CAL Conference 2026
Leadership Resilience and Warfighting
Thursday, 19 November 2026 - Online
As the UK and NATO confront an increasingly contested and uncertain security environment, resilience has become a critical factor in national defence and warfighting effectiveness. This conference will examine the meaning of resilience in the context of modern conflict. It will discuss what military and civilian leaders should understand, anticipate and prioritise to enhance resilience and operational effectiveness?
This hybrid event will bring together participants from across Defence alongside leading experts from business, government and the third sector to examine these questions and develop a shared understanding of resilience in a warfighting context. Through a series of keynote presentations, panel discussions and facilitated debates, the conference will explore resilience at multiple levels: personal resilience, Army resilience, societal resilience and NATO resilience.
The distinctive feature of this conference is its deliberate integration of military and civilian perspectives. Rather than viewing resilience solely through an operational, organisational, or societal lens, the event will place leadership at the centre of the discussion. It will examine how leaders can build, sustain, and enhance resilience before, during and after periods of conflict, and what capabilities, behaviours and priorities will be most important in the years ahead.
Confirmed speakers:
Iryna Nykorak, member of the Ukrainian Parliament
Maj Gen Nick Cowley OBE, DLeadership
Lord Toby Harris
ASM WO1 J S Miller
CGS General Sir 'Roly' Walker KCB DSO ADC Gen
CAL Conference 2025
Leadership and Artificial Intelligence
Tuesday, 18 November 2025 - Online
The link between leadership and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving. AI offers leaders opportunities to enhance decision-making, streamline operations, personalise communication, and manage teams through data-driven insights.
AI is set to enable predictive analysis, improved efficiency, and lead to faster strategic planning. However, AI also presents challenges, including ethical concerns about bias, transparency, and privacy. Leaders must navigate job displacement, ensure accountability for AI-driven outcomes, and maintain trust among teams.
Leadership in the age of Artificial Intelligence requires leveraging its capabilities while safeguarding values, inclusivity, and moral judgment. It is not just about how leaders use AI as a tool but also how AI is reshaping leadership itself.
Keynote speakers are:
- 9:50 am - Welcome by Lieutenant Colonel David Falconer, SO1 Leadership
- 10:00 am - Opening address by Major General Nick Cowley OBE, Director Leadership
- 10:10 am - Keynote speech one by Professor Alan Brown, University of Exeter
- 10:35 am - Keynote speech two by Jenny Griffiths MBE, Oracle
- 11:00 - Break
- 11:30 am - Panel Chair Joyce Hakmeh, Chatham House
- Panel discussion with Alan Brown; Jenny Griffiths MBE, Natalie Billingham, Chris Loveday, and Laura Spear.
- 12:30 Lunch
- 1:30 pm - Keynote speech three by Brigadier Richard Byfield MBE, CDDO
- 1:50 pm - Keynote speech four, case study;
- Experimental & Trials Group (Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Dawe)
- 2:20 pm - Keynote speech five, case study;
- AI and autonomy on Operations(Lieutenant Colonel Haydn Gaukroger OBE)
- 2:30 - Break
- 3 pm - Panel Chair Claire Fry, Senior Civil Servant, UKStratCom
- Panel discussion with Brigadier Richard Byfield MBE, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Dawe, Lieutenant Colonel Haydn Gaukroger OBE, and Lieutenant Colonel Kitty Small.
- 4 pm - Conclusion by Army Sergeant Major, Warrant Office Class One John Miller
- 4:15 pm - Closing address by Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Roland Walker KCB, DSO ADC Gen
- 4:45 pm - Thank you and farewell Lieutenant Colonel David Falconer, SO1 Leadership
Text
Conference 25 support documents
Leadership and Artificial Intelligence
Resources pack
Leadership and Artificial Intelligence
Facilitators notes
Leadership and Artificial Intelligence
2025 brochure
Leadership and Artificial Intelligence
Video guide
Archer
Cutting edge communications
Sponsor of CAL Conference 25
Sponsor of CAL Conference 25
CAL Conference 2024 - Leadership and Mission Command
The CAL Conference 2024 took place on 28 November 2024.
Focused on understanding of the role of Leadership in the successful application of mission command on operations.
In the morning, speakers discussed how intent-based leadership can enhance operational effectiveness and achieve operational success as well as how leaders can foster trust, disciplined initiative, shared understanding, freedom, and speed of action.
In the afternoon, the conference looked at the role of leadership in applying mission command on different kinds of operations (kinetic, crisis-management, disaster relief, peacekeeping, close protection, etc).
The conference and the Q&A discussions will contribute to the Centre for Army Leadership’s work on the new Doctrine Note on Mission Command (to be published in 2025).
Official conference sponsors
VINCI Facilities
Providing sustainable and responsible solutions for the UK’s built environment.
BAE Systems
BAE Systems, we provide some of the world's most advanced, technology-led defence, aerospace and security solutions.
Conference 24 support documents
CAL Conference 2023
The Centre for Army Leadership annual online conference took take place on 28 November 2023. The speakers included:
- Director Leadership, Major General Zac Stenning OBE
- Ira Chaleff, author, speaker and authority on ethical followership and intelligent disobedience
- Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, former Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England
- Professor Olga Onuch, Professor of Comparative and Ukrainian Politics, University of Manchester
- Professor Sam Greene, Professor of Russian Politics, Kings College London
Conference 23 Support Documents