AI Governance Speakers: Who To Book When The Question Is Risk

AI governance speakers answer a different question from AI adoption speakers. Adoption is about getting people to use the tools. Governance is about what happens when they do: where the data goes, who is accountable for an automated decision, and which regulation applies in which market.

What does an AI governance speaker actually cover?

An AI governance speaker covers regulation, data privacy, security exposure and accountability for automated decisions. The session usually gives a board or risk function a way to assess its current position rather than a forecast about where the technology is heading.

This matters because the two topics get booked interchangeably and should not be. A team that needs help adopting tools will find a governance session abstract, and a board that needs a risk position will find an adoption session irrelevant. Decide which question your audience is actually asking before you book. Our AI adoption speakers list covers the other half.

Five speakers here work at the governance and risk end, followed by five who cover oversight, foresight and accountability more broadly. For the strategic framing rather than the risk one, see how leaders can navigate AI today.

Toby Lewis

Book Toby for

A working security posture assessment from someone who does threat analysis daily.

Toby Lewis is global head of threat analysis at Darktrace, with nearly two decades in cybersecurity including service at the National Cyber Security Centre and in British Intelligence. He works at the point where AI, security operations and geopolitics meet, which is where most organisations discover their exposure.

His sessions give security and risk teams concrete frameworks for evaluating their posture and practical threat hunting methods, alongside coverage of generative AI, machine learning and data privacy. Toby is a fit for boards that want an honest read rather than a vendor pitch.

Learn more and book Toby Lewis →

Viktor Mayer-Schönberger

Book Viktor for

Information governance and digital privacy at Oxford professor level.

Professor Viktor Mayer-Schönberger is an Oxford academic and author on big data and digital privacy, with work featured in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. He advises Fortune 500 companies including IBM and Microsoft on information governance and the consequences of digital memory.

His material addresses questions organisations tend to defer: what data should be kept, what should be deleted, and how user trust is built or lost through those decisions. Viktor delivers customised, visually strong sessions, which makes dense subject matter workable for a mixed audience.

Learn more and book Viktor Mayer-Schönberger →

Lisa Ventura MBE

Book Lisa for

Closing the human-factor gap in a security programme that is already technically sound.

Lisa Ventura MBE works on the human side of cybersecurity, where most breaches actually originate. Her specialism is building neurodiversity-inclusive security frameworks, on the basis that teams built to think differently spot different vulnerabilities.

Her session on cloud security collaboration addresses why organisations can no longer treat security as an internal matter, drawing on the threat escalation since 2022. Lisa suits organisations that have invested in tooling and are still seeing incidents originate with people rather than systems.

Learn more and book Lisa Ventura MBE →

Adrian Furnham

Book Adrian for

Evidence on where AI helps and hinders in assessment, selection and hiring.

Professor Adrian Furnham has published 98 books and more than 1,400 scientific papers on organisational behaviour and psychology, working with multinationals on leadership development and derailment. His session The Future of Assessment and Selection examines how AI and psychometric theory have changed hiring.

For HR and talent functions deploying AI in recruitment, this is the governance question in its most immediate form. Adrian is direct about AI's strengths and weaknesses in assessment, and the material is grounded in published evidence rather than vendor claims.

Learn more and book Adrian Furnham →

Matt Clifford CBE

Book Matt for

How AI regulation gets written, from the person who advised on it.

Matt Clifford CBE chairs ARIA, the UK's £1.4 billion research agency, co-founded Entrepreneurs First, and acted as the Prime Minister's representative for the 2023 AI Safety Summit. Few speakers can describe how AI regulation is actually drafted from inside the process.

His session The Impact Of AI On Business And Politics examines how artificial intelligence is redrawing the boundaries between markets, governments and global power. Matt suits boards in regulated markets who need to anticipate regulatory shifts rather than react to them.

Interested in booking Matt? Get in touch with the PepTalk team.

Five more speakers on oversight and accountability

These five cover foresight, corporate governance and institutional accountability, which sit alongside AI risk on most board agendas. Where the session needs a chair as well as a speaker, our journalist speakers moderate technical panels well.

Christina Von Messling

A future strategy advisor who works with Fortune 100 companies and government agencies on data-driven foresight and scenario planning. Christina mentors at NYU Stern's strategic foresight programme and covers AI and climate innovation together.

Learn more and book Christina Von Messling →

Leo Johnson

PwC's Head of Disruption and Innovation and an Oxford fellow, Leo works with global organisations on climate change, AI disruption and geopolitical instability. His session on leadership in a time of crisis sets out three skills for navigating the transition.

Learn more and book Leo Johnson →

Pauline Brown

Former Chair of LVMH North America with roles at The Carlyle Group, Estee Lauder and Bain, and faculty positions at Harvard and Columbia. Pauline covers corporate governance alongside brand value, connecting board decisions to commercial outcomes.

Learn more and book Pauline Brown →

Gina Miller

A businesswoman and transparency campaigner whose legal challenge over Brexit made her a prominent voice on democratic accountability. Gina speaks on financial transparency, ethical leadership and corporate responsibility.

Learn more and book Gina Miller →

Dame Heather Rabbatts DBE

Dame Heather Rabbatts was the first woman on the Football Association board, with a career across law, local government and business leadership. She speaks on institutional reform, governance and driving systemic change from inside an organisation.

Learn more and book Dame Heather Rabbatts DBE →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an AI governance speaker and an AI adoption speaker?

A governance speaker covers regulation, risk, privacy and accountability, usually for boards and risk functions. An adoption speaker covers tools, workflows and getting teams to use them. The two audiences want different sessions, so it is worth deciding which question you are answering.

Who should attend an AI governance session?

Boards, risk and compliance functions, legal teams, security leadership and senior HR where AI is being used in hiring. The material tends to be too abstract for a general staff audience, which is better served by an adoption session.

Do these speakers cover specific regulation?

Several do. Matt Clifford CBE advised on UK AI policy and chairs ARIA, Viktor Mayer-Schönberger works on information governance internationally, and Toby Lewis covers the security and geopolitical dimension. Confirm your jurisdictions in the brief.

Is AI governance content relevant for a non-technical audience?

Yes, when the speaker pitches it correctly. The subject is accountability and decision-making rather than engineering. Tell the PepTalk team who is in the room and we will match the speaker to the level of technical detail your audience will use.

💡 Looking for the right speaker for your next event? Let us know what you need and we will find the perfect PepTalk expert for your organisation. Email us at hello@getapeptalk.com or send us a message via the chat. You can also call us on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US). Remember, it's always a good time to get a PepTalk!