Speaking

Bringing Operational Clarity to the Conversation

I speak on the subjects I have spent my career working in, with the directness of someone who has carried the consequences of the decisions being discussed. No slides full of acronyms. No theory without practice.

Topics

Defence Modernisation

What transformation actually looks like inside defence institutions, why programmes stall, and what separates the organisations that deliver from those that just plan.

National Security in a Contested World

Readiness, resilience and the gap between strategy and capability. How allied nations can strengthen collective security in an era of persistent competition.

AI, Technology and the Military

Deploying AI, hybrid cloud and cyber security where the stakes are highest. The operational realities of bringing emerging technology into defence and national security.

Leadership Under Pressure

Leading in high-consequence environments, from the battlefield to the boardroom. Purpose, presence, plain speaking and the culture that holds organisations together when it matters.

Defence Procurement

Why defence procurement is harder than it needs to be, what industry and government get wrong about each other, and how to close the gap between intent and delivery.

Allied Interoperability

Deep experience across the Five Eyes and NATO. The political, cultural and operational realities of making multinational defence cooperation work in practice.

Speaker Bio

Derek Dobson

Derek Dobson MBE MA MBA is Lead Client Partner, Defence and National Security, at IBM Consulting Canada. A former British and Canadian Army officer, he has led operations in Northern Ireland, Iraq, the Balkans and Sierra Leone, commanded Her Majesty’s Royal Guard, instructed jungle warfare across four continents, and led officer training at the Canadian Infantry School. He was awarded the MBE for exceptional services in defence digitisation.

Since leaving the Army, Derek has built global defence practices at EY and led Microsoft’s defence, intelligence and public safety business in Canada. He serves on the boards of Colleges and Institutes Canada and CADSI, and writes The Sharp End on Substack.

Podcast and Panel Appearances

Mission Command and Modernization: Exploring Change in the Defence Sector

Wired For Change podcast. A conversation on mission command, defence modernisation and what change actually looks like inside defence institutions.

Watch on YouTube

Driving Digital Insurgency to Success

The Vanguard Podcast. Digital transformation in defence with Chris Pogue (Thales Canada).

Listen

Defence Modernization in the Era of AI

DIGITAL Supercluster webinar panel, July 2026. On AI, integrated data systems and sovereign control of data in defence modernisation.

Trends in Defence and Security: Defence Digitalization

EXA Group podcast, February 2023. A conversation with host Alex McPhail on the growing influence of big tech in the defence and security sector.

Listen

Cyber Security, Corporate Hierarchies and the Potential of MBA

Muhammad Usama podcast. A wide-ranging conversation on cyber security, leadership in corporate hierarchies, and the value of an MBA in defence and technology.

Watch on YouTube

Military Innovation and Procurement’s Nexus with C4ISR

Defence Deconstructed podcast, Canadian Global Affairs Institute, November 2023. Panel discussion on defence procurement and C4ISR with RAdm Lou Carosielli, MGen Peter Dawe and Christopher Zimmer.

Listen

Book a Speaking Engagement

Whether it is a keynote, a panel, a leadership session or an industry roundtable, I am always open to conversations with organisers who want substance over slides.

Get in Touch