Sir Richard Moore

Sir Richard Moore is the former Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) who led the organisation from 2020 to 2025. Drawing on four decades of intelligence, diplomacy and national security leadership, he is an expert on cyber security, international security, geopolitical risk and the strategic implications of artificial intelligence. His experience at the centre of British intelligence gives audiences an informed perspective on the digital threats facing governments and businesses, as well as the leadership required to navigate uncertainty.

After studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford, Sir Richard became a Kennedy Scholar at Harvard University and later completed the Stanford Executive Program. He joined MI6 as an intelligence officer in 1987 and undertook postings in Vietnam, Turkey, Pakistan and Malaysia, alongside serving as an Iran desk officer in London. His diplomatic career subsequently included senior roles as British Ambassador to Turkey, Deputy National Security Adviser and Director-General for Political Affairs at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Appointed Chief of MI6 in 2020, Sir Richard led the service through war in Europe and the Middle East, growing competition between major powers and rapid technological disruption. He strengthened collaboration with international intelligence partners and private sector technology leaders, ensuring MI6 remained a world-leading intelligence organisation in an increasingly digital world. Sir Richard also made MI6 more accessible to the public, becoming the first serving Chief to give live television and radio interviews and communicate through X. Knighted in 2023 for services to UK national security and British foreign policy, he became Chair of the Kennedy Memorial Trust in 2025. He is now Senior Strategist at Sixth Street, Senior Advisor for Teneo’s Global Political Risk Advisory and a member of several global advisory bodies.

Sir Richard is hired as a cyber security speaker because he connects digital risk with the wider geopolitical and organisational forces that shape it. He explains how hostile states, artificial intelligence, technological dependency and hybrid threats can affect operations, investment and reputation. He shows leaders why resilience depends on sound judgement, trusted partnerships, strong culture and effective decision-making under pressure. Combining lessons from the secret world with wit, warmth and a distinctly human perspective, Sir Richard equips audiences to assess emerging threats, challenge assumptions and lead confidently in an increasingly contested digital environment.