2026 Agenda

Thursday 21st May, Glasgow Hilton

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Breakfast Briefing

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08:20    AI Fluency: Unlock the Next Level of Effectiveness

 

• Most of us use AI every day, but there's a big difference between using it as a tool and understanding it as a technology. That shift in mindset is what separates average results from a different level of effectiveness.

• In this session, we'll share a practical framework built around four core competencies for human-AI collaboration designed to help you work with AI effectively, efficiently, ethically, and safely.

• This isn't about which AI product to use or which prompt works best. It's about building the right mindset and skills to collaborate with AI responsibly and sustainably no matter how the technology evolves.

 

Samer Sallam, Data Practice Lead, Accenture

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08:50    End of Breakfast Briefing

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Session 1
 

As AI continues to reshape the business landscape at breakneck pace, organisations face a pivotal challenge: moving from uncertainty and ambition - to impact and value. This session will look at the realities of AI implementation, from creating the right organisational foundations and mindset, to the strategy and process that will help you deliver.

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​09:15    Welcome and Introduction from the Conference Chair

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Mark Stephen, Journalist & Broadcaster, BBC Scotland

 

09:25    You Are Not Managing a Transformation, You are Managing an Inflection Point

 

• This is a reset, not a capability upgrade

• Orchestration is now the leverage point

• Competitive advantage is compressing

• Unintentional design creates drag

• Your hiring model must evolve

 

Regina Berengolts, Director of Data & AI, Vaul Labs

 

09:45    Getting Your Organisation Ready for AI: From Ambition to Value Realisation

 

• Learning from the field on what it takes to get ready for AI

• The 3 core areas of readiness: Data, Platforms, Organisation

• Organisations who adopt AI responsibly always focus on the right problems to solve

 

Martin Paice, Technology Practice Lead, Valcon UK

Simon de Timary, Data Practice Lead, Valcon UK

 

10:05    Making Certain Progress with AI in an Uncertain World

 

• AI is advancing rapidly, but real‑world deployment still carries risk, ambiguity, and responsibility, especially in asset and safety-critical environments such as Oil & Gas

• Practical progress happens when AI is applied to real problems, with real data, in real operating environments

• Identifying the right use cases is key to moving beyond hype - experiences from deploying real examples in the Oil & Gas industry

• Human judgement and human quality assurance remains essential in ensuring novel use cases improve decision making

• How value can be delivered while still managing risk and how the most effective AI systems augment humans rather than replacing them

 

Scott Ogilvie, Global Director: AI Strategy, Wood Group

 

10:25   Combined Q&A

10:55   Refreshments & Networking

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Session 2

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Session 2 will explore a series of key topics in a longer presentation format. The session will be run in a breakout format across three parallel streams, providing delegates the opportunity to attend two of the options.

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11:30    First Breakout Option (A-C)

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A.   From GenAI Hype to Enterprise Value

 

• Why powerful LLMs often struggle to gain real traction in regulated financial services

• The real blockers: control, validation, accountability, and production stability

• Where GenAI does deliver value today: constrained, human‑in‑the‑loop use cases

• Why GenAI isn’t the only AI - and how the hype cycle can obscure proven techniques

• The real unlock: validation and governance layers that make AI trustworthy at scale

 

Manjula Dissanayake, Head of Data Science & AI, Aberdeen Adviser

Alastair Shipman, Software Engineer, Aberdeen Adviser

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B.   Don’t Panic (But Do Verify): The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the AI Galaxy

 

• Avoid the Total Perspective Vortex: Why unique human insights and the messiness of innovation are the only things preventing your brand from becoming beige

• The Ultimate Answer is 42, but it's useless without context: AI excels at plausible answers, but can't assess if we asked the right question - how to address the "Algorithmic Drift"

• So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish: Beyond the code and cat memes, using AI always carries a cost - how to ensure your AI strategy is resilient, responsible, and beneficial

• Don't forget your towel: Why the most important tool for a leader in the AI Universe is the Evidence-Based Roadmap - a framework to prioritise AI investments based on actual value

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Esther Stringer, Managing Director, Border Crossing UX

 

C.   The Intersection of Law, Ethics, Governance, and Responsible AI

 

• Understanding the implications of AI for business - why is AI different?

• Some of the new technical, ethical, and data protection challenges created

• The additional complexity of third party and the supply chain

• How to adapt, what is fundamentally new and where are existing principles the same

• Culture is key, we need to bring everyone with us

 

Carol Wilson, AI Ethics & Governance Fellowship of Information Privacy, Royal London

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12:05   Transition

12:15    Second Breakout Option (D-F)

 

D.   Panel: The Age of AI: What Does it Mean for Talent?

 

• As increased utilisation of AI gathers pace, what does this mean for the most important element of any organisation, it’s people?

• Whether hiring talent for your organisation, or looking to stay abreast of changes as an individual, what does the future hold as AI adoption gathers pace?

• How equipped are today’s leaders to face the fast-paced change required for increased use of AI within organisations, and in areas where technology has not typically been a driver?

• What impact will widespread adoption of AI have on both technology roles and organisational efficiency?

• What can we do, collectively, to “future proof” ourselves and our organisations from being left behind in the “AI Arms Race”?

• What changes have we seen in working practices as a direct consequence of AI adoption so far? How has the needle been moved already?

 

Robin Huggins, CRO, Head for Data

Nikola Kelly, CEO, BE-IT

Paul Sinclair, Director of Research, WTW

Dr Ana Rojo-Echeburúa, Head of AI, DataVita

David Wilson, CEO, Certum

 

E.   Bridging the Gap from AI to ROI

 

• Beyond the Hype: The 5 Pillars of Real-World AI ROI - Move past speculation to explore where organisations are currently securing a measurable return on their AI investment

• From Architecture to Action: Practical Use Cases that Scale - Zoom into each pillar to reveal how high-performing teams move from theory to production-ready applications

• Solving ‘Day Two’ Problems: Ensuring Long-Term Enterprise Utility - The transition from initial adoption to sustained success by addressing ‘day two’ challenges

 

Wiktor Jurek, Director of Data & Analytics at Cobry

Jason Purvor, Cloud Transformation GTM Practice Lead, Google Cloud

Colin Bryce, CEO & Founder, Cobry 

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F.   Precision AI: Agentic AI Where Accuracy Matters

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• Why some agents work in production and others don't, with an exploration of four rules we use when crafting production agents

• How to create a mental model of the task before you build the agent — and how to use it to guide what you build

• What separates a well-engineered environment for the agent to operate in from a poorly-engineered one

• Why public benchmarks won't tell you which model works for your task, and how to build evaluation that does

• How to build the data flywheel that turns a working agent into a differentiated one

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David Meikle, Founder, BloxWeaver

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​12:45    Lunch & Exhibition

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Session 3

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Building on the themes from this morning, the afternoon session will look at the practical implementation of AI across a range of applications and use cases. Drawing upon a wealth of frontline experience, we will look at some of the key challenges and opportunities that leaders need to navigate to maximise operational impact.​​

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13:35   Third Breakout Option (G-I)

 

G.   A Practical Playbook for Enterprise Generative AI

 

• An honest look at where GenAI tools have genuinely advanced and where the hype still runs ahead of reality

• A simple framework for spotting opportunities that are both technically feasible and commercially worth the effort, with examples of what to prioritise and what to drop

• How to structure teams, governance, and platforms so GenAI projects ship and scale, including the operating models and guardrails that make the difference between pilot and production

• A short, practical checklist leaders can use to assess where they stand today and decide what to do next

 

Patty O’Callaghan, Technical Director, Head of AI: Architecture & Engineering Group, Charles River Laboratories

 

H.   Using AI for Impact & Growth in Smaller Enterprises

 

• How we have used AI to help different functions - Sales, Marketing, Content etc

• Deciding what we do and don’t use AI for

• Tackling some of the common challenges smaller businesses face (lack of AI specialism, skills, budget)

• How we deal with visibility and governance

• Practical advice for getting the most bang for buck/ROI

 

Lauren Cahill, Director of IT & Business Services, ICS Learn

 

I.   From Access to Adoption: Observations from an AI Champion on What Encourages Uptake

 

• Why gaining access to AI tools does not automatically translate into everyday use

• Common themes that emerge in conversations with colleagues

• What appears to encourage people to move from curiosity to early experimentation

• The role of practical use cases, safe spaces to explore, and approachable human support

• Reflections on creating conditions where adoption can grow naturally rather than being forced

 

Sam McCulloch, BizApps COE Functional Lead, Virgin Money

 

14:00   Transition to Plenary

 

14:05    Why AI Isn't Delivering & What Needs to Change 

 

• Investment is increasing but measurable business value isn’t 

• Where value gets lost between insight, decision making & execution 

• Why building a data, analytics and AI capability doesn't change how organisations actually operate 

• The shift required: designing organisations that can act on insight 

 

Shruti Sharma, Director of Data, Analytics & AI, Save the Children UK

 

14:25    The Parallel Computing Powering the Latest Breakthroughs in Agentic AI

 

• Why parallel computing is essential to modern science, technology, and AI

• Brief overview of parallel computing evolution and fundamentals of AI

• Showcasing NVIDIA's latest parallel technology: how it is enabling breakthroughs in generative and agentic AI

 

Alan Gray, Principal Engineer, NVIDIA

 

14:45   Combined Q&A

 

Patty O’Callaghan, Technical Director: Head of AI, Charles River Laboratories

Lauren Cahill, Director of IT & Business Services, ICS Learn

Sam McCulloch, BizApps COE Functional Lead, Virgin Money

Shruti Sharma, Director of Data, Analytics & AI, Save the Children UK

Alan Gray, Principal Engineer, NVIDIA

 

15:15   Closing Remarks

 

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Networking Drinks Reception

 

15:20   Networking Drinks Reception

16:20   Conference Ends

 

*The conference agenda is provisional and content is subject to change