Alex Younger – Keynote Speaker

Sir Alex Younger is the Former Chief (“C”) of the Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6. He served in this role for six years, from 2014-2020 and in 2019 became the longest-serving MI6 Chief in 50 years.

Sir Alex Younger joined MI6 in 1991. He was posted to Europe and the Middle East, and Afghanistan. He spent most of his career as an operational case officer. In 2009, Sir Alex Younger became the head of counter-terrorism, during which he was involved in security for the London Olympics 2012.

Alex became the UK’s Spy Chief, a position known as “C” in 2014. During this period he focussed on the transformation of his service, aimed at making technology more of an advantage to MI6 than it was to their adversaries. He also maintained a network of intelligence chiefs worldwide, covering the spectrum from allies to adversaries. He advised the Prime Minister on intelligence and security matters, including as a member of the National Security Council.

Prior to joining MI6, he read economics, as well as computer science, at St. Andrew’s University and was an infantry officer in the British Army (Scots Guards).

Alex’s focus now is on explaining the implications of geo-political, geo-technological and cyber competition to a wider audience. He believes that many of the trends he observed during 30 years in the covert world are now features of all our lives. This affords Alex a distinct insight on increasingly widely shared problems.