Meet The Speakers

Guest speakers have been invited to provide policy updates, lessons learned and to contribute to key areas debate for the IO community...

Major General Gordon Messenger, Chief of Defence Staff, Strategic Communications Officer, UK MoD

Air Commodore Robert Judson, Head of Targeting and Information Operations, UK MoD

Brigadier Mark van der Lande, Head of Operational Communications, UK MoD
Brigadier van der Lande was commissioned into The Life Guards in 1981. From 1997 to 1999 he was SO2 Equipment B in Army Plans and Programmes, a period which included the Strategic Defence Review. On promotion to Colonel in 2005 he went to Afghanistan as Chief of Staff of the Office of Security Cooperation – Afghanistan, the United States headquarters responsible for training the Afghan National Army and National Police. He returned to the UK as DACOS Command Plans at Headquarters LAND, with particular responsibilities for programming and planning, before attending the Royal College of Defence Studies in 2008. He became Head of Operational Communications on promotion in March 2009.

Sarah Nagelmann, Strategic Communications Advisor to US European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, NATO

Brigadier General Iain Harrison, Branch Chief, Joint Fires and Influence, HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, NATO
Brigadier Iain Harrison was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1983. His time at Regimental Duty has been spent in field artillery regiments in Germany and UK; this has included time as an AS90 Battery Commander in a mechanised brigade (1999-2001). His staff appointments have been: ADC to Chief of Defence Staff; SO2 G4 Ops at HQ Land Command (1997-1999); and Assistant Director Future Plans at HQ Land Forces with responsibility for planning Land Force’s future structures (2006-2008). His operational experience has been in Northern Ireland (1985), Northern Iraq (1991), Cyprus (UN) (1995), Kosovo (2000) and Iraq (2005/06) during which time his regiment was the UK brigade’s security sector reform battle group. Following flying training, Air Commodore Judson’s early career was spent as a Jaguar pilot in Royal Air Force Germany during the latter stages of the Cold War. He has served as Group Captain Typhoon at No.1 Group at RAF Strike Command (now Air Command) and Officer Commanding Royal Air Force Coningsby, the first Typhoon main operating base. Most recently Air Commodore Judson completed an 8-month tour as the NATO Commander of Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan prior to taking up the post of Director Targeting and Information Operations in the Ministry of Defence in November 2008.

Major Simon Cote, Deputy Director PSYOPS, Information Activities Task Force, Canadian Forces

Matthew Warshaw, Managing Director ACSOR, and Vice President, D3 Systems Claire Spencer, Founder and Chief Executive, i to i research

Eric Sutphin, Chief Target Audience Analyst, Combined Joint Psychological Operations Task Force, ISAF HQ, NATO

Maryann Maguire, Independent Communications Consultant Specialised on Afghanistan Region

Ed O’Connell, President, Alternative Strategies Institute James Barber, Information Operations Division, HQ US Africa

Command Matt Armstrong, Director, Armstrong Strategic Insights Group

Matt Bigge, CEO, Strategic Social Professor

George Stein, Cyberspace & Info Ops Study Centre, Air War College, US Air Force

Simon Bergman, Director, Information Options

Bob Bevelacqua, Vice President Strategic Communications, Leonie Industries