The 2026 Senior Leadership Summit brought leaders together at voco St. David’s Cardiff on 11 November for an afternoon of insight, practical demonstrations and conversation about the future of leadership.
From the opportunities of AI to the challenges of cybercrime, this year’s sessions explored how organisations can embrace change while protecting customer trust, supporting their people and building resilience.
Simon Powell: The Human-First AI Strategy
Simon Powell, CEO of SystemsX, opened the speaker sessions by exploring how AI can improve customer experience while freeing people to focus on the work where they make the greatest difference.
Drawing on examples from customer service and travel, Simon highlighted opportunities to reduce repetitive tasks, uncover insight from customer conversations and support staff development. His message was clear: successful AI adoption depends on trust as much as technical capability.
For leaders, this means looking beyond cost savings and considering how technology can give teams more time for judgement, empathy and relationships.
Steve Evans and Le’Anne Whiteford, CGI: Exploring Sustainable Value with AI
Building on the theme of people and technology, Steve Evans, Senior Vice President at CGI, and Le’Anne Whiteford, Vice President and Human-Centred Design Strategist at CGI, explored how organisations can create sustainable value with AI.
A live challenge to create a Welsh-themed retro arcade game using ChatGPT and Codex demonstrated how quickly an idea can become something tangible. It provided a practical starting point for a wider conversation about what these capabilities mean for organisations and their people.
Their session encouraged leaders to start with the outcomes they want to achieve, considering how work should change, which skills people will need and where human oversight remains essential. Alongside the possibilities of automation came an important question: how do we build more capable organisations and people as the technology develops?
Detective Inspector Paul Hall: Secure Your Supply Chain, Secure Your Future
The afternoon also explored the responsibility that comes with increasingly connected organisations. Detective Inspector Paul Hall highlighted the importance of understanding cyber risks throughout the supply chain.
His presentation examined the consequences of an attack, from financial loss and operational disruption to reputational damage and the impact on staff wellbeing. It reinforced why cyber resilience should be part of everyday business planning and supplier relationships.
Investing in staff awareness, setting expectations for suppliers and preparing for disruption were practical steps leaders could take back to their organisations.
Simon, Paul and Le’Anne joined Lee Jones, Chair of Cnect Wales, for a panel discussion bringing together the afternoon’s themes of innovation, people, trust and resilience.
Across the sessions, the central message was consistent: leadership means making considered choices about how technology is introduced, how people are supported and how organisations prepare for change.
The afternoon rounded off with networking over food and wine, giving attendees the chance to continue discussions, share experiences and build connections with leaders from across Wales.
Thank you to all our speakers, attendees and partners for making this year’s summit such a valuable afternoon.
A special thank you to our headline sponsor, SystemsX, for supporting the event.
Meet the Speakers:
Simon Powell – CEO, SystemsX
Steve Evans – Senior Vice President | Business Consulting & Advisory Practice, CGI
Steve leads CGI’s business consulting and technology advisory practice for the UKA Strategic Business Unit. The focus is to maximise the return on investment for CGI’s clients as they digitally transform their organisations.
Founded in Canada in 1976, CGI has evolved into one of the world’s largest IT and business consulting services firms, serving as a long-term, committed partner to clients in the UK and around the world. With more than 7,500 professionals across the UK and Australia we work where our clients do business, providing local responsiveness and accountability that ensures the highest level of service and support. This local presence is backed by the capabilities of more than 95,000 professionals, providing the scale, innovation and global reach to support the delivery needs and requirements of our clients.
Paul Hall – Detective Inspector, Wales Cyber Resilience Centre
Le’Anne Whiteford – Vice President | HCD Strategist, CGI
Le’Anne helps organisations navigate complex change by bringing together strategic foresight, human-centred design, and emerging technology thinking to shape future-ready organisations. Her work focuses on helping leaders understand the implications of technological, societal, operational and workforce change, translating emerging trends into practical decisions, investment priorities and transformation strategies.
Through horizon scanning, futures thinking and Human-Centred AI (HCAI), Le’Anne supports organisations to identify opportunities, manage uncertainty and build confidence in the choices they make today. She is particularly interested in the intersection of people, technology and organisational systems.
