NAVY TECH & Seabed Defence 2026 Speakers
Navy Tech & Seabed Defence consistently features a high-calibre speaker faculty, drawn from the forefront of naval technology, subsea security, operations, and capability development. The 2025 edition brought together senior naval leaders, programme managers, technical experts, and industry innovators from over 40 nations — all contributing to the global conversation on the future of maritime and undersea power.
Covering topics from digital transformation and uncrewed systems to platform survivability, cyber resilience, and the protection of critical seabed infrastructure, our speakers offer both strategic vision and technical depth.
The full list of speakers and the complete agenda for Navy Tech & Seabed Defence 2026 are now available, showcasing the key challenges, innovations, and emerging technologies shaping modern naval and subsea operations.
Dr Thomas W. Altshuler
Senior Vice President – Global Maritime Defense Strategy and Business Development,, Teledyne Marine
Commodore (Ret’d) David Burton
NATO ASW Barrier Programme, NATO
Rear Admiral Paul Flos
Program Director International Naval Materiel Cooperation, Dutch Ministry of Defence
Captain Johann Eidesheim
Head of the Naval Air Office, Naval Staff – Plans/Programs, Head of the Naval Air Office, Naval Staff – Plans/Programs
Rear Admiral Carl Gillis
Strategic Advisor to the Chief of Navy, Belgian Navy
Captain Tadas Jablonskis
Flotilla Commander, Lithuanian Navy
Rear Admiral Paddy McAlpine, CBE, RN (Rtd),
Senior Military Advisor, Thinklogical
Sine Ozkarasahin
Policy Officer – Maritime, NATO – Defence Industry, Innovation and Armament (D2IA)
Rear Admiral Tuomas Tiilikainen
Commander of the Navy, Finnish Navy
Commander Bagus Jatmiko
Head of Wargaming Center of the Indonesian Naval Command and Staff College, Indonesian Navy
Roger Johansson
Executive Vice President Business Area Marine & Offshore, Roxtec
Commander Tomas Anderson
Senior Staff Officer Plans and Structure, Royal Norwegian Navy
David Appelberg
Director, Marine Technology Centre of Sweden
Oleksandra Azarkhina
Head of Defence Industries Initiatives, Economic Security Council of Ukraine
Major General Tom Bateman CBE
Commander of Standing Joint Forces HQ, Standing Joint Forces HQ
Heiko Borchert
Co-Director, Defense AI Observatory, Bundeswehr University Hamburg
Lieutenant Colonel Peter Bovet-Emanuel
Researcher, Swedish Defence University
Bas Buchner
Director of Uncrewed Systems, Royal Netherlands Navy
Francis Celeste
Head of the Programme Division FSAF-PAAMS, OCCAR
Captain Nicolas Champs
Commanding Officer of French MPA Warfare Centre, French Navy
Commander Christian Couillault
Commander of the Norwegian Navy EOD Commandos, Norwegian Navy
Captain Elia Cuoco
Head of the Alliance Policy Office of the 3rd Maritime Plans, Operations and Strategy Department, Italian Navy
Piotr Czopek
Deputy Director, Polish Wind Farm Association
Dan Danskin
Commercial Manager-DAS, Alcatel Submarine Networks
Lieutenant Commander Salvatore D’Auria
Head of Maritime Development, NATO SOFCOM
Rowan Davison
Government and Defence Sector Lead, EXA Infrastructure
Captain Alexander Dubnitzki
Division Head of Strategy and Policy, German Navy
Lieutenant Commander Arvins Fernandes
Staff Officer – Plans and Operational Planning, Portuguese Navy
Mr Terry Gibson
Director of MDARN, Royal Navy
Paula Harrison
Head of Government Security and Regulation, Vodafone
Andy Haslam
Director Business Development, PPM Systems
Lars Hedstrom
Director of Strategic Implications and Innovation Centre, Swedish Defence University
Will Higham
Director, PPM Systems
Commander Renauld Hock
Team Leader, Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS) – European Commission
Bart Hollants
Chairman NATO Innovation, NATO Allied Command Transformation
Vice Admiral Krzysztof Jaworskis
Commander of the Polish Maritime Component Command, Polish Armed Forces
Henrik Jonsson
Deputy Director, Swedish Coastguard
Ivar de Josselin de Jong
Director Business Development, Fugro
Rear Admiral Søren Kjeldsen
Commander of the Danish Navy, Royal Danish Navy
Captain Takuo Kobayashi
Director of Plans and Programmes, Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force
Rear-Admiral, 2S (Ret.) Eric Lavault
RTsys Advisor, RTsys
Didier Lepine
Programme Manager, OCCAR
Andy Liddell
Head of Maritime Uncrewed and Offshore Assets, UK MoD DE&S
Rear Admiral Fredrik Linden
Head of Naval Systems, Swedish FMV
Commodore Claus Lundholm Andersen
Director of Naval Programs, Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation
Gianluca Luraschi
Senior Project Officer, European Maritime Safety Agency
Commodore Don Mackinnon
Deputy Director, NATO Combined Joint Operations from the Sea COE
Dr Jens Mattson
Director General, FOI
Konrad Mech
Director of Sales, Cellula Robotics
Paul Merchant
Capability Manager – Security of Navigation, Stabilisation Advice and Training, UKHO
Vice Admiral Steve Moorhouse
Fleet Commander, Royal Navy
Kimmo Nepola
Head of Unit, HVDC & FACTS, Fingrid
Rear Admiral Johan Norlen
Chief of Swedish Navy, Swedish Navy
Havar Oie
Senior Sales Director, Defence & Security, Maritime Robotics
Dr Torstein Olsmo Sæbø
Principle Scientist, Norwegian FFI
Captain Marko Petkovic
DCOS Ops, Swedish Navy
Commander Niels Pind
Commander of Naval Surveillance Unit, Royal Danish Navy
Lieutenant Colonel Tom Quinn
Commanding Officer 42 Commando, Royal Marines Commando
Jonathan Reed-Beviere
Mine Hunting Capability Programme Director, Royal Navy
Colonel Matthew Robbins
Deputy CO USMC EU and AF, USMC
Johanna Rosenlind
Head of Directed Energy Department, FOI
Tobias Rutz
Head of Product Management Satellite Intelligence, Rohde & Schwarz International GmbH
Colonel David Saflind
Commander 1st Marine Regiment, Swedish Navy
Özlem Sayin
Project Manager, Turkish Secretariat of Defence Industries
Vice Admiral Ewa Skoog-Haslum
Chief of Joint Operations, Swedish Armed Forces
Nick Smart
Regional Security Manager – Europe, CIS & SSA, Shell
Major General Jose Luis Souto Aguirre
Commandant, Spanish Navy
Marco Spaziano
Operational Leader Insidious Unmanned Vehicle, Drass Group
Vice Admiral (ret’d) Jan Thörnqvist
Former Chief of Joint Operations, Swedish Armed Forces
Carine van Bentum
Director of SeaSEC, SeaSEC
Martin van Duin
Head of UAVs, NSPA
Commander Jeroen van Overloop
Advisor for North Sea and Maritime Security, Belgian Ministry of Mobility
Dr Francesco Viggiani
Head of Security, Telecom Italia Sparkle
Jason Weed
SVP Commercial Sales, OPT
Lieutenant General (ret’d) Hans Werner-Wiermann
Former Head of the NATO Critical Undersea Infrastructure Coordination Cell, NATO
Dr Alison Weston
Senior Coordinator for Maritime Security and Deputy to the Director for Security and Defence Policy, European External Action Service
Captain Eike Wetters
Director, NATO CSW COE
Alasdair Wilkie
Chairman, Atlantic Cable Repair and Maintenance Agreement
John Wrottesley
Executive Director, European Subsea Cable Association
Casper Bosschaart
Lead Advisor Seabed Security, TNO
Adrian Boyle
CEO, Cathx Ocean