DSEI 2027

Major General (Ret) Richard Spencer is the founding director of Sallaha Limited, advising the UK defence sector on digital and defence strategy. He previously served a 36-year career in the British Army, which included seven operational deployments and over 15 years in the MoD acquisition environment. Most recently he was Director Delivery at Defence Digital and Deputy Director Weapons Operating Centre at DE&S.

As Deputy Director NUSA within the Navy Acquisition Directorate, Cdre Stratton is responsible for leading a portfolio of 6 Naval acquisition programmes. He is the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for the Government Major Programme Portfolio (GMPP) Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) Programme, and is the SRO for the Torpedoes Portfolio including Torpedo Capability Support Programme (TCSP) and the Stingray Mid Life Upgrade (SRMLU). He also leads SROs delivering a portfolio of broader programmes including Future Military Data gathering (FMDG) and broader underwater sensor programmes. He has worked in the Ministry of Defence as the sponsor for Maritime Complex Weapons as part of the MOD’s strategic Complex Weapons Portfolio and has held numerous roles in Defence Equipment & Support. His most recent role was as the Deputy Director for the Weapons Operating Centre and the head of the Maritime Strike, International and Munitions Delivery Pillar, leading 320 staff responsible for providing weapons capability and support to all the Front-Line Commands. Matt is a Chartered Engineer and Project Professional with a BEng (First) in Electronic Engineering from Southampton University, a MSc in Military Equipment System Engineering (MESE) from Cranfield University and is a graduate of the Major Project Leadership Academy (MPLA).

Jude Terry joined the Royal Navy in 1997 after graduating from Dundee University with a BSc (Hons) in Anatomical Sciences. Her First Stage Career included various staff and operational roles, such as deployments to the Indian Ocean, Arabian Gulf, Caribbean, and Far East aboard HMS SCOTT and HMS OCEAN and planning the drawdown in Afghanistan in 2012. On commencing her Second Stage Career, she completed Advanced Command and Staff Course 15, earning an MA in Defence Studies. Returning to Permanent Joint Headquarters, Jude served as Military Assistant to two Chief of Joint Operations from 2014 - 2016 where she saw the start and finish of Op GRITROCK (Ebola in Sierra Leone) and a variety of global deployments (including Mali and Nigeria). Her work led to her being recognised with an OBE in the 2017 New Year Honours. Promoted to Captain in 2018, she joined Standing Joint Force HQ deploying to Saif Sareea 3 and Exercise AUSTERE CHALLENGE before completing Higher Command and Staff Course. In December 2020, Jude was promoted to Commodore and served as Deputy Director People Delivery in NCHQ. In January 2022, she started her current role as Director People and Training and Naval Secretary and was recently appointed a CB in the 2025 New Year Honours list. Aside from her naval career, she is a trustee of the Medusa Trust, an Honorary Freeman of the Company of HR Professionals and an Ambassador for Girl Guiding South West.

Heidi is the co-founder and director of the Space Skills Alliance, a think tank, consultancy, and backbone organisation addressing the space skills gap. Since co-founding SSA in 2019, Heidi has become recognised as a leader in the space skills landscape. Heidi holds a PhD in Astrophysics from the Open University.

Andrew leads Faculty’s defence team. Faculty is a leading British applied AI company that builds customised AI-driven software for its clients, which include the Ministry of Defence and defence primes. Prior to working in Faculty, Andrew held a number of senior roles in the public sector, many of which focused on economic development. He was part of the founding team of the British Business Bank, which is now the UK’s main mechanism to encourage finance to small and medium sized industry. He also worked in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, where one of his responsibilities was leading its economic development programme. As a result, he has hands on experience of economic projects such business incubators and local infrastructure improvements such as harbour redevelopment.

Air Commodore Thompson joined the RAF in 1997 as a Weapons Technician, commissioning in 2003 as a Communications Electronics Engineering Officer. His career spans Air Defence, Cyber, Air Land Integration, and Intelligence roles, with operational experience in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Levant. Early assignments included managing deployable Air Defence Radars and Air C2 systems with No. 1 Air Control Centre and serving as an Operations Officer on exchange with the Royal Signals. He later commanded 2 (Field Communications) Squadron, Tactical Communications Wing, supporting global operations. Employed on wider Defence activity, he has held senior appointments in PJHQ, MOD, and across Government, including Deputy Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of Defence Staff, focusing on Defence Engagement, NATO, and UN portfolios. He has also served on exchange with the US Department of Defence and been seconded to several UK Partner Agencies. A graduate of the Canadian Forces Joint Command & Staff Program, his academic focus was Women, Peace & Security. As a 1* Commander, he led RAF Global Enablement, overseeing six forces and 8,000 personnel, and previously commanded the RAF Regiment and RAF Police as FP Force Commander. In December 2024, he was appointed Deputy Commander of UK Space Command. Air Commodore Thompson is President of RAF Field Gun and the RAF eSports Association, Director of RAF Community Rugby Union, and a Trustee of the RAF Rugby Union Charity. A champion of diversity, he leads the RAF Diversity Allies initiative.

Esther is an experienced organisational leader with a career focused on human resources and fostering thriving work environments within organisations dedicated to social purpose. Her career has encompassed leadership of large teams, consulting, and advisory roles, primarily within UK public sector organisations. Currently, Esther serves as Director General, People at the Ministry of Defence. Esther is the head of the People function within the department with responsibility for all people policy and strategy. This role also encompasses a Defence priority to improve behaviour and culture through a suite of work entitled Raising our Standards. Esther previously held the position of Director General and Chief People Officer at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), from December 2016 until May 2024. As a member of the HMRC Executive Committee, and a Director of Revenue and Customs Digital Technology Services Ltd., she led a c.£100 million business group. Her responsibilities encompassed strategic workforce planning, employee value proposition, learning and development, and HR service delivery for 75,000 employees. Prior to her role at HMRC, Esther dedicated five years (2011-2016) to the UK Ministry of Defence, culminating in her appointment as HR Director for the 58,000-strong civil service workforce (2014-2016). Beyond her executive roles, Esther is actively engaged in the wider community. She serves as a Trustee of the National Centre for Circus Arts (a small education arts charity), is a Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), and is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development). Esther has two daughters and spends as much time as possible having fun with her family and friends

Commodore Anthony (Tony) Williams joined the Royal Navy as a Warfare Officer in 1994. Early in his career, he served as Gunnery Officer in HMS SHETLAND, enforcing EU legislation within British Fishery Limits. After completing Fighter Controller training in 1999, he served in HMS GLOUCESTER during OP SOUTHERN WATCH and later instructed at the Royal Navy School of Fighter Control. Selected for Command in 2004, Tony became Executive Officer of HMS TYNE in the Fishery Protection Squadron. Following Principal Warfare Officer training, he served in HMS IRON DUKE, deploying to the Caribbean and Falkland Islands, where the ship provided disaster relief to the Turks and Caicos Islands after Hurricane Ike. He later worked at the Permanent Joint Headquarters, overseeing UK Counter Piracy and Counter Terrorism capacity building efforts. In 2011, Tony commanded MCM2 Crew 7, deploying with NATO in HMS LEDBURY and HMS HURWORTH. Promoted to Commander in 2013, he returned to lead the Fishery Protection Squadron and later served as Commander at HMS RALEIGH. Operational tours included Staff Operations Officer to UKMCC in 2017. From 2018, Tony held roles in the Ministry of Defence (MOD), including Royal Navy Capability planning, Gulf operations, and designing Defence Space capabilities. In 2021, he joined the National Shipbuilding Office as Deputy Head for Delivery before becoming Head of Capability in UK Space Command in 2024. Tony is married with a university-age family. His interests include reading, history, and fitness

Neil is the Global Engineering Capability Director at Babcock International Group. He is responsible for leading engineering strategy areas around people, process and tools for Babcock. A passionate advocate of STEM, his current role includes driving STEM, Skills and future workforce strategies ensuring Babcock has the right people in the right place at the right time to deliver on the company’s critical defence programmes. As well as sitting on the global engineering executive board, Neil also sits on the Defence Industrial Joint Council People and Skills steering group co-chairing the working group for demand signal and academic interface. Neil leads Babcock’s Digital Engineering strategy ensuring that we deliver world class Lifetime Engineering with modern application of Model Based Systems Engineering. This ensure that projects can be deliver their requirements with more certainty, quicker and at lower cost ensuring agility and adaptability to contract deliveries. Prior to this appointment Neil was the Engineering & Technology Director in Babcock’s marine sector, where he was responsible for 1,000 engineers with a strong focus on marine systems and ship design in both in-service support, capability upgrades and new builds. His engineering team ranged from concept engineering; new naval ship designs such as the Inspiration Class T31 Frigates; in-service support for naval surface ships and submarines. Neil was also responsible for the Digital Facility development at Rosyth, heading up the Innovation team there. Neil is a visiting Professor at the University of Edinburgh and was instrumental in the generation of an Innovation Campus on Babcock’s Rosyth Facility in partnership with University of Edinburgh, Strathclyde, Fife College and Fife Council. The first operational technology center is the University of Edinburgh’s FastBlade facility that will allow accelerated fatigue testing facility for tidal blades.

Viktorija Starych-Samuolienė is Co-founder at the Council on Geostrategy where she is responsible for the organisation’s strategy and growth. She is also a Fellow of the Durham Institute of Research, Development, and Invention (DIRDI). Her areas of research expertise and interests include Euro-Atlantic geopolitics, defence and maritime affairs. Viktorija leads the organisation and delivery of the flagship Royal Navy conference, the Sea Power Laboratory and other programmes. She has developed senior closed-door forums focusing on key geopolitical issues - Geostrategy Forum , Whitehall Briefings and Sea Power Series . Viktorija is also a host of the Defence Talks: Securing the UK Advantage podcast. She has appeared multiple times in the national and international media and on broadcast television, including Times Radio, Sky News, Al Jazeera, The Sun and LBC Radio. Her previous experience includes research and external affairs roles at the Henry Jackson Society. She is also a regular attendee and speaker at British and international conferences on foreign policy and security issues. She holds an MA in Intelligence and International Security from King’s College, London, and a BA in Political Science from Vilnius University.

Founder and CEO of The Hacking Games: an entertainment, training and talent enterprise committed to creating a generation of Ethical Hackers to make the world safer. I am also Co-Founder of growth and marketing advisory firm Elysian Fields for VC/PE backed tech sector, Venture Partner at Blue Lion Global VC, Advisory board member of NUOS and Digital Health Investment Fund Ryse Asset Management Former CEO of marketing agency Leagas Delaney during which the agency climbed the ranks for growth from #55 to #3 in the UK. Ogilvy Alumni leading global integrated marketing clients, and ran Asia’s largest social media agency, Social@Ogilvy. An industry expert and regular commentator on global tech news for BBC World News, Sky News and NBC Euronews. Holds EMBA from Stern NYU, London School of Economics and HEC Paris.