
Leading Through the AI Frontier
Unlocking Value, Managing Risk and Building Resilience
Event Organiser

Unlocking Value, Managing Risk and Building Resilience
As AI, quantum computing and increasingly sophisticated cyber threats reshape the risk landscape, organisations need to understand not only the opportunities these technologies create, but how to manage the new vulnerabilities, governance challenges and business risks that come with them.
Hosted by SCC and NatWest, This event will bring together senior leaders and experts from technology, financial services and cyber security to explore the evolving threat landscape and what it means for organisations looking to embrace innovation securely and build long-term resilience and risk assurance.
The agenda moves from the current security landscape and business value at risk through to agentic AI identity, quantum security, dynamic knowledge ecosystems and real-world industry perspectives, before concluding with networking over lunch.
Agenda
| Time | Session | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Welcome & Refreshments | |
| 09:30 – 09:50 | Welcome and Opening Remarks | Andy Gray, MD, Head of Commercial mid-market, NatWest James Rigby, Chairman SCC |
| 09:50 – 10:00 | You cannot protect what you cannot see Managing increasing pace of change needs an eco-system, we cannot be all things to all people, its about collaboration. | Russell Brown, UK CEO, SCC |
| 10:00 – 10:20 | Todays Security Challenges How NatWest responds, defends and protects against current and future security threats. | Silas Bartlett, MD, Head of security Intelligence & Testing, NatWest Group |
| 10:20 – 10:50 | Business Value at Risk In times of profound geopolitical and technological changes, businesses face unprecedented threats to corporate value. Irene Philipps of DNK & TBA of Gallagher will discuss and explore through a “fireside chat” the technology risk management through the lens of escalating threat levels and the role of cyber insurance. | Irene Philipps, Global COO – DNK Sam Cheshire – Head of Cyber, Gallagher UK & Ireland |
| 10:50 – 11:10 | Agentic Identity and Agentic Passports What happens when the Internet is no longer human driven (KYA = Know Your Agent) | Evin McMullen, Cofounder of Billions Network & Cofounder of Amantrue |
| 11:10 – 11:35 | Coffee Break | Refreshments |
| 11:35 – 11:50 | Quantum Today, Quantum Safe Tomorrow The reality of quantum computing—and what it means for securing your business. | Philip Thomas, IBM CTO for NatWest, Senior Quantum Ambassador |
| 11:50 – 12:20 | Dynamic Knowledge Eco-Systems Assurance within an adaptive threat landscape and understanding the evolution of agentic attack and defend capabilities. | Andy Jones, Strategic VISO – Operational Enablement & Compliance. SCC Phil Atkin, Practice Director – Cyber, SCC Nigel Garner – CTO, Nimble an SCC Business |
| 12:20 – 12:50 | Industry Perspectives Panel Panel members will share sector-specific experiences and the challenges they face with AI and associated risk assurance, and take audience questions. | Compere – Chris McGrath, Director Digital Trust, SCC 1. David Newey, CTO, Great Ormond Street Hospital 2. Scott McKinnon, Chief Security Officer, Western Europe, Palo Alto/Unit 42 |
| 12:50 – 13:10 | Summary and Wrap-up | |
| 13:10 – 14:30 | Lunch and Networking | Lunch & Networking |
Key Takeaways
- Today’s security challenges and how organisations can identify and respond to an increasingly complex and fast-moving threat landscape.
- Business value at risk, looking at technology risk through the lens of geopolitical change, escalating threats and cyber insurance,Agentic AI, identity and trust, including what happens when interactions across the internet are increasingly driven by autonomous agents rather than people, as in “know your agent”.
- Quantum computing and quantum-safe security, exploring the reality of quantum today and what organisations need to consider when protecting their business for the future because “if you cant see it, you cant protect it”
- Dynamic knowledge ecosystems, assurance in an adaptive threat landscape and the evolution of agentic attack and defence capabilities.
- Industry perspectives on AI and risk assurance, bringing together leaders from different sectors to discuss their experiences, challenges and approaches.
- Cyber resilience as a business issue, building on the wider NatWest/SCC programme’s focus on helping senior stakeholders understand cyber and AI risk, resilience and emerging threats in meaningful business terms. Specifically highlights the importance of making cyber and AI risk a boardroom agenda item, rather than treating it solely as a technical issue.