crisis and security management.

Alex began his career as a Military Intelligence Operative in the British Army, where he delivered critical intelligence, risk management and leadership through multiple Operational tours and geopolitical arenas.

He then transitioned into GCHQ where he formed part of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) founding team. During this time he delivered expert Cyber Security consultancy, Incident Response and Crisis Management through the most significant Cyber Attacks to hit the UK.

Alex has since moved into private sector where he has shaped the Cyber Security landscape of ComparetheMarket, a leading UK Fintech, through the execution of a highly ambitious security strategy across a plethora of cloud technologies.

Paul Haywood is the Group Chief Information Security Officer for Willis Towers Watson, an enterprise insurance provider that operates in more than 140 countries with a workforce of over 50,000 employees. Paul was formerly the Group Chief Information Security Officer for Bupa Group, where he led the global security transformation programme.

Paul is responsible for a global approach to information security, including identifying, evaluating, and reporting on risks and meeting compliance and regulatory requirements. Paul is a specialist leader in information security and risk management, with extensive experience in board level communication and managing global stakeholders, to drive security and technology outcomes for large multinational organisations. Paul is also an adopter of disruptive technology solutions to solve complex business problems, and has supported many early-stage security technology companies with their commercial growth and product capabilities and roadmap.

Paul has a honours degree in mathematics and a master's in strategic information systems.

As the Group CISO for Barclays, Oliver is responsible for the cyber security across the group - ensuring that Barclays remains safe, secure and always on.

Oliver joined the bank in Jan 2017 from BT, where he was CTO BT Security - responsible for defining and driving delivery of the technical strategy and capability roadmap for Security within BT to ensure BT’s own approach and portfolio of security products & services stayed ahead of the constantly evolving threat landscape. Olivers career has included delivering some of the largest cyber security transformation programme around the world inc. the building from a scratch of a national cyber security centre for a country in the middle east. Oliver spent a significant chunk of his career working under security clearance with GCHQ & the other UK Security services, in technical roles.

Lynton is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of Associated British Foods where he spearheads the cybersecurity initiatives of a distinguished FTSE 30 organisation in the food, beverage, and retail sectors. With over 18 years of seasoned expertise in both IT and cybersecurity.

Though Lynton commenced his professional journey in law, an early revelation led him to the dynamic realm of IT. Recognising his passion in assembling high-performing teams and orchestrating the seamless delivery of critical enterprise software implementations and upgrades on a global scale.

Upon relocating to the United Kingdom, Lynton provided strategic consultancy and project management expertise to an enterprise IT delivery business. This pivotal experience paved the way for Lynton’s journey with Associated British Foods (ABF).

With a 12.5-year tenure at ABF, Lynton ascended through the IT ranks, culminating in the role of Chief Information Officer (CIO) for a prominent division in 2018. In 2020, Lynton assumed the pivotal position of Global CISO, leading the charge in cybersecurity for the past three years.

Steve Ramsden is Chief Information Security Officer and Digital Innovation/Architect at The Global Fund, an international organization based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Before joining Global Fund Steve held senior management positions within UK Government, responsible for security and design for UK Government’s digital transformation and was a certified GCHQ/CESG information assurance advisor for protection of UK government systems.   Steve has passion for sustainability, health and education and supports the University of Geneva SDG Solution lab, to help scale up frontier technologies including, WEB3, Quantum, AI, blockchain, encryption and privacy preserving technologies to accelerate the Sustainable Development Goal’s.

Dorian is an experienced enterprise cybersecurity leader, with specialist skills in information security and governance, data protection and privacy, security operations, and advanced risk management, that compliment his experience in team development and board level communication.

Dorian spent his formative years as a Specialist Operative in radio frequency and cyber-intelligence for the British Government’s Defence and Security community. He also spent five years as a Technical Consultant for IBM (taking part in major digital transformation projects for the DWP and GCHQ), and as an Associate Director for Crossword Cybersecurity where he took the lead on cybersecurity projects for FTSE 250 companies and technology start-ups.

Glyn is the group Technology Director at multi-billion dollar agri-commodities enterprise ED&F Man, where he is responsible for leading a team of hundreds across 50+ countries globally. Glyn has two-decades of experience and is a subject matter expert in technology service delivery, infrastructure, datacenter, networks, cloud, and cybersecurity. Glyn has extensive experience in executing complex IS environments, including transformation of IS functions and programmes to align with rapidly changing business priorities. Glyn is a board-level communicator with strong influencing skills, able to clearly convey IS priorities and benefits to any level of stakeholder.

Glyn’s progressive approach to solving technical problems has led him to be a supporter and adopter of disruptive technology, where he has worked closely with early-stage security companies to refine product capability and roadmap, operational efficiency, and market positioning.