CDAO Defence UK
2026 Speakers
General Sir Jim Hockenhull KBE ADC Gen
Commander
UK CYBER & SPECIALIST OPERATIONS COMMAND
Dr James Cook OBE
Director People Transformation
UK MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Brigadier Stu Nasse OBE
Head Capability Coalition
BRITISH ARMY (Subject to Final Confirmation)
Colonel Michael Jäger
Policy, Planning and Procurement, Cyber and Information Systems
GERMAN MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Lieutenant Colonel Amanda Gustave
Chief Data Officer-TF MAVEN Lead
NATO
Marc Christino
Chief Innovation Officer
US AND ROYAL NAVY LONDON TECH BRIDGE
Adie Holt
Venture Director
FORM1PARTNERS
Stuart Laws
Innovation Architect
UK DEFENCE INNOVATION
Laryssa Patten
Head, Space Technology Adoption and Resilience
NATO NCIA (Subject to Final Confirmation)
Mario Blokken
Strategic Advisor
EU AGENCY FOR THE SPACE PROGRAMME
Aaron Kalvani
AI Strategist and Advisor
UNITED NATIONS
Heather Goldstraw
Director of Strategic Relationships for Defence and Security
CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY
Fiona Strens
Professor and Director, Centre for Defence & Security Artificial Intelligence
UNIVERSITY OF LINCOLN
Confirmed Senior Representative
UK NATIONAL ARMAMENTS
Confirmed Senior Representative
UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES