Alex has been government Chief Scientific Adviser for National Security for the past almost four years, offering independent advice on issues of national security, a role he leaves in March 2025.
He will share a personal assessment of some of the principal security challenges faced by modern states and an informed perspective on how entrepreneurial companies can navigate government procurement and investment processes to address these issues.
Alex van Someren
Chief Scientific Adviser for National Security, UK Government
Alex van Someren was appointed as the UK’s Chief Scientific Adviser for National Security in July 2021. He was previously a venture capital investor and entrepreneur, focusing on investing in early stage ‘deep technology’ startups.
Alex is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, an Honorary Professor of Computer Science at the University of Manchester, and a current member of the Royal Society’s Science, Industry and Translation Committee and the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). During 2019 he was the Visiting Clore Innovation Professor at the Royal College of Art.
Alex participated in the development of the BBC Microcomputer & Acorn Electron at Acorn Computer in the 1980s. He subsequently co-founded several technology companies, including ANT Software plc and nCipher plc which achieved listings on AIM and the London Stock Exchange, respectively.
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