Khalid Mahmood MP

Khalid Mahmood MP is a Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Perry Barr since 2001, becoming the first Muslim MP in England. He was appointed as Shadow Europe Minister in October 2016 and was re-elected in 2017 and 2019 general elections. Mahmood was appointed Shadow Defence Procurement Minister by Keir Starmer in 2020.

Stephen Phipson, MakeUK CEO

Stephen Phipson is the CEO of Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation. Stephen previously held the position of Head of the Defence and Security Organisation within the Department for International trade, delivering support to UK defence and security businesses seeking to export and develop joint ventures and partnerships overseas, as well as to overseas defence and security businesses seeking to invest in the UK. Prior to this Stephen held the position of Director for Security Industry Engagement within the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism at the Home Office. Stephen has spent 35 years in Industry and has held senior roles within the Electronics, Defence and Security industries.

Dr Bryan Wells, Chief Scientist NATO 

As of 1 July 2019, the North Atlantic Council (NAC) appointed Chief Scientist is Dr. Bryan Wells (UK). In this role, he has three major responsibilities. First, he serves as Chair of the NATO Science and Technology Board (STB). In this context, he serves as the STB's representative to the Secretary General and the NAC and is responsible to the STB for the effective coordination of NATO's Science and Technology (S&T) program. Second, he serves as the senior scientific advisor to NATO leadership, ensuring that appropriate and timely S&T based advice is provided to NATO senior decision makers. Finally, he leads the Office of the Chief Scientist at NATO Headquarters.

Gary Aitkenhead, Chief Executive of MOD DSTL

Gary has a broad background in Technology Research & Development and Commercial leadership with a track record of revenue growth and business transformation. After achieving a first class honours degree from the University of Strathclyde in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Gary spent much of his career in the development and supply of mission-critical wireless communications solutions to public safety, industrial and transportation sectors.

DR. David Snelling – Fujitsu in Defence and National Security Program Director of Artificial Intelligence (EMEIA)

Dr. David Snelling received his Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Architecture from Manchester University in 1993. His undergraduate and masters degrees are from the University of Denver. Since 1997, Dr. Snelling has been employed by Fujitsu in roles ranging from research project manager to his current position as Program Director of Artificial Intelligence (EMEIA). Over these years his professional interests have ranged widely: Computer systems architecture, Distributed systems, Energy efficiency technologies, Graph database platforms, Machine (deep) learning, Information modelling and ontologies, Quantum computing. Prior to joining Fujitsu, he worked as a researcher and lecturer at the Universities of Manchester and Leicester.