CIO Institute Ascot

CIO Institute Ascot

Location: The Royal Ascot Racecourse

Date: Wednesday, 19th March 2025

Time: 08:00 - 17:30 GMT

A Forum for Leaders Shaping Our Technological Future

The CIO Institute Ascot offers a distinguished one-day experience for industry leaders to collaborate, network, and engage in insightful discussions.

 

The event will focus on the latest trends and challenges in digital business, data, and security, with key themes including AI integration, data-driven decision-making, and sustainable transformation. Attendees will delve into critical topics such as cybersecurity, cloud modernisation, and talent development.

 

Designed to foster innovation and resilience, this event provides actionable strategies to help leaders drive growth and navigate the evolving business landscape.

An Agenda by the CIOs, for the CIOs

This year's agenda for the CIO Institute Ascot is meticulously crafted with direct input from the Advisory Board & Senior Faculty members of CxO Institute, ensuring it reflects the real-world priorities of IT leaders across the UK. Designed to address the most pressing challenges and opportunities shaping the digital enterprise, every session is built to spark meaningful discussions, provide actionable insights, and drive tangible value.

Agenda

Schedule
Agenda

08:00 - 08:45

Registration & Networking Breakfast

08:45 - 09:35

Opening Panel

Navigating the Shift: Leadership in a Transforming Technology Landscape

  • How leaders can effectively manage and leverage innovations, balancing technological adoption with ethical considerations
  • Fostering agilities and resilience in teams, building a culture that thrives amid rapid change and uncertainty
  • Redefining leadership for the future and navigating growing focus on sustainability, diversity and global impact in tech-driven organisations

Silky Vaidya

Silky Vaidya

CTPO

WiBD, SiRV

Neil Manfred

Neil Manfred

Group IT Director

Airswift

Dushyant Bhardwaj

Dushyant Bhardwaj

Group Head of Architecture

Arriva Group

Anjana Wijegunasinghe

Anjana Wijegunasinghe

Head of Analytics & Tooling

Euroclear

Lida Rragami

Lida Rragami

Head of Cyber Security

Sonnedix

09:40 - 10:20

Security

From Crisis to Clarity: Strengthening Organisational Resilience Through Strategic Decision-Making

  • We’ll explore what organisational resilience is, how to measure it and provide some common traits that successfully resilient organisations share.
  • We’ll look at how these organisations integrate resilience into top management and board level meetings, and associated trends.
  • We’ll explore how organisations make better decisions, with some real-world examples of how organisations tackle the most complex cyber security and IT operations challenges.

Jaana Nyjford

Jaana Nyjford

Field CTO & Strategic Advisor

Splunk

Strategy

Building the Agentic Enterprise: AI Agents & Multi-Agent Systems

AI is rapidly evolving from traditional rule-based agents to fully autonomous systems capable of managing complex workflows and decision-making at scale. As businesses seek greater efficiency and adaptability, multi-agent systems are emerging as a key driver of enterprise transformation. At this boardroom session, we’ll explore how AI agents are reshaping industries, automating processes, and enabling dynamic, agentic enterprises. Through real-world examples and open discussion, we’ll cover:

  • The latest advancements in AI agent technology, including DeepSeek and multi-agent collaboration.
  • How businesses are testing, adopting, and integrating autonomous agents into their operations.
  • Key challenges, from trust and oversight to cost and implementation.
This is an opportunity to connect with senior leaders across industries, exchange insights, and explore how AI agents can drive strategic advantage.

Leon Gauhman

Leon Gauhman

Chief Product & Strategy Officer

Elsewhen

10:25 - 11:05

Data

Data Governance in Action: Driving Compliance and Business Value

  • How data governance initiatives directly support business goals, such as improving decision-making , driving innovation and enhancing customer trust
  • Explore strategies to ensure compliance with regulations without hindering organisational flexibility or innovation
  • The importance of fostering collaboration between IT, legal and business teams to ensure a unified approach to data governance

Muhammad Saleem

Muhammad Saleem

Head of Data Architecture

BAE System

Strategy

IT Infrastructure and Operations: How AI is Redefining Efficiency and Resilience

The rapid evolution of IT infrastructure and operations has transformed how organizations manage and optimize the day-to-day. This session will explore how AI (Machine Learning, Deep Learning, GenAI) revolutionizes critical IT functions—including DBA support, Server management, Cloud operations, Servicedesk, Workspace Solutions, IT Service Management, Disaster Recovery, and Observability. Join us for an executive-level discussion on how AI-powered automation, predictive analytics, and intelligent workflows drive efficiency, cost reduction, and resilience across IT operations. Through real-world use cases, you will gain insights into how industry leaders leverage AI to reduce downtime, enhance decision-making, and unlock new IT efficiency and resilience levels.

Miguel Gallegos

Miguel Gallegos

Global Offer Manager for IT Infra & Ops

Softtek

11:10 - 11:50

Security

B2B(2X) Without Borders: AI, Identity & Digital Trust

The modern enterprise no longer operates in isolation—its success hinges on secure, scalable interactions across an expanding B2B(2X) ecosystem, connecting partners, suppliers, customers, employees, and regulators. As digital transformation accelerates, leaders must rethink how they build trusted, frictionless connections across these networks while mitigating risks from cyber threats, data breaches, and identity fraud. For CIOs and transformation leaders, the challenge is clear: how can enterprises architect next-generation identity frameworks that enable secure collaboration while driving efficiency and compliance? This session will explore how AI-driven risk intelligence, decentralised identity, and adaptive access controls are transforming B2B(2X) ecosystems—ensuring seamless, secure interactions across organisations, industries, and markets. Join Ping Identity to discover how leading enterprises are embedding trust into their B2B partnerships, data-sharing frameworks, and customer ecosystems, unlocking new opportunities while strengthening security, compliance, and operational resilience.

Alex Laurie

Alex Laurie

SVP Global Sales Engr & GTM Programs

Ping Identity

Strategy

Unlocking IT Transparency with Unit Economics for Cloud and On-Prem Environments

  • Discuss approaches to achieving holistic unit economics as a foundation for IT cost transparency. How precise tracking, allocation and reporting that aligns IT spending with business outcomes and value can shift the trajectory of a business.
  • Learn best practices for reducing cloud and infrastructure costs by integrating ITFM and FinOps, including resource right-sizing, usage monitoring, and leveraging reserved instances.
  • Explore strategies to enhance data-driven decisions and maximize ROI, ensuring IT investments are transparent, measurable, and aligned with long-term business goals.

David Harding

David Harding

CEO

MagicOrange

11:55 - 12:35

Strategy

Building for the Future: Rapid Process Transformation in Complex IT Landscapes

In today’s fast-paced business environment, organizations must be able to rapidly build, adapt, and scale their processes—often under significant time constraints and within complex IT landscapes. Whether modernizing legacy systems, streamlining operations, or ensuring seamless experiences for employees and customers, the challenge remains the same: how can businesses drive digital transformation without disrupting day-to-day operations? Join this session to learn how leading enterprises have successfully navigated large-scale process transformations with speed and agility. Discover how they leveraged a low-code enterprise app development platform to accelerate innovation, optimize workflows, and ensure business continuity—no matter the complexity of their IT environment. Whether you're rethinking core processes, integrating new technologies, or driving digital change, this session will provide actionable insights to help you move faster while keeping your business running smoothly.

Dan Wiseman

Dan Wiseman

Principle Solution Lead

Neptune Software

AI

Fostering Creativity and Innovation - Harnessing the Power of Generative AI

  • Explore the definition of Generative AI and how it works
  • How can organisations effectively leverage generative AI tools to improve services, productivity, operational excellence and creativity
  • The Challenges in using Generative AI including ensuring quality and addressing issues relating to copyright, bias and the ethical use of Gen AI

Joe Moya

Joe Moya

Innovation and Optimisation Director

SSCL

12:35 - 13:25

Networking Lunch

13:25 - 14:05

Data

Secrets to Reliably Deliver Value at Scale with AI, Gen AI & AI Agents

Most clients struggle to link AI to business impact. Join Keepler to discover how AI can be strategically integrated to improve both operational efficiency and business outcomes -and how to scale it across the organization. We’ll explore real-world AI implementations that drive tangible business value, from enhancing decision-making to optimizing resource management. Plus, we’ll discuss the challenges of scaling AI initiatives and best practices for building an efficient, prioritized roadmap aligned with organizational goals.

Sean Poulley

Sean Poulley

COO

Keepler Data Tech

Security

Building Resilient Security Governance through Effective Frameworks for Successful Project Delivery

  • Key Governance and Project Risk Challenges: What governance and risk challenges are you currently facing in your projects?
  • Balancing the Journey and the Destination: Senior management often prioritizes deadlines while being disconnected from lower-level governance processes, which often introduces risks to project schedules and scope. How can senior leadership better integrate governance processes to ensure realistic timelines and stakeholder expectations are managed?
  • Governance Best Practices: What governance best practices have you found most effective and how can these practices be applied to improve project outcomes across different organisations and industries?

Gurps Khaira

Gurps Khaira

Security Programme Manager

HSBC

14:10 - 14:50

Strategy

Transforming Digital Experiences with Real-Time Intelligence

  • Exploring how businesses can gain comprehensive insights into all layers of the digital experience, from network performance to application delivery, to ensure seamless interactions
  • How organizations can anticipate and resolve performance bottlenecks before they affect users, ensuring smooth and uninterrupted digital experiences
  • Leveraging data-driven insights for Resilient and scalable digital experiences with the use of advanced analytics to make informed decisions that improve digital services, foster innovation, and support sustainable growth in the ever-evolving digital landscape

Sofie Feeney

Sofie Feeney

Regional VP, North Europe

Cisco ThousandEyes

AI

Agentic AI: Strategies for Turning Hype into Impact

Agentic AI is both an incredible opportunity and an enormous risk. It could dramatically drive productivity, automation and innovation, or lead to wasted investment, PoC purgatory, reputational embarrassment and regulatory fines. But what is it and how do you craft a strategy that cuts through the confusion, targets the right use cases, builds the necessary capabilities, and delivers tangible ROI? In this workshop led by Dr. Kjell Carlsson – former Forrester analyst and Head of AI Strategy at Domino Data Lab – we will dispel the hype around Agentic AI and discuss how to develop, operationalize, and govern Agentic AI systems that deliver impact in the real world. Discussion Points:

  • What are the different types of Agentic AI systems and which are being implemented today?
  • What are the capabilities needed to put AI agents into production and how do you source them?
  • What are the emerging best practices for driving impact with AI agents and minimizing the risks?

Dr. Kjell Carlsson Ph.D.

Dr. Kjell Carlsson Ph.D.

Head of AI Strategy

Domino Data Lab

14:55 - 15:35

Security

Re-Centring your SOC Target using Zero Trust

  • Unpack the SOC squares, tactical- strategic, reactive- proactive
  • How visibility changes under Zero Trust
  • How to leverage high fidelity alert data

Marc Leuck

Marc Leuck

CISO in Residence

Zscaler

15:40 - 16:20

AI

AI Governance and Observability: Ensuring Transparency and Accountability in Intelligent Systems

  • The importance of creating comprehensive governance frameworks that address ethical considerations, regulatory compliance and stakeholder engagement to guide the development and deployment of AI systems
  • Implementing strategies for enhancing the observability of AI models, including monitoring performance, detecting biases and ensuring data integrity to facilitate transparency and accountability in decision-making processes
  • The role of clear communication and reporting practices in building trust among users and stakeholders including the importance of explainability in AI outputs and decisions to promote understanding and confidence in AI systems

Dushyant Bhardwaj

Dushyant Bhardwaj

Group Head of Architecture

Arriva Group

Data

Driving Innovation and Strategy Through Data Excellence

  • Exploring how organisations can leverage data insights to drive innovation, improve efficiency and maintain a competitive edge
  • Discuss the role of leadership in fostering data-driven mindsets and promoting collaboration across departments
  • Overcoming challenges in data governance and addressing strategies to ensure data accuracy, privacy and compliance while maximising value for business growth

Dave Archer

Dave Archer

Global Director of Data Gov & Excellence

APEX Group

16:25 - 17:00

Closing Session

Reinventing your Business with Digital & AI

  • Explore how businesses can leverage AI and digital technologies to innovate their business models, enhance operational efficiency, drive sustainable growth, and redefine how they show up in the market
  • Examine how internal transformation through digital tools and AI can reshape company culture, streamline operations, and empower teams to drive innovation and adaptability
  • Learn how hyper-automation can revolutionize business operations by integrating AI, machine learning, and robotic process automation to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and enable faster, data-driven decision-making

Gillian Tomlinson

Gillian Tomlinson

Group Chief Data & Digital Officer

The Weir Group

17:00 - 18:00

Evening Drinks Reception

Event Speakers

Why Attend?

UNRIVALLED CONNECTIONS

Engage directly with IT leaders and industry experts who can provide valuable insights and solutions to your strategic challenges.

CUSTOMISED LEARNING PATHS

Choose the sessions, panels, and discussions that best align with your unique goals, enabling targeted and impactful networking.

TANGIBLE VALUE

Gain actionable insights and connections that translate directly into strategic initiatives and measurable progress for your organisation.

Location

Ascot 2025

The Royal Ascot Racecourse

Renowned for its royal heritage and world-class facilities, the Ascot Racecourse serves as the perfect backdrop for the CxO Institute Ascot. This iconic venue, blending elegance with cutting-edge amenities, fosters meaningful connections among IT leaders in an inspiring environment.

A Community of Leaders

The CxO Institute is the premier platform for IT leaders to tackle the most pressing challenges facing their organisations. Designed with delegates in mind, our events bring together CIOs, senior IT leaders, and other key decision-makers to explore cutting-edge solutions, drive collaboration, and achieve impactful outcomes.

Event Chair

Dave Davis

Dave Davis, Senior Technical Director

Dave brings decades of expertise in satellite communications, systems engineering, and network engineering.

 

With a strong background in the full life cycle of satellite communication-based networks, Dave's ability to bridge the gap between complex technology and everyday understanding makes him a key leader in the field. He holds a BSc(Hons) and is a Chartered Telecommunications Engineer skilled in delivering high-quality systems and solutions across the telecommunications industry.

Speakers

Featured Attendees

Delegates in Attendance

The list below showcases the esteemed IT leaders, executives, and decision-makers attending the event. These are the key individuals driving innovation, transformation, and strategy within their organisations.

To view the full list of delegates, please scroll and swipe down through til the end.

Position
Company

Engage with Top IT Decision Makers

The CxO Institute provides an exclusive platform for sponsors to connect with senior IT decision-makers actively seeking solutions to their most pressing challenges. Our events bring together CIOs, senior IT, and other key technology leaders, offering a unique opportunity to engage, build relationships, and position your brand as a trusted partner.

Official Partners

Logo - Splunk

OFFICIAL CATEGORY PARTNER

Splunk

Splunk, now part of Cisco, is a leader in cybersecurity, observability, and AI-driven analytics. Its powerful solutions help organisations detect threats, enhance resilience, and optimise digital operations. Integrated with Cisco’s security and networking expertise, Splunk delivers real-time visibility, automation, and intelligence to drive business transformation in an evolving threat landscape.

Logo - Ping Identity

ADVISORY PARTNER

Keepler Data Tech (1)

ADVISORY PARTNER

Logo - Neptune Software New

ADVISORY PARTNER

Zscaler

ADVISORY PARTNER

Logo - ElseWhen

INSIGHT PARTNER

MagicOrange

INSIGHT PARTNER

SoftTek

INSIGHT PARTNER

CiscoThousandEyes

INSIGHT PARTNER

Logo - Domino

INSIGHT PARTNER

Logo - Leading Resolutions (1)

SR. ENGAGEMENT PARTNER

Logo - DeleteMe (Handd)

SR. ENGAGEMENT PARTNER

Littlefish

SR. ENGAGEMENT PARTNER

General Assembly

ENGAGEMENT PARTNER

Logo - With Secure

ENGAGEMENT PARTNER

Hack The Box

ENGAGEMENT PARTNER

Logo - Amplitude

ENGAGEMENT PARTNER

Why Sponsor?

LEAD GENERATION

Connect with Top IT and Senior Executives in a curated environment designed for meaningful conversations and long-term partnerships.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Showcase Thought Leadership through panel discussions, round tables, and tailored engagements that demonstrate your brand's expertise.

REPORTS & INSIGHTS

Gain valuable market insights by understanding the key challenges and priorities shaping IT investments and decision-making.

BRAND AWARENESS

Accelerate business growth by positioning your brand, solutions, and services in front of decision-makers and budget-holders with active projects and procurement needs.

Sponsorship Packages

The Royal Ascot Racecourse: A Prestigious Setting for CIO Institute

Renowned for its royal heritage and world-class facilities, Ascot Racecourse is a symbol of prestige and excellence. This iconic venue has hosted high-profile events and esteemed guests, making it the ideal setting for CIO Institute Ascot.

 

Blending timeless elegance with state-of-the-art amenities, it offers an exclusive environment where IT leaders connect, exchange ideas, and drive innovation. With its sophisticated ambiance, exceptional service, and seamless experience, Ascot Racecourse provides the perfect backdrop for thought leadership and high-impact networking.

An Exclusive Venue for the Top Leaders in IT

Carefully selected to match the prestige of its attendees, this venue offers a refined and high-impact environment designed for IT leaders, innovators, and decision-makers.

Seamless Accessibility with VIP Transport

Enjoy a hassle-free arrival with private car transfers, valet services, and priority access, ensuring a smooth and efficient experience from start to finish.

   

A Sophisticated Setting for Strategic Discussions

With dedicated spaces for networking and discussions, the venue fosters valuable connections and strategic conversations in an exclusive setting. 

   

VIP Car Service

Arrive in style with our chauffeured executive transport, ensuring a smooth and hassle-free journey. With priority access and reserved drop-off, you’ll experience the ultimate convenience from door to venue.

    

Luxury Hospitality & Dining

Indulge in chef-curated meals, premium refreshments, and exquisite catering throughout the event. Our carefully selected menu ensures a world-class dining experience, perfect for refined networking in a relaxed, elegant atmosphere.

Dedicated Concierge & Support

Enjoy a personalised service experience, with our dedicated concierge team assisting with event details, special requests, and VIP accommodations to ensure a smooth and productive visit.

 

    

Find the Venue

Get in Touch

Ready to connect with top IT decision-makers and elevate your brand? Whether you're looking to sponsor, attend, or learn more about our exclusive events, we're here to help.

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