CNE 2025 Speakers
Each year, the Combined Naval Event brings together an exceptional lineup of speakers from across the global naval and maritime defence community. The 2025 edition featured senior naval personnel, technical experts, and strategic thinkers from navies, industry, government, and academia — all sharing insights that are shaping the future fleet.
From operational commanders and procurement officials to innovators in shipbuilding, autonomous systems, and survivability, our speakers deliver invaluable perspectives across the full naval mission spectrum.
The agenda for CNE 2026 is currently in production and will build on the success of previous editions, continuing to deliver high-level discussion, technical depth, and actionable insight.

2025 Speaker line-up

Dave Allen
Director Business Development, Anduril Industries UK

Dr Thomas W. Altshuler
Senior Vice President – Global Maritime Defense Strategy and Business Development,, Teledyne Marine

Rear Admiral Ali Mohammed Alzaharani
Military Strategy, Saudi GAMI

Commander Salhi Amin
Officer- FDI Frigate, French Navy

Captain Ali Ashour
Senior Engineering Officer, MOI-KCG / State of Kuwait

Captain Erhan Atasoy
Project Coordinator (AFSC), NATO ASFC

Chris Bamforth
Head of Combat Systems Delivery Team, Submarine Development Agency

Commodore Steve Banfield
Maritime Capability Coalition, Royal Navy

David Barton
Sales Manager – Coast Guard and Navy, ABB Marine

Keith Beckett
Technical Director, Submarine Delivery Agency

Robert Been
Programme Manager, NATO STO CMRE

Bill Biggs
MHC System of Systems Architect, DE&S

Sophia Blix
Minister Counsellor AUKUS, Australia Submarine Agency

Captain Tawan Boonkongwathana
Acquisition Team Senior Engineer, Royal Thai Navy

Dean Brandly
Chief Technical Officer, DSG Technologies USA

Commander Paul Bratbak
Branch Head NATO Maritime Center for the Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure (NMCSCUI), NATO, Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM)

Jeff Brewer
Director, London Tech Bridge

WO1 Ian Brown
Head Of Training SMERAS, Royal Navy

Phil Brown
Maritime Autonomy Principal Adviser, DSTL

Sarah Brown
MCM Product Lead – Surface Ships Systems, ATLAS Elektronik

Commodore (Ret’d) David Burton
NATO ASW Barrier Programme, NATO

Commander Martin Byrne
Director Naval Major Crown Projects – Submarines, Royal Canadian Navy



Lee Contreras
UKHO Defence Products & Services Manager, UK Hydrographic Office

Lieutenant Commander Nick Court
Commanding officer X-RAY Squadron Unit 1 Mine & Threat Exploitation Group, Royal Navy

Phil Craig
Managing Director Programmes (Marine), Babcock International Group

Captain Miguel Cuartero
Naval Staff – Branch Head Strategic Planning, Ministry of Defence

Dr. Eng. Paul Dahlke
Head of Technology Management, NVL

Commander (Ret) Ian Danbury
Navy Dev NATO ASW SDI and REPMUS, Royal Navy

Kevin Denham
Principal Engineer – Composite Materials, UK MoD Dstl

Heather Desserud
Director Communications, NATO DIANA

Commander Florentin Dhellemmes
Combat Management Systems Program Officer, French Navy

Commander Paul Droge
Material & IT Command NLD MOD, Netherlands COMMIT

Captain Johann Eidesheim
Head of the Naval Air Office, Naval Staff – Plans/Programs, Head of the Naval Air Office, Naval Staff – Plans/Programs

Svante Einarsson
Head of EMEA, APAC & Maritime – Industrial & OT Cyber Security, DNV

Captain Mehmet Cengiz Ekren
Director of MARSEC COE, MARSEC COE NATO

Laurie Ellis
Products Director – Maritime and Land Defence Solutions, BAE Systems

Dr Mark Englund
CEO and Founder, Project S Technologies

Rear Admiral Recep Erdinc Yetkin
Commander Istanbul Naval Shipyard, MoND, Minister of National Defence

Rear Admiral Cihat Eryigit
Director Technics, Turkısh Naval Forces Command.

Marco Fani
Head of Product Marketing, Land & Defence Solutions, Leonardo

Stefano Farelli
Air & Land Product Marketing Manager, Leonardo

Dr Andy Flinn
Combat Systems Innovation, Submarine Delivery Agency

Vice Admiral (ret’d) Georgios Floros
Senior Defence Adviser, Matrix Pro Sims

Rear Admiral Paul Flos
Program Director International Naval Materiel Cooperation, Dutch Ministry of Defence

Nick Fuller
Strategic Maritime Business Growth Manager, Airbus Defence and Space

Sir Chris Gardner KBE
Chris Gardner KBE, Submarine Delivery Agency

Vice Admiral Rob Gaucher
Commander Submarine Forces, US Navy

Rear Admiral Carl Gillis
Strategic Advisor to the Chief of Navy, Belgian Navy

Commander Mathieu Girardot
French Navy Support Dpt HQ – Technical Sub-Directorate – Deputy Director, French Navy Support Dpt HQ – DCSSF

Captain Dongchun Go
Director for Frigate Ship Program Team (Acting Dir.Gen for NSPD), DAPA Naval Ship Program Department (NSPD)

Commander Gustavo Gomez
Deputy Director, NATO Maritime GEOMETOC Centre of Excellence

Ameila Gould
General Manager, Helsing

Todd Graves
Director, US Naval Surface Warfare Centre

Gavin Green
Business Development Manager, General Dynamics Mission Systems

Nick Green
Business Development – Head of Unmanned Systems, HII

Ian Groom
Principle Safety Engineer, Safeguard Engineering

Vice Admiral John Gumbleton
Deputy Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, US Navy

Lisa Hammock
Climate change & Sustainability, RN, Royal Navy

Steve Hart
Head of UK Business Development, BAE Systems

Marco Harth
Senior Sales Manager, RENK GmbH

Captain (ret’d) Cem Hasanoğlu
Defense Sales Manager – EMEA, Kraken

Captain Scott Hattaway
Director MCM Technical Division, Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Centre

Captain Kurt Haukeberg
Senior Advisor in Innovation and Digitalization, Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA)

Brigadier Chris Haw
Director Commando Force and MRSS Programme, Royal Navy Acquisition

Richard Hembrow
Defence Product Manager Tactical Exploitation of the Environment and Underwater Warfare, UK Hydrographic Office


Rear Admiral Naoya Hoshi
Director General Logistics Department, Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force

Andrew Humphries
Product Line Manager – ISR Systems, Thales

Darran Hunter-Hughes
Principle Consultant, Frazer-Nash Consultancy

Robert Iannuzzi
Director of OPEX and S&T, NATO

Commander Andrew Ingham
Commander FOST, Royal Navy

Dr Stuart Ingleby
Chancellor’s Fellow, Strathclyde University

Chris Izuka
Naval Key Account Manager, GE Vernova

Commander Ott Laanemets
Estonian Mine Warfare Squadron, Estonia

Andy Lapsley
Mine Hunting Capability Team Leader, DE&S

Captain Thibault Lavernhe
Programme Manager PA-Ng, French Navy

Isabel Liehmann
Sales Manager Navigation Systems, Thales Germany

Rear Admiral Auraş Liviu Coman
Maritime Componant Commander, Romanian navy

Alan Lytle
Vice President Strategy and Mission Solutions, Northrop Grumman

David Mackay
Senior Sales Manager, Kongsberg Discovery

Professor David Manley
Professor of Naval Architecture, University College London

Vice Admiral Paul Marshall CB
Director General Options and Commissioning, UK MoD DE&S

Rear Admiral Antonio Mateus
Director Ships, Portuguese Navy

Rear Admiral Michael Mattis
Commander, CTF-166/66, Director, Strategic Effects Commander, Naval Forces Europe/Africa, US Navy

WO1 Jamie McCarthy-Smith
WO1 DISSUB Support Group (DSG), Royal Navy

Commander Simon McCowan
Assistant Naval Advisor, Royal Australian Navy

Captain Kevin Moller
, US Navy

Matt Moore
Head of UAS Strategy and Product Development, Thales

Group Captain Peter Morley
Assistant Head RAF Rapid Capabilities Office, Royal Air Force

Oliver Morris
MMCM UK Operational Co-ordination Officer (OCO), OCCAR

Vishal Mothie
Solutions Engineer, OpenText

Captain Kurt Muhler
Maritime Development, NATO ALLIED SOFCOM

Keith Muir
Chief Executive Officer, Safran Electronics and Defense

Captain (ret’d) Janne Muurinen
Vice President – Sea Domain, Patria

Commodore Philip Nash
Deputy Director, Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre of Excellence

Professor Salman Nazir
Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences, Centre of Excellent in Maritime Simulation and Assessment

Alex Nimmo-Smith
Professor of Marine Science & Technology, University of Plymouth

Tim O’Neil
Business Development Manager, BAE Systems

David O’Sullivan
Maritime Autonomy Capture Lead, Thales

Professor Erkan Öterkuş
Director of PeriDynamics Research Centre, University of Strathclyde

Lieutenant Commander Antonio Palomba
U212NFS Platform Officer, OCCAR

Henry Parker
Programme Director Integrated Combat Systems, BAE Systems Submarine

Commodore (ret’d) Steve Pearson
Principle Consultant and Principle Safety Engineer, Safeguard Engineering

Jan Peifer
Branch head and project leader, Bundeswehr Technical centre of naval ships and weapons, maritime research and technology (WTD 71)

Anthony Penn
Chief Commerical Officer, Exail

Matteo Perrone
Area Manager R&D Maritime Systems, Swedish Defence Materiel Administration – FMV

Captain Pavlin Petkov
DCOM of BGR Naval Flotilla, Bulgarian Navy

Rear Admiral Lorenzo Poliseno
PMSD – Integration and Programme Management Section Leader, OCCAR

Duncan Potts
Former Commander UK Maritime Forces, Royal Navy

Commodore (ret’d) Steve Prest
Former Director Naval Acquisition, Royal Navy

Commodore Matthew Punch
Deputy Director Plans and Integration, Royal Navy


Jake Rigby
Head of Innovation and Research, BMT

Mike Robinson
Director for Submarine Support Engineering Services, Babcock International

Commander Erwin Ruijsink
RNLN Coordinator Submarine Replacement Programme, Royal Netherlands Navy

Jens Rummler
Head of Sales Germany, NVL

Mark Rushton
Global Defence and Security Lead, VITEC SA

John Russ
Chief Operating Officer, ThayerMahan

SDA Senior Leadership Group / Caryl Russell
Platform Equipment Delivery Team Head, Submarine Delivery Agency

Petri Salmela
Product Manager Underwater Systems, Patria

Lee Sang woo
KSS III Group Director General, DAPA

Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Lars Saunes
Former Chief of the Norwegian Navy and Professor,, US Navy War College

Matthew Savage
Business Manager, Frazer-Nash Consultancy

Commander James Schnadhorst
NATO MARCOM ASW Staff Officer, NATO MARCOM

Jürgen Scraback
Head of Unit Maritime Domain, European Defence Agency

Commander Sue Seagrave
Royal Navy Data Sheriff for Project Renown, DE&S

Geoff Searle
Programme Director – Future Business & Technology, BAE Systems

Commdore Jason Sears
Director General Maritime Support Branch, Department of Defence

Erik Seidelmann
Mechatronic Systems Engineering, Current Scientific Corporation

Rear Admiral Richard Seif
US AUKUS I&A Director, US Navy

Michael Sela
Owner and CEO, Sela Projects EU

Commodore Sam Shattock
Head of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Simon Shaw
Business Manager, Frazer-Nash Consultancy

Rear Admiral Piotr Sikora
Commander of 8th Coastal Defence Flotilla, Polish Navy

Davidson Sim
Directed Energy Sustainment Engineer, Naval Surface Warfare Centre

Captain Paulo Simões
Head of Innovation & Transformation Division, Portugeuse Navy

Ulrik Sköldkvist
Project ManagerUnderwater Warfare WEapons,, Swedish FMV

Hallvard L. Slettevoll
Founder and Chairman, STADT Naval AS

Professor João Sousa
Professor ECE Dept /Head of Underwater Systems and Technology Laboratory, Porto University

Commander Michael Steffens
Director – Plans, Training, & Requirements (N5/7/8), Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Group, U.S. Navy

Arnar Steingrimsson
Vice President of Sales and Marketing,

Commodore Matt Stratton
Deputy Director NESA within Navy Acquisition,, Royal Navy

H I Sutton
OSINT Analyst, Covert Shores, UK

Naoya Suzuki
Senior Researcher, Naval Systems Development Division, ATLA Japan MoD

Commodore Lee Taegseon
Commander of Mine Squadron 52, ROK Navy

Captain Keith Taylor
Hd Digital & C5ISR Development, UK MoD DE&S

Robert Taylor
Principle Engineer – Shipyard Systems, Bardex

Commander Steve Taylor
Platform Chief Engineer T26 Class Cell, DE&S

Dr Marcus Tepaske
Technical Director, Office of Naval Research Global

Mark Thibodeau
Director of Naval Programs, General Dynamics Mission Systems

Vice Admiral Karl Thomas
Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, N2N6, Director Naval Intelligence, US Navy

Professor Blair Thornton
Professor of Marine Autonomy, University of Southampton

Commodore Konstantinos Tourkantonis
Deputy Director in the Armaments Directorate, Hellenic Armed Forces

Lieutenant Commander Gary Tregunna
ISMERLO, NATO

Commander Dino Tropea
NATO Modelling and Simulation CoE, Education & Training Section Chief

Vice Admiral (Ret’d) Jeffrey Trussler
Former Deputy Chief of the Naval Operations for Information Warfare, US Navy

Lt Col (Ret’d) Chris Underhill MBE MSc
Defence Product and Service Manager (LitR, AML and Fleet Charting), UK Hydrographic Office

Captain Andre van der Kamp
Head of Naval Projects, Netherlands COMMIT

Commander Pieter van Poll
Programme Manager Walrus Life Extension Programme, Royal Netherlands Navy

Vice Admiral Ignacio Villanueva Serrano
Operation Commander, EU NAVFOR

Captain Dan Vincent
Navy Acq – SRO SPARTAN, Royal Navy

Commodore Richard Whalley
Head of DE&S Exports & Sales, DE&S

Commander Mike Widmann
Cyber Branch Head, NATO Marcomm

Commodore Michael Wood
Deputy Director Ship Building, Royal Navy

Rear Admiral Belisario Zagazeta
Director Naval Projects, Peruvian Navy