Stuart Peach Keynote Speaker

Air Chief Marshal The Lord Stuart Peach KG GBE KCB DL is a globally respected strategist, diplomat and leader with more than four decades of service across defence, intelligence and international security. He served as Chief of the Defence Staff (2016–2018), leading the UK’s armed forces through a period of rapid geopolitical change, and then as Chair of the NATO Military Committee (2018–2021), strengthening alliance readiness and collective security.

From December 2021 until March 2025, Lord Peach acted as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the Western Balkans, navigating complex diplomatic challenges and helping shape the UK’s role in regional stability and cooperation. In November 2022 he was elevated to the House of Lords, sitting as a Crossbench Peer, and in 2024 was appointed Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter, one of the UK’s highest honours.

He is also a published author of works such as Perspectives on Air Power: Air Power in Its Wider Context, and has forewords in books including Tornado GR1: An Operational History. His honorary doctorates and fellowships from University of Sheffield, Kingston University, and Downing College, Cambridge attest to his academic influence and commitment to thought leadership.

Lord Peach brings to speaking engagements an unmatched combination of operational experience, strategic foresight and diplomatic acumen. He offers audiences deep insight into future security trends, alliance building, crisis leadership and how defence intersects with politics, economy and society in an unstable world.