Speakers

Tom Ashbridge grew up in Northern Ireland, and studied at Queen’s University in Belfast where he was a member of both the University Air Squadron and University Officer Training Corps. His early career was focussed on tactical communications delivery, including time with Joint Helicopter Command, Tactical Communications Wing, and embedded into an Army Signal Brigade Headquarters; he completed several operational deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Mid-career, his focus shifted to operating in the Cyber & EM domain. He was fortunate to enjoy two years on exchange during the early days of United States Cyber Command, where he was responsible support to US Combatant Commands and helped grow the US Military’s Cyber Mission Force. He then commanded the joint military intelligence Unit. As an OF5, he led Defence’s Cyber Capability Development and as Senior Air Staff Officer for the Royal Air Force’s 11 Group, helped refocus the RAF’s operational headquarters for global operations. He undertook his 1* roles in Defence Digital focussed on developing Defence Digital Operations as an operational C2 node in the cyber domain, prior to taking up a Deputy Director role in a Defence and Intelligence Community Cyber Partnership. He was appointed as Director Digital Operations in Jul 2024 on promotion to Air Vice-Marshal. He is excited about being at the heart of operating the Digital Enterprise that gives Defence its edge and leveraging the whole force community to defend that Enterprise in the face of growing threats. Tom is married to Nicky, a Chartered Accountant, and has two teenage sons. As a family, they enjoy time outdoors. Tom’s latest sporting foray is becoming a hockey umpire, where he finds the ‘feedback’ from the teams helps keep him grounded.