Testimonials Talk to the Board 2024

Recent Testimonials

“The emerging consensus from Talk to the Board was how challenging it is for CISOs to present cyber risk to the board in an intelligible way for non-technical people. The challenge for the board is then to understand that and take action. Having a plan prioritising, getting the basics right, not trying to do everything or running off in different directions demands some follow through, both by boards and CISOs. It’s great to have board and CISO side of the equation together at this event. It shows the maturity of the board-CISO relationship that we’re having much better conversations about this now than we were 10 years ago.”
Robert Hannigan, Chairman, BlueVoyant. Former Director, GCHQ

“I wanted to be part of the Cyber Exchange 360 and Talk to the Board event because I’ve always been so fascinated by technology, particularly what it brings on the dark side – the dark underbelly of technology being cyber attacks and the cyber risk. Being from the world of insurance, I was hoping to share some of my experience with assessing risk and managing risk because, fundamentally, this is what the CISOs are trying to do. I think they’re doing an amazing job, but cybercriminals are always faster and quicker than any of us, so we must stay alert. I’ve learnt about how lonely and vulnerable the CISO feels. I’ve been a CEO a few times and always felt the CEO took the can for everything. I thought then that people working lower in the organisation wouldn’t feel so vulnerable. But I was hearing that from some of the attendees, and as boards, we need to think about how we can be more of a support for them so that they don’t feel so lonely and perhaps under threat. If your world is looking at cyber risk and you’re a CISO, I would come to this event and get involved because you are sharing and gaining simultaneously.”
Dame Inga Beale, Former CEO, Lloyd’s of London

“The great thing about Pulse Conferences events is you get a different perspective from our core market. So it’s perfect for me to come here and get that completely different perspective and speak to people at the level that Pulse Conferences attract. Talk to the Board is interesting because the business dimension is the most important thing about cyber security. So, speaking to the board brings me that business dimension to cyber security. As a sponsor, we get so much value out of these events, not just from potential clients but for people to partner with, and we get different perspectives on what the market is and what other people are prioritising.”
Dr. Paul Kennedy, Chief Engineer – Cyber and CEMA, QinetiQ

“This is my second CISO Exchange 360 and Talk to the Board and, once more, it’s a great mix of enterprise professionals, security professionals and senior leaders. It’s always a good atmosphere; people get to ask questions in a setting they might not ordinarily have the chance. I’ve been coming to Pulse Conferences events for a few years now. I think the Pulse team run amazing events. They’re always covering relevant subjects, the audience gets involved, and the speakers are a good mix of generalists and specialists. It’s great to hear from board executives and have CISOs sit alongside them, asking questions. It’s a sort of reversal of the status quo.”
Jonathan Luff, Co-Founder, CyLon Ventures

“The theme of CISO Exchange 360 and Talk to the Board, for me, is absolutely spot on. We must bridge the gap between the IT community and the board members, because we’re all fighting against the same enemy. We have competitors in the business who steal our market share. We have competitors in cyber security who steal our intellectual property and money. And so a competitor is a competitor. Coming here and talking to the board and helping validate what resonates with them to help the IT community have their voice heard by the board members is very special and powerful. We have silos of silos in companies. But criminals don’t have silos. They don’t have borders or boundaries. So, to win the fight, we must come together and build coalitions of capability and bridge across the boundaries we live in so we can stop the enemy and kick them out of our networks and our organisations. This event is fantastic. It’s a great forum. It’s a great opportunity. Anytime you can connect to another individual on a human level, person to person, it’s powerful. Board members and IT people speak different languages. We must learn to communicate effectively to help make rational decisions within a context that matters. So this event, this forum, is exactly what I’m looking for.”
Michael Beaupre, Head of Cyber Security, Hays

“The session Talk to the Board was a rich discussion with two interesting themes emerging for myself. The primary ask from the Board is for them champion the importance of Cyber security and employee Cyber vigilance across the organisation as a cultural norm. To secure this commitment the audience noted the value of having a standing agenda item on the Board annual agenda. The panel also encouraged the audience to craft carefully any presentation to the Board to focus on what outcome they were asking for and to avoid just an information update. Both the audience and panel found the event very interesting and informative.”
Jeremy Schwartz, Former CEO, The Body Shop, Pandora and Conival plc, Current Chairman Sustainability and Inclusion Practice, Kantar; Advisor Business, Transformation, McKinsey

“The afternoon discussion with the Board focused on a number of key themes, how to build trust with Board members, what priorities a Board cares most about and how to sustain the conversation as a rolling programme. Such diverse Board representation from Audit, Tech, Sustainability, Risk, Marketing, People and Change meant the participants could fully engage in debate across a range of challenging topics.”
Deborah Exell, Former Board Member, Head of Human Capital & Business Transformation, Getronics

“I’ve had a few good sessions with various organisations. Looking at what’s going on across the industry and how organisations are doing things slightly differently has been very interesting. The need for greater collaboration is a key message. It is a fantastic event, and the venue at the Science Museum is the perfect size: I’ve had a breadth of conversations, but it’s small enough to have one-to-one discussions.”
Andrew Kelly, Principal Consultant, QinetiQ

“First class organisation and presentations. I would highly recommend Pulse conferences for those Senior Managers who need to get value from their time and attendance and for the quality of guest speakers.”
Ray Jackson, CISO, Telrock Systems Ltd

“It’s a great event with some high-calibre attendees, and the turnout has been impressive. The one-to-ones provide a superb opportunity to spend some focused time with key customers. And it was brilliant to have one of our teams hosting one for the roundtables around CISO practical tips. It’s a unique in that it is a closed community. You get more one-on-one time than you would do at another conference.”
Remco Postma, Sales Leader, SailPoint

“Pulse Conferences stand out for being up to the minute with developments and concerns. First rate speakers and an agenda that is total appropriate and informative. Excellent buzz and networking.”
Lady Olga Maitland, CEO Copenhagen Compliance; Founder, Defence and Security Forum

“The day has been great. I enjoyed a lot of good conversations. I’ve spent time with interesting companies and interesting people. Pulse always uses thrilling venues, and the Science Museum in London is special. What’s unique is that CISOs can talk to the board – they have opinions and they want to share them, and also listen to the guidance offered.”
Scott Daly, Commercial Manager, HUMAN

“The Talk to the Board session provided a wonderful opportunity for CISOs to hear first-hand how and where they might tailor their Board interaction more strategically to achieve greater impact at this level. By doing so, board members could be better served as CISOs educate and update them about evolving organizational cyber security risk exposures and vulnerabilities. More intriguing, perhaps, was that CISO’s were urged to also see risks as potential opportunities that, with careful due diligence, might be thoughtfully exploited.”
Graham Joscelyne, Former Auditor General, World Bank and Chair: Audit and Ethics Committee, The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Current Advisory Committee for Internal Oversight, United Nations (UNRWA)

“Probably the one must-attend conference of the year. Excellent speakers, fast-moving pace, differing methods of delivery, just simply the best value usage of my time.”
Julia Harris, Information Security Compliance and Assurance Director, Flight Centre UK

“It was a fantastic day. It is great to be back in London and meeting people again. Pulse events are always absolutely amazing. As usual it was such a diverse group of people from so many different departments – finance, manufacturing and so on – and they are all at a certain level where you start to understand strategy and where the industry is going in the UK. I probably learnt more than the people I spoke with, so it’s been brilliant.”
Paul Baird, UK Chief Technology Security Officer, Qualys

“A meticulous and engaging event highlighting the key security concerns business leaders face today!”
Owanate Bestman, Owner, Bestman Solutions

“It is hard to describe what an amazing experience it was to attend, in person, a conference after such a long time. From impeccable and reassuring preconference comms to a beautiful indoor and outdoor setting, excellent speakers and audience engagement, surprisingly unobtrusive vendors where productive conversations were held, without all the sales hype. It will certainly be a conference I will not forget and setting a standard with which, I will hold other conferences to.”
Deborah Saffer, Global Deputy CISO, Cushman & Wakefield 

“I just wanted to say thank you again for another fantastic event. I had a very good time and lots of very useful conversations.”
Charles McAlpin, Qualys

“The agenda of Talk to the Board was a big pull. I’ve heard of Pulse Conferences, but this was my first CISO event. I saw the questions posed and the incredible line-up of people speaking, and I knew I had to be in the room. It’s so rare to have that opportunity to hear it directly from the CISOs and the board. So what more could you ask for if you’re up and reporting to boards and you need to communicate with them effectively? It’s a unique opportunity. What is important for them? For anyone thinking of coming to a Pulse Conferences event, just do it. Block out that time, make the commitment and realise that it’s an investment not only in your company and what your company needs from you but also in your professional development.”
Katherine Leivesley, Head of Legal, Offer and Sourcing, Kingfisher PLC

“As ever, an excellent opportunity to have time in front of executives who are likely to be very similar to the executives that all CISOs are likely to have to bring on side. It gave fascinating insights, and some I will certainly be using in the future.”
Julia Harris, Information Security Assurance and Compliance Director, Flight Centre Travel Ltd

“Pulse always delivers the very best events so the fact that this event was impeccably organised wasn’t a surprise. But the fact they delivered such an excellent event at this time with the various rule changes and restrictions placed on them was truly surprising. The team showed great strength of character and the ability to innovate. It was a super event and fun too.”
Jonathan Armstrong, CEO, Cordery 

“Insights & experience shared by Industry leaders will definitely help me & my organization in course correcting the strategy”
Manish Dave, Lafargeholcim

“Marvellous event, well-run, packed with useful content you can use”,
James Gosnold, Technology Services Head of Security, DWP