Ireland's Premier Cybersecurity Conference

Raluca Saceanu is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Smarttech247, bringing over a decade of leadership experience across strategy, operations, and marketing. Since joining the company, she has held senior roles including Marketing Director, Director of Enterprise Strategy, Chief Operating Officer, and CEO.  

Raluca is recognised for driving business growth, operational excellence, and strategic transformation, positioning Smarttech247 as a leading cybersecurity services provider.

Ronan Murphy is a prominent Irish technology entrepreneur and cybersecurity leader. He is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Smarttech247, where he has spent over a decade building a global cybersecurity services business.  

Ronan also serves as Chief Data Strategy Officer at Forcepoint and is a member of the AI Advisory Council for the Government of Ireland. With experience spanning cybersecurity innovation, data security, and business leadership, he is recognised for shaping strategy at the intersection of technology, security, and national policy.

Special Agent Gregory A. Scovel, Jr. has served as Deputy Director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) since April 2025, where he oversees global investigative and operational functions as the agency’s Chief Operations Officer

Previously, he led the NCIS National Security Directorate, directing counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence operations worldwide. He joined NCIS in 2007 following nine years as a U.S. Naval Aviator and is a retired Navy Reserve Intelligence Officer.

Rick Dunwoodie is a senior national security and investigative leader with extensive experience in enterprise risk management, incident response and security operations. He currently serves as Executive Assistant Director (Acting) at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), having progressed through leadership roles including Assistant Director and Special Agent in Charge.

Rick has a proven track record of leading high-stakes teams, managing complex security challenges, and strengthening organisational resilience across critical government environments

Kathryn Sherman is an experienced cybersecurity leader and investigator with over 15 years of public service focused on complex criminal and nationalsecurity investigations. Her work has spanned high-profile federal cases, where she developed deep expertise in digital and network forensics, online and HUMINT undercover operations, and international law enforcement collaboration.

Throughout her career, Kathryn has worked closely with the private sector before and during major cyber incidents, building strong partnerships to support effective incident response and crisis management. She is recognised for her leadership during critical incidents, her ability to foster trust across public and private sector stakeholders, and her commitment to strengthening collaboration in the fight against cybercrime.

Joe Tidy is an award-winning cyber security journalist and presenter, currently serving as the BBC’s Cyber Correspondent. Since joining the BBC in 2018, he has reported on major cyber incidents, digital threats, and the evolving security landscape.

Previously, Joe spent five years as a News Correspondent at Sky, building a strong background in broadcast journalism. He is widely recognised for making complex cyber issues accessible to mainstream audiences.

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Brian Cooke is a senior cybersecurity and risk leader, currently serving as Chief Information Security Officer at Permanent TSB. With extensive experience across financial services, he previously led Cyber Risk at AIB and spent eight years at EY specialising in information security, IT risk, and cybersecurity strategy.

Brian has also contributed to the wider security community as Chairman of the Irish Information Security Forum. He holds an MSc inInformation Security from Royal Holloway, University of London.

Chris Sutherland, based in United Kingdom, is currently a Portfolio CISO (Interim) at Ancala. Chris brings experience from previous roles at Trivium Packaging, National Gas Transmission, Finoa and ING. He holds a 2014 - 2014 Certificate (online course) in Financial Engineering and Risk Management @ Columbia University.

With a robust skill set that includes Information Security, Program Management,Security, Information Security Management, Computer Security and more.

Kate Jones is the Chief Information Officer for Stagecoach, a role in which she is focused on delivering seamless services for customers and colleagues. Before this, Kate has held various Operational and Technology roles including CIO at Cadent Gas. She spent the first fifteen years of her career running global professional services functions for telecoms and software companies. She is also a NED for Onward, one of the largest social housing associations in the North West, providing digital support through a major transformation. Kate holds an MBA and a Doctorate and started her academic career as a Geographer focused on sustainable development.

Steven Kay is an experienced cybersecurity and IT leader, currently serving as Chief Information Security Officer at Menzies Aviation. With a long tenure at Menzies Distribution, he progressed through rolesincluding Senior Infrastructure Analyst and Technical Manager, building deep expertise in infrastructure, security, and operational resilience.

Steven brings decades of practical experience supporting complex, business-critical environments and holds a BA (Hons) in Commerce from Edinburgh Napier University.

Zeki Turedi is Field CTO at CrowdStrike and a recognised cybersecurity leader with deep expertise in endpoint and network security, digital forensics, and incident response. Since joining CrowdStrike in 2016, he has advised enterprises and governments across Europe on cyber maturity, risk management, and security strategy.

With a background spanning law enforcement and private sector roles, Zeki is also a respected media commentator and published author in cybercrime and digital forensics.

Caroline Spillane is Chief Executive Officer of IoD Ireland, a Chartered Director (CDir) and an experienced senior leader with a distinguished track record across professional bodies, regulation and public service. At IoD Ireland she leads the strategic direction of a 3,600-membership body dedicated to strengthening corporate governance standards and board decision-making across Ireland. Under her leadership, IoD Ireland works closely with boards, chairs and senior executives to build capability, promote best practice and position Ireland as a leading exemplar of high-quality governance.

A central focus of her role at IoD Ireland is equipping directors and boards to respond confidently to emerging and fast-moving challenges including digital transformation, artificial intelligence, cyber security risk and regulatory change while also helping them to recognise the strategic opportunities these developments present. Through director education, thought leadership and peer engagement, IoD Ireland champions better boardroom judgement, stronger oversight and more forward-looking decision-making.

Prior to joining IoD Ireland, she served as Director General of Engineers Ireland and Chief Executive of the Medical Council of Ireland and served as Assistant National Director with the Health Service Executive. Alongside her executive responsibilities, Caroline is an experienced Non-Executive Director and board member. She studied economics at undergraduate level in UCC, has an MA from TUD and is completing a doctoral programme with SETU.

Joseph Stephens is an experienced cybersecurity professional with a military background and deep expertise in assessing cybernrisks to critical national infrastructure. A Fulbright Cybersecurity Scholar at Boston College (2022), he holds an MSc in Forensic Computing & Cybercrime Investigations and certifications including CISA, ISO27001 Lead Auditor, and NIST Cyber Security Framework expertise.

Joseph has worked across regulation, public policy, risk management, intelligence, and training, advising senior officials and Government Ministers on strengthening national cyber resilience.

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Andrew Mitchell began his career in IT in 2006 and has since held a range of technical and leadership roles across infrastructure, engineering and cybersecurity. He progressed from systems administration and senior support positions into specialist solutions engineering, managing key clients and hosted service environments.

He later served as IT Infrastructure & Security Manager at Servomex, leading daily operations across infrastructure and security functions. Andrew now serves as Group Cyber Defence Director at Spectris plc, where he is responsible for overseeing and strengthening cybersecurity strategy across the organisation.

Dermot Moore is an experienced information security leader responsible for overseeing all IT security across software, systems, and third-party suppliers for The National Lottery.

He has led the successful delivery of ISO 27001, NIST and other external security audits and assessments, and has extensive experience establishing and managing Security Operations Centres, cyber risk analysis programmes and ISMS frameworks.

As CISO, Dermot oversees information security, cloud environments, data-protection and GDPR compliance, while leading cross-functional enterprise initiatives that strengthen governance, improve operational efficiency, and enhance organisational resilience.

David Keddy is Microsoft Ireland's National Security Officer (NSO) as NSO David is responsible for working with Customers and Government bodies both North and South on Cybersecurity matters relating tothreat intelligence, cyber risk and government policy.

David's dedication to learning and staying updated in cyber security has made him a trusted advisor and thought leader.

In addition to his technical skills, David is known for his strong communication skills and his ability to convey complex security concepts to non-technical stakeholders. This has proven invaluable in promoting awareness and fostering a security-conscious mindset across all levels of the organizations he works with.

Eoin McGrath has over two decades of experience in the technology sector, beginning his career in software development in 2000. He started at eXpd8, progressing from Software Developer to Lead Developer, where he led development initiatives and technical delivery.

In 2017, Eoin joined Thread Legal as Lead Software Developer, continuing to build and scale software solutions in a fast-moving environment. He now serves as a Solutions Engineer at ThreatLocker, working closely with organisations to strengthen their cybersecurity posture.

Eoin holds a degree in Computer Applications from Dublin City University, where he studied from 1996 to 2000.

Aaron is an enterprise security leader with 15+ years’ experience driving global cybersecurity transformations. At Smarttech247, he helps CISOs and security teams align Zero Trust, data protection and compliance with business goals.