As Second Permanent Secretary, his responsibilities include digital transformation across Defence, security and resilience (including cyber security), space policy, science and technology, safety, Defence strategy, net assessment and challenge, trade and economic security, and strategic relationships with industry. Paul’s career has covered a broad range of roles in the MOD, the Home Office and the Cabinet Office. Prior to his return to the MOD, Paul spent time on secondment to the private sector. From 2017 to 2021 he was Director General of UK Border Force in the Home Office, with responsibility for protecting border security and overseeing immigration and customs checks. During this time, he successfully led one of the largest law enforcement organisations in the UK, delivering generational improvements to passenger processing and, with a real focus on preparations for Brexit, oversaw one of the largest and most complex EU exit programmes in government. He also led on the cross-government health measures at the border at the height of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Other senior roles at the Home Office included Director General of the Crime, Policing and Fire Group, and Acting Director General of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism. His roles at the MOD have covered oversight for a range of operational campaigns, defence resourcing, programmes, and security policy.

Tom spent his early career on operations with The Royal Green Jackets (now The Rifles) on operations in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2014 he formed and commanded 1st Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance Brigade and then, as a Major General, he commanded those capabilities. In 2019 he was appointed Director Strategy and Military Digitisation at Defence Digital, accelerating Defence’s digital transformation and increasing its adoption of digital technology. In May 2022, Tom took up the post of Deputy Commander UK Strategic Command on promotion to Lieutenant General.

Charlie has 39 years industry experience gained from leading IT globally as Deputy Group Global CIO at BP, as CEO of Global IT Services at Prudential and as Interim CIO at Thames Water. He has worked as an independent consultant helping businesses transform their ability to exploit digital technology. Charlie Forte was appointed the Chief Information Officer for the Ministry of Defence in January 2018. He is the primary advisor to the Defence Board on Information and Digital and is responsible for strategy and policy on the exploitation, operation, interoperability and protection of information and digital technology across the Ministry of Defence. This includes cyber security and resilience; the promotion of new ways of working, information technology-enabled innovation; and the delivery of effective IT services. Charlie is a member of the Defence Executive Committee and the Strategic Command Executive Committee.

Rachel Singleton joined the Royal Navy in 2002 from the Royal Naval Reserve, following a short career as a software engineer in the telecommunications sector. Her operational experience includes time onboard aircraft carriers ARK ROYAL and ILLUSTRIOUS, two short tours in Afghanistan and a tour as Weapon Engineer Officer of Type 45 destroyer HMS DARING. Her non-operational roles have spanned capability development, IT service management, cyber and Defence Engagement and she recently spent a rewarding two years leading on AI at the British Defence Staff in Washington DC, before returning to Navy Headquarters as Head of Digital Development and SRO of the Naval Strike Network programme.

Rachel has recently joined Defence Digital as Head of the DAIC and is responsible for setting the conditions for the widespread exploitation of AI within Defence, championing the appropriate and informed use of AI, ensuring the enablers are in place such as tooling, platforms and data, and sponsoring specific innovation projects, identifying crucial problem sets and developing AI models to address them.

Rachel is a graduate of Birmingham University where she studied Mathematics and Philosophy and has also undertaken an in-Service MSc in Information Systems at Cranfield University, and the Defence Academy’s Advanced Command and Staff Course alongside the associated MA in Defence Studies from Kings College London. At home Rachel is outnumbered by her husband and two sons and any spare time is spent reading, making music or hiking.

Professor Meers is a Fellow at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) specialising in application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to Defence and Security challenges. He is the Technical Strategy Leader for Dstl’s AI & Data Science Capability and the Head of Research & Experimentation in the UK’s Defence AI Centre. He is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton where he is focussed on responsible and trustworthy adoption of AI. He provides advice at the highest levels within the Ministry of Defence regarding the opportunities and threats presented by artificial intelligence and machine learning and how the UK can responsibly & safely adopt these technologies to strengthen Defence and National Security.

Dina has been Head of the Software and Cloud Services category in Defence Digital Commercial since 2019. She has supported delivery to key areas such as Cyber, Crypt Key, Intelligence, Software enterprise agreements, Cloud and hosting services and the Foundry team through a strong category focus. She joined the MOD from Worldpay, the UK’s largest payments processing company and has worked in procurement and supply chain roles within financial services throughout her career. Dina now leads the Commercial X programme alongside her Software and Hosting role. She is committed to simplifying the way MOD procures digital, innovation and technology products and services through the pan-MOD CommercialX function.

Marcel joined Helsing from Shift Technology in Paris, where he established the
product team. Before that, he spent 10 years building B2B and B2C products at
Google in Zurich, London and Paris. Marcel felt compelled to join Helsing as soon as
he learnt about the mission: he's a humanist and passionate about liberal democratic
values. Marcel studied Computer Science and Law at the University of Wollongong,
and holds a Master's degree from Cambridge University.

Shefali Sharma, Co-founder & Director at Oxford Dynamics, spearheads the development of novel and pioneering tech in the Defence and government sector. Shefali was selected as both Royal Academy of Engineering Promising SME Leader and a Global Young Innovator by Innovate UK as one of the few entrepreneurs (under 30) solving global challenges with their ground-breaking ideas. Shefali co-founded Oxford Dynamics to bring her creativity, passion and cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence and robotics to solving challenging customer problems.

Alistair Garfoot is Mind Foundry’s Director of Intelligence Architecture where he designs applications of AI technology to drive operational impact across verticals. Alistair studied dynamic optimisation of high dimensional risk at the Oxford Machine Learning Research Group with Mind Foundry co-founder Professor Stephen Roberts. With expertise across AI state-of-the-art and operational problem identification, Alistair accelerates the realisation of AI-driven impact at the enterprise scale.

Nick Bray is the Vice President of Global Defense and Security at Vantiq, where he leverages over three decades of military expertise to drive innovative solutions in defense technology. Joining Vantiq in March 2023 from PwC, Nick has a distinguished background, having served 33 years in the Royal Air Force (RAF). His notable roles included commanding the RAF's specialist ground combat and security forces and serving as the Director of International Policy and Plans for the UK Ministry of Defence. After retiring from active service in 2017, he continued to contribute as a Reservist in the RAF's innovation organization, gaining valuable insights into defense advancements. Prior to Vantiq, Nick held key positions in defense innovation and cybersecurity, where he successfully introduced cutting-edge technologies to enhance national security. His contributions have been recognized with prestigious awards, including being named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his leadership in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Nick holds master's degrees in Military Strategy and Technology from King's College London and International Relations and Diplomacy from the London School of Economics.

Simon has over 30 years’ experience in the defence and security industry having had experience in Government, industry and academia. As the strategy and technology director for Leonardo in the UK Simon is responsible for the evolution of Leonardo in the digital age, directing the company strategy, research, development and innovation portfolio to execute the programme of work. Simon is also a non-executive director and advisor to numerous technology start-ups; he has also just finished an eight-year term as a District Councillor.

Simon was previously the director of defence and security at Cranfield University, a member of the
University’s senior management team and managing director of a services spin-out company from
the University. As part of this role Simon was the chairman and academic advisor to Security
Minister, and hence Home Secretary through the Resilience, Intelligence and Security Community
(RISC) group.

Prior to this Simon was the strategy and business development director for the international arm of
Boeing’s Phantom Works, the advanced prototyping arm of the Boeing Company. Responsible for a
portfolio of products and services Simon helped establish Boeing (defense, space and security)
globally and develop a successful brand for Boeing outside of the USA.

Simon previously worked for Her Majesty’s Government. Serving initially as the Royal Navy’s
Electronic Warfare Operations Analyst, this position led to Simon becoming one of the initial authors
of the MoD’s concept of Network Enabled Capability (NEC), and the Ministry of Defence Architectural Framework (MODAF). Simon later worked for the Capability Manager (CM) for Information Superiority as the principal scientist for Command and Battle-space Management, which saw him responsible for the research and technology aspects of the CM’s programme. Following several years working for the British Embassy in Washington DC, Simon's last role in the Ministry of Defence was with Niteworks.

David Sully is the CEO and co-founder of Advai, a UK-based leader in AI safety and security. With over a decade of experience in Defence and Security within the UK Government, David brings a deep understanding of national security challenges to Advai's purpose. Since its establishment in 2020, Advai has become a trusted partner to UK Defence, Security, and Industry, delivering cutting-edge AI assurance capabilities. The company ensures that advanced AI systems meet the highest standards of safety, reliability, and operational readiness, supporting the secure deployment of technology critical to national and strategic interests.

Mark is an Engineer, Human Factors Expert and Psychologist and with 20 years’ experience in providing consultancy, research and development support across a number of engineering disciplines. He is currently the Thales UK Technical Director for R&T – this involves all defence and civilian applications across Thales Group and leading a multi-disciplinary team of engineers. He is best known for developing innovative solutions and problem solving, often in developing research and development areas or challenging environments – particularly in the area of user testing and trials and has turned this experience to the challenge of users engaging and getting value from AI.

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