Day 1
07:45-08:30
Morning Gentle Flow Yoga
Start the day with a short, gentle flow yoga session designed to loosen up the body and settle the mind. This optional session is open to all levels and offers a calm way to ease into a full day of conversations and networking. A chance to arrive feeling a bit more grounded before the conference gets going.
08:00-09:15
Registration & Coffee
08:15-09:10
Women in Tech Breakfast
Start your day with great coffee and even better company. This breakfast gathering is a relaxed space for women in tech leadership to connect, share experiences, and build relationships before the day kicks off. Enjoy some real conversation and facilitated discussions with brilliant people who get it. Open to all who identify as women or non-binary.
Victoria McCormack, Director, JVM Consultancy
Natalie McCormack, Learning and Development Lead, JVM Consultancy
09:15-09:20
Chair’s Opening Remarks
Neeha Curtis, Chief of Corporate Affairs, Lyric
Neeha works at the intersection of technology, strategy, and communication. She brings deep experience helping organisations explain the value of their technology decisions and align them with real business outcomes.
Previously, Neeha was VP of Engineering Strategy at Encora, partnering with technology leaders on value narratives and scenario planning to support better investment decisions. She has also served as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Jugo, where she led strategic positioning and category creation for an immersive communications platform. Alongside her industry work, Neeha teaches Mass Communications at Syracuse University’s graduate school, with a focus on AI ethics, media economics, and data privacy.
As conference chair, Neeha brings a thoughtful perspective that helps keep conversations grounded and connected to the wider context CTOs are operating in.
09:20-09:50
Keynote – AI as a Thinking Partner: Leading with Clarity and Confidence
- Beyond faster coding, AI can act as a writing partner, coach, and sounding board, helping leaders sharpen their thinking and test assumptions.
- Using AI for prompts, deep research, and contrarian views expands perspective and reduces the isolation of senior decision-making.
- Context windows allow leaders to see reasoning play out step by step, creating transparency and clarity in choices.
- Find out how treating AI as a cognitive partner helps leaders make stronger decisions, communicate better, and lead with confidence.
James Stanier, CTO, Veterinary, Nordhealth
09:50-10:20
From Rollout to Results: Unlocking Business Impact from AI-Augmented Engineering
AI is no longer a distant ambition. It is a transformational element that is reshaping how organisations design, build and support software. But for technology leaders, the challenge is not just adopting the tools. It is navigating the journey yourself, supporting your teams as they adapt, and communicating meaningful progress without oversimplifying or relying on vague promises of ROI.
In this session, we will explore how to lead through the realities of AI transformation. We will look at how to develop your own capability, how to guide teams who are increasingly expected to work with AI, and how to set clear expectations with the board by showing value in a way that is honest, evidence-led and grounded in real outcomes.
Will Lytle, COO, Plandek
10:20-10:45
Owning the Stack: A CTO’s Guide to Building In-House Systems
- A first-hand account of leading Holland & Barrett’s tech transformation since 2020, moving away from legacy systems toward building in-house platforms.
- Lessons on balancing speed, scale, and resilience while shifting to proprietary systems, and how this shaped engineering culture and delivery.
Sathya Nandakumar, CTO, Holland & Barrett
10:45-11:15
Coffee & Recharge Break
T5’s coffee carts with be doling out fresh espresso all day! There will also be tea, soft drinks and snacks available to fuel your day.
11:15-11:40
Engineering 2028: Leading Human + AI Teams Responsibly
- AI is transforming software delivery faster than leadership models, governance, and culture can adapt. Productivity gains are uneven, and traditional roles and structures are being outpaced by automation.
- Responsible engineering leaders have a duty of care — to prepare and steer their teams toward a future where intelligent, autonomous systems are co-workers, not just tools.
- Drawing on a global survey of engineering leaders, this session explores how high-performing organisations are re-imagining delivery, governance, and team design — assuming that multi-agent platforms will become the integral to how software is delivered and what is produced.
- Practical insights into how to evolve your teams, culture, and leadership approach to thrive in an era of agentic, human-centred engineering.
Iain Bishop, CEO, Damilah
11:40-12:25
Panel – Risk, Revenue, Reputation: The True Cost of Cybersecurity
- Cybersecurity is often treated like an insurance policy… until the bill comes due.
- Break down how to quantify the ROI of security investments, compare the cost of prevention vs. the cost of a breach, and build a budget case that resonates with finance and leadership.
- Cut through the vendor noise to discuss which tools and capabilities actually matter, and how to prioritise them for maximum impact.
Mackenzie Jackson, Developer and Security Advocate, Aikido
12:25-12:35
Beyond the Benchmark: Making Confident Compensation and Career Choices for You and Your Teams.
- Discover key findings from the 4th annual CTO Craft and Albany Partners Compensation Survey and how to interpret market data with clarity and confidence.
- Explore how funding stage, location, and equity terms shape what competitive pay really looks like, and how to move beyond simple benchmarks when making decisions.
- Learn practical ways to turn the survey insights into clear strategies for hiring, retention, and planning team progression.
- Find out how to use this data to guide your own career choices and understand future salary expectations.
Henry Draper, Managing Director, Albany Partners
12:35-14:00
Lunch
Lunch & Learn Roundtable with Architus
14:00-14:25
Sustainable Digital Future – The CTO Challenge
- Financial institutions have spent decades building layer upon layer of data and information exchange, creating hidden complexity that business users and customers never see.
- Look at the waves of transformation shaping the industry, from digital and cloud adoption to big data and AI, and how these themes drive new expectations for data and technology leaders.
- Explore the skills decision-makers now need, including how to visualise internal data supply chains, reduce complexity to manage risks and regulatory pressure, and factor data proliferation into investment decisions.
- Address the challenge of decommissioning and reusing technology faster than new systems are built, and make a call for chartered IT professionals as natural resource demands become the new frontier in systems architecture.
Simone Steel, Chief Data Officer, Deutsche Bank
14:25-14:50
Size 42 Isn’t Enough: How Diverse Views Build Better Products
- Stories from fashion tech and leadership coaching show how something as simple as bra sizing can reveal blind spots in product development and AI design.
- Discover how our personal backgrounds, body types, and shopping habits influence how we interpret data, and teams lacking diversity miss both the pitfalls and the opportunities this creates.
- Using real examples such as a memorable encounter with an AI image generator, we will explore how bias shows up in unexpected ways.
- You’ll leave with real insight for building more diverse teams and a renewed sense of why diversity drives better decisions and outcomes.
Emese Pogácsás, Leadership Coach and Consultant, Namaste & Cabernet
14:50-15:15
Why 20 Years of Experience Didn’t Prepare Me for This
- After a couple of decades as a technology leader, I thought I knew the CTO playbook pretty well. Then came AI.
- We will explore how we must dismantle our longest-held assumptions—from team topology to the economics of the SDLC—and rebuild the role of the technology leader for a AI-enabled future.
Eirik Pettersen, CTO, Secret Escapes
15:15-16:00
Coffee & Recharge Break
16:00-16:50
Lightning Talks – Working at the Speed of Change: Safety, Trust, and Adaptation
Change in tech rarely comes at a gentle pace. Teams face restructures, acquisitions, shifting goals, and rising workloads, often all at once. These lightning talks will share how leaders keep people motivated and connected during constant change, while also protecting the trust and psychological safety that make experimentation possible. Attendees will hear how to sustain focus, encourage open conversations about risks, and build habits that help teams adapt quickly without burning out.
What are Lightning Talks? They are a series of 10 minute presentations and an opportunity for senior tech leaders to tell their side of the story about leadership and psychological safety.
Jenny Martin, Collaboration Coach, Collaborate Solutions
Matthew Bellringer, Neurodiversity and Innovation Specialist, Meaningbit
Ceri Newton-Sargunar, Systemic Behavioural Coach, Thirsty Horse Consulting
16:50-17:15
AI in the Trenches: Real-World Wins Without Breaking Things
- AI for Speed and Stability – How the region’s largest e-commerce company and its 2,000-engineer team used LLMs and automation (n8n, Cursor, A2A, MCPS, custom workflows) to raise delivery speed 30% without risking production.
- Practical AI Integration – Automated tests, instant documentation, and rapid code reviews that keep quality high and developers happy.
- Trust + Governance – A clear framework for selecting the right AI stack, measuring real impact, and keeping engineers confident in every release.
- From Hype to Hard Truths – A battle-tested playbook on what truly worked and what flopped, so you can safely replicate the gains in your own organization.
Yigit Darcin, Director of Engineering – Core Ecommerce Platform, Trendyol
17:15-17:20
Chair’s Closing Remarks
Neeha Curtis, Chief of Corporate Affairs, Lyric
17:30-21:00
After Party at Lane7
The conversations don’t stop when the conference ends. Join us at the After Party to keep the energy flowing with drinks, nibbles, and plenty of networking.
Hosted at Lane7, you’ll dive into a vibrant mix of bowling, arcade games, and social spaces – all designed to spark fun and friendly competition. It’s the ideal way to unwind, connect with fellow tech leaders, and celebrate two inspiring days of ideas and insights.
18:00-21:00
CTO Dinner with Infobip
An end-of-day dinner hosted by Infobip, bringing together a small group of CTOs and senior technology leaders. This invite-only evening is a chance to step away from the conference floor and continue networking in a relaxed, informal setting. Expect good food, easy conversation, and the chance to swap notes from the day.
Day 2
07:45-08:30
Morning Gentle Flow Yoga
Start the day with a short, gentle flow yoga session designed to loosen up the body and settle the mind. This optional session is open to all levels and offers a calm way to ease into a full day of conversations and networking. A chance to arrive feeling a bit more grounded before the conference gets going.
08:00-09:15
Registration & Coffee
08:15-09:15
CTO Breakfast
Join us for breakfast and start day 2 in the strongest possible way by tackling a real challenge facing you in your leadership role and supporting your fellow technology leaders with theirs.
CTOs and senior engineering leaders often face challenging roles where advice and support can be difficult to find.
In this interactive breakfast session, you’ll engage in a Troika Consulting exercise, sharing a real-world professional challenge with a small group. Peers will offer fresh perspectives, experiences, and advice, giving you a clear insight into the CTO Craft Circles experience and the benefits of support, new ideas, and increased resilience whilst meaningfully extending your network in the CTO Craft Community here at the Conference.
Joel Chippindale, CTO Coach, Monkey’s Thumb
09:15-09:25
Chair’s Opening Remarks
Neeha Curtis, Chief of Corporate Affairs, Lyric
Neeha works at the intersection of technology, strategy, and communication. She brings deep experience helping organisations explain the value of their technology decisions and align them with real business outcomes.
Previously, Neeha was VP of Engineering Strategy at Encora, partnering with technology leaders on value narratives and scenario planning to support better investment decisions. She has also served as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Jugo, where she led strategic positioning and category creation for an immersive communications platform. Alongside her industry work, Neeha teaches Mass Communications at Syracuse University’s graduate school, with a focus on AI ethics, media economics, and data privacy.
As conference chair, Neeha brings a thoughtful perspective that helps keep conversations grounded and connected to the wider context CTOs are operating in.
09:25-09:55
Keynote – Leading at the Edge: Lessons from the World’s Highest Peaks
- Engage in a story about climbing the Seven Summits and how it shows that leadership under pressure is about calm judgment and strategic choices, whether facing a storm on Everest or a crisis in business.
- The strongest teams are diverse and built on trust, and this is equally true in tech where women and underrepresented groups often have to push harder to be heard.
- Focus on how real resilience is not about pushing endlessly but about knowing when to pause, reset, and protect energy so leadership can continue the next day.
- Strength in extreme environments comes from strategy, collaboration, and balance, lessons that guide both mountain expeditions and the challenges of modern leadership.
Dr. Ilknur Colak, CTO, Schneider Electric
09:55-10:20
Building an Elite Start-up Engineering Team at Warp Speed
- Scaling five teams of engineers in nine months required building strong foundations from the start, with continuous delivery used as the backbone for rapid iteration without piling up technical debt.
- Find out how hiring in the age of AI means designing assessments that cannot be gamed by tools and that bring real skills to the surface.
- Look at defining what good looks like through lightweight processes such as code reviews, RFCs, and onboarding helps maintain consistency as teams grow quickly.
- Culture fit should not mean culture clones, so assess for adaptability, ownership, and collaboration, and what to do differently after making tough trade-offs under pressure.
Mikey Mo, Head of Engineering, Lantern
10:20-11:05
Coffee & Recharge Break
11:05-11:30
Side Quest Unlocked: Community Glue Work and the Future of Tech
- Just like side quests in an RPG, the work that seems optional in tech — mentoring, documenting knowledge, or organising events — can unlock unexpected skills and opportunities.
- The best engineers are not only strong coders, they also bring people together, strengthen teams, and help communities grow.
- You do not need to take on every side quest, but building connections and sharing knowledge can be just as important for career growth as technical output.
- This talk will show how community “glue” work builds leadership skills, why it should be recognised by companies, and how it shapes the future of engineering.
Melinda Seckington, Leadership Trainer & Consultant, Learn Build Share
11:30-11:55
Fireside chat – Applied Tech for Climate Action: Turning Complex Problems into Scalable Solutions
- Journey behind the scenes of how complex climate policy can be transformed into actionable data, and why inclusive innovation is essential to tackling global challenges.
- The story begins with the founding idea of a mission-driven venture and shows how a team scaled AI solutions to address one of the biggest problems of our future.
- Hear how AI-driven insights can shape climate policy, influence stakeholders, and push real initiatives forward.
- Learn about pitfalls and best practices, from handling unstructured data and reducing model bias to gathering training data, deploying models, and proving measurable ROI.
Georgie Steele, Co-Founder & CTO, Maiven
Moderator: Jennifer Riggins, Tech Journalist
11:55-12:20
An Engineer and an LLM Log into a Tech Interview: Are They Cheating?
- Traditional technical rounds are outdated in the age of AI, as tools can easily bypass take-home tests and DSA formats measure memorisation rather than real-world skills.
- Hear how Anna redesigned the process around the “First Day of Work” concept, creating the McDougall Method to reflect actual engineering practice.
- The framework includes practical guidelines for structuring repositories, creating meaningful test cases, and sharing them in a way that feels fair and realistic.
- Understand the crucial part of the approach: training engineers to run interviews that give candidates a positive, authentic experience.
Anna McDougall, Director of Engineering Operations, Blinkist
12:20-13:35
Lunch
Lunch & Learn Roundtable
13:35-14:20
Panel – Engineering in Flux: Skills, Teams, and Tech
- AI-enabled software development is shifting engineering focus away from repetitive coding tasks toward higher-level design, review, and architecture. Leaders need to rethink what skills matter most now.
- As AI tools generate more code and suggestions, developers must double down on judgment, context, and code ownership rather than trusting outputs blindly.
- Engineering teams must adapt onboarding, training, and review processes so they support human/AI collaboration rather than treating AI as a plug-in.
- The panel will explore real-world examples of successful AI-enabled development, the pitfalls of overreliance, and how leaders balance speed, oversight, and human insight.
Tavier Taylor, Board Advisor & CTO, TFM Innovations
David Kavanagh, CTO, Tillo
Qaiser Mazhar, CTO, IG Group
14:20-14:45
From SaaS to Agentic Platforms: Reinventing Software for Goal-Driven Systems
- The software industry is entering a new architectural era, moving beyond user-driven SaaS workflows toward agentic platforms that can understand goals, reason, and act across services.
- Explore how leading SaaS organisations are evolving from transactional products to adaptive, goal-driven ecosystems.
- Learn how architectures must shift from stateless APIs to orchestrated, stateful agents, and how pricing, SLAs, and user experience are being reimagined as software becomes autonomous.
- You will learn what CTOs can do now to prepare their systems, governance, and strategy for the coming agentic age.
Jaime de Mora, CTO, Startups & Digital Natives @ Microsoft EMEA
14:45-15:30
Coffee & Recharge Break
15:30-15:55
The Rise of the All-Rounder: Why Cricketers are Better than Footballers
- Look at how to broaden the bar and develop T-shaped leaders who are more Ben Stokes than Harry Kane.
- Explore how engineering and product can work together to improve alignment, value delivery, and speed to market, using clear examples of what this looks like in practice.
- Hear lessons from scaling high-performing teams at LendInvest, drawing directly from the environments and behaviours that made those teams successful and how the same traits appear in the wider data on effective, high-performing teams.
Peter Wallis, CTO, ex-Lendinvest, Sporting Group, Camelot Lotteries
15:55-16:20
The End of the Road in Performance Management: Why, When and How to let go of Poor Performers in Software Engineering Teams
- Letting people go for poor performance is difficult for many managers and often avoided in company cultures that find the process uncomfortable.
- Much of the advice on performance management comes from the US, but UK culture and employment law are very different, and there is no “at will” employment.
- Explore when letting someone go is necessary, what steps to try before reaching that point, and how to handle the process with fairness.
- Understand both positive and negative outcomes, and focus on how to make the process less damaging and more constructive for everyone involved.
Andrew Ellam, Interim CTO
16:20-16:50
The Human Load Balancer: Protecting Your Team Without Burning Out
- Engineering leaders often take pride in shielding their teams from shifting demands, organisational dysfunction, and emotional strain, but this invisible work can quietly build up and take a toll.
- In today’s climate of disruption and uncertainty, hear how the weight of this hidden labour is heavier than ever, making mental health and self-care a core part of sustainable leadership.
- Drawing on real experience, this session will show you how to recognise when invisible work is leading toward burnout, how to reframe what it means to support a team, and what tools help you stay balanced.
- You will learn how to spot signs of overload, set healthier boundaries without abandoning responsibilities, move away from the myth of the “hero leader,” and build practices that support long-term resilience.
Rebecca Anderton, Head of Engineering, hedgehog lab
16:50-17:00
Chair’s Closing Remarks
Neeha Curtis, Chief of Corporate Affairs, Lyric