Aerospace Global News Theatre 2 – Thursday 23rd July 2026

10:15 – 11:00 – AGF Technology Summit

Panel:  Is our current approach to Cyber Security a hindrance to system resilience and improved service innovation?

Ian Andrews, Vice Chair, National Preparedness Commission, Babcock
Chris Skilton, Director Consulting Services, CGI
Deborah Higgins, Director – Security & Resilience, ADS

This panel explores whether our current cybersecurity mindset is creating blind spots across interconnected supply chains and critical infrastructure ecosystems, and asks a pivotal question: Can a Whole of Ecosystem approach, supported by secure, continuous digital thread information, transform cybersecurity from a barrier into a catalyst for resilience and innovation? Bringing together leaders from aerospace, defence, space, digital infrastructure and policy, this session examines how secure information sharing, ecosystem collaboration and continuity of data meaning can enhance resilience, reduce systemic risk and unlock new capability and service innovation across complex national and industrial systems.

11:10 – 12:00 – AGF Technology Summit

Panel: Strategies for Cross-Sector Cyber Risk

Catherine Mulligan, Founder, Digital Crossroads
Mahesh Harvu, Industry Transformation Advisor, Microsoft – Aerospace & Manufacturing
Gareth Hetheridge, CIO, Leonardo UK
Mark Short, Advisor, World Mobile Stratospheric

Aerospace and defence organisations now depend on deeply interconnected digital, energy, telecoms and supply networks. This C-Suite leadership discussion looks at how leaders are governing cyber exposure across these dependencies, balancing accountability, investment and resilience while preparing for increasingly complex and systemic sources of disruption.

12:15 – 13:00 – AGF Technology Summit

Panel: AI & Quantum: Breakthrough Revolution or Breakpoint Reality?

Karina Robinson, CEO, Redcliffe Advisory & Founder of The City Quantum & AI Summit, Redcliffe Advisory
Enrique Lizaso, CEO, Multiverse Computing
Gerald Mullaly, CEO, Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC)

This panel explores the strategic intersection of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and geopolitical sovereignty through the specific lens of aerospace and defence. Recognizing the urgent global tech race, a prominent group of DeepTech founders, investors, and innovation executives will move past industry hype to address the concrete economic and security realities of the next decade. The conversation aims to bridge technical milestones with financial strategy, tackling critical bottlenecks such as the need for unified EU-wide standards, avoiding fragmentation that excludes small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), and designing mission-driven public-private funding models. Ultimately, the session serves as a roadmap for how the UK, Europe and the US can successfully fund, regulate, and scale breakthroughs in “Quantum/AI” to secure a leadership position in innovation over the next ten years.