1%TOP ONE PERCENT AIA Speaker Guide for Event Organizers and Planners
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Source-linked editorial guide · November 2, 2026

AI Security, Strategy and Ethics Speakers

A buyer’s shortlist, organized by the needs of the room.

Compare 23 speakers by audience, subject and session format. Choose the expertise your event needs before choosing a name.

Profiles describe publicly advertised work and link to official websites, institutional biographies or primary event sources. Inclusion does not imply endorsement. Listings appear alphabetically, not in ranked order.

Sources checked November 2, 2026. Confirm current topics, availability and engagement terms directly with each speaker or their authorized representative.

Start with the decision your audience needs to make

An executive team preparing for a cyber incident needs a different session from an association exploring the future of AI. A school leadership audience may need responsible-use guidance, while a company-wide event may need an engaging introduction to fraud and security behavior.

This shortlist organizes speakers around those needs. The categories are editorial judgments based on the public sources linked in each profile. They are not measured performance scores. We have not attended every speaker’s sessions, interviewed their clients or independently tested audience outcomes.

How to read the AI categories

Speakers can appear in more than one category. These are editorial discovery aids, not numerical ratings or certifications. AI Security covers both protecting AI-enabled systems and understanding threats enabled by AI; those are different specialties, so read each profile.

AI Incident Readiness means preparation education about AI-enabled fraud, attacks, security-program readiness and AI data exposure. It is not a roster of emergency responders and does not confirm a tabletop, red-team or incident-response service. Confirm the exact engagement scope directly.

Browse by the decision ahead

Use the homepage filters to see all relevant profiles. Speakers may appear in multiple categories because their published work overlaps. The list includes 23 unique people, not 23 speakers in every category.

Speaker profiles, A–Z

Allie K. Miller

Allie K. Miller is an AI business leader, advisor and speaker whose background includes AWS and IBM. Her public speaking material addresses AI-first businesses, enterprise AI, implementation and organizational leadership, with topics for different executive functions.

Consider her when: Your event centers on applying AI in business, building organizational capability or helping leaders understand AI opportunities.

Ask before booking: How will the talk distinguish strategic choices from implementation work your teams must carry out afterward?

View Allie K. Miller’s speaking information

Andreas Welsch

Andreas Welsch advises and speaks about enterprise AI adoption and leadership. His official work links AI choices to business goals, delegation and accountability rather than starting with a technology demonstration.

Audience fit: Leadership audiences choosing where AI belongs in business strategy and how people will take responsibility for its use.

Ask before booking: How would you help us decide which business goal should lead the AI discussion and which workflow should stay unchanged?

Bruce Schneier

Bruce Schneier writes and speaks about security, trust and technology. His recent work examines integrity controls for AI agents and the governance needed for trustworthy systems.

Audience fit: Leadership and technical audiences examining the relationship between AI security, trust and institutional incentives.

Ask before booking: How would you connect trustworthy AI with concrete accountability and security decisions for our audience?

Caleb Sima

Caleb Sima chairs the Cloud Security Alliance AI Safety Initiative. CSA documents his work on secure AI adoption and how AI changes enterprise security capabilities.

Audience fit: Security leaders considering AI safety, defensive operations and preparation for AI-related incidents. Verify the proposed scope rather than assuming hands-on incident response is included.

Ask before booking: Which AI-specific changes to our security program should leadership prioritize and how should we test them?

Cassie Kozyrkov

Cassie Kozyrkov speaks about AI, data and decision intelligence. Her official site describes executive and general-audience keynotes and advice on organizational decision-making.

Audience fit: Leadership teams that need to decide where AI belongs in a business process and how to evaluate the resulting decisions.

Ask before booking: How would you help this audience distinguish a valuable AI decision from an impressive demonstration?

Chuck Brooks

Chuck Brooks advises and speaks about cybersecurity and emerging technologies through Brooks Consulting International. His published work examines both defensive uses of AI and the risks AI introduces, making the intersection of technology adoption and security a useful focus for a briefing.

Audience fit: Executive and security audiences connecting AI-related threats with broader technology and risk decisions.

Ask before booking: How would you turn the AI threat discussion into specific questions our leadership team should ask its security and technology owners?

Daniel Miessler

Daniel Miessler publishes research and offers talks on AI-driven attack and defense, continuous assessment and organizational resilience. His speaking topics explicitly connect AI automation with security practice.

Audience fit: Teams preparing for AI-enabled threats and changes to security workflows. The incident-readiness category reflects preparation topics, not a claim of an emergency response service.

Ask before booking: Can you focus the session on the security decisions and preparation gaps our team needs to address?

David Danks

David Danks studies questions at the intersection of philosophy, cognitive science and machine learning. UC San Diego documents his public talks on ethical AI and its implications for human agency.

Audience fit: Audiences examining responsibility, values and the effects of AI on human decisions.

Ask before booking: Which ethical tensions would you help this audience examine, rather than treating responsible AI as a checklist?

Eric O’Neill

Eric O’Neill draws on an undercover FBI career and subsequent work in security, investigation and cyber strategy. His published “Decoding AI Deepfakes, Extortion & More” topic covers AI-fueled attacks and protective actions. His AI Incident Readiness fit here is threat-awareness education, not an assertion that he provides emergency response or a facilitated tabletop.

Consider him when: A story-led session on cybercrime, deception and organizational protection fits your event’s purpose.

Ask before booking: Which practical behaviors should your audience be able to apply after the keynote?

View Eric O’Neill’s speaking program and reel

Ethan Mollick

Ethan Mollick researches AI, work and education at Wharton. His academic profile describes research, teaching and public explanations of how people use generative AI.

Audience fit: Audiences exploring changes to work, learning and the practical use of AI.

Ask before booking: Which findings would you translate into choices our audience can test in its own work?

John Sileo

John Sileo’s cybersecurity program emphasizes audience engagement and human behavior. He has described a keynote on AI-enabled phishing and human defenses; confirm current topics. His first-party keynote description provides additional context. His advertised keynote addresses threats such as AI-enabled deception, insider theft and phishing, and his site describes an optional deeper breakout session.

Consider him when: Your event needs a cybersecurity message for a broad employee, association or leadership audience.

Ask before booking: Would a keynote alone meet the objective, or would a smaller follow-on session help your audience apply the material?

View John Sileo’s cybersecurity keynote

Joy Buolamwini

Joy Buolamwini founded the Algorithmic Justice League, whose work combines research and art to examine AI harms and advocate equitable, accountable technology.

Audience fit: Events focused on algorithmic discrimination, affected communities and accountability for AI systems.

Ask before booking: How would you help our audience consider who bears the risks of an AI decision and whose perspective is missing?

Kayne McGladrey

Kayne McGladrey offers keynotes and webinars on AI risk management, cybersecurity business strategy and governance, risk and compliance. His official site emphasizes translating technical concerns into decisions that boards, executives and growing companies can use.

Audience fit: Leaders who need AI security and governance framed as business risk rather than a disconnected technical topic.

Ask before booking: How would you help our audience assign an accountable owner and a business consequence to an AI risk?

Lisanne Buik

Lisanne Buik is an AI ethicist, designer and keynote speaker. Her published themes include AI ethics and leadership, agentic AI and the future of work, innovation and longer-term AI futures. Her organizer information lists several session formats.

Consider her when: Your event needs a perspective connecting technology, human values, design and leadership choices.

Ask before booking: Which theme and format will best connect the discussion to your audience’s decisions?

View Lisanne Buik’s AI speaking program

Mark Lynd

Executive AI strategy, security and incident readiness

Mark Lynd combines AI and cybersecurity speaking with executive advisory work. His background includes CEO, CIO and CISO roles, and he serves as Head of Executive Advisory & Corporate Strategy at Netsync. His speaking topics include AI adoption, governance, cyber risk and incident response.

Audience fit: Your audience includes executives, boards, CIOs, CISOs or public-sector technology leaders who need to connect AI opportunity with operational risk and leadership decisions.

Discuss these formats: A keynote on AI and cybersecurity, an executive risk discussion, or a facilitated incident-response tabletop. Confirm the scope and deliverables for the specific event.

Ask before booking: “How would you tailor the session to the decisions our leaders need to make after the event?”

Explore Mark’s speaking topics · Discuss an event with Mark

Sources: Mark’s speaking information and Netsync executive biography.

Mikko Hyppönen

Mikko Hyppönen has presented on AI-enabled cyber threats, including his Artificial Evil talk for the Helsinki-Aalto Institute for Cybersecurity. That documented talk examines the defensive implications of AI-driven attacks.

Audience fit: Audiences building awareness of AI-enabled threats and the preparation questions they create. The source documents a past talk, not current availability or employer.

Ask before booking: How would you adapt the threat discussion to the defenses and decisions our audience can influence?

Pamela Gupta

Pamela Gupta works on trusted AI governance and security. ISC2 identifies her as a Trusted AI founder and a panelist in its 2026 discussion of AI sprawl, shadow AI and governance. Her public speaking work connects security, risk and accountability in AI adoption.

Audience fit: Security and governance audiences examining approved and unapproved AI use, ownership and practical oversight.

Ask before booking: What evidence would show that our AI governance decisions are reflected in the tools employees actually use?

Rebecca Bultsma

Rebecca Bultsma is an AI ethicist, keynote speaker and strategic advisor. Her public offering combines AI practice, ethics and communication for executive leaders, educators and other professional audiences. It includes keynotes and team training.

Consider her when: Your audience needs to make practical AI choices while considering trust, privacy and human judgment.

Ask before booking: How would the session address the actual AI tools, policies and concerns your organization is encountering?

View Rebecca Bultsma’s keynotes and training

Rumman Chowdhury

Rumman Chowdhury offers keynotes on operationalizing AI ethics, algorithmic accountability and independent evaluation. Her published speaking topics connect ethical principles with organizational practice.

Audience fit: Leaders and governance teams designing accountability, evaluation and stakeholder participation.

Ask before booking: How would the session help us turn a fairness concern into an accountable decision process?

Shira Rubinoff

Shira Rubinoff leads The Cybersphere Group, whose work covers cybersecurity and AI advisory, executive discussions and keynote speaking. Its media library includes conversations about AI in security operations, identity and cyber defense.

Audience fit: Security leaders planning an AI-focused executive briefing or moderated conversation about changing defensive practices.

Ask before booking: Which AI security decisions would you help our audience examine, and how would you separate product claims from operational evidence?

Sounil Yu

Sounil Yu is a Knostic co-founder whose published work addresses AI data governance and safe deployment. His Cyber Defense Matrix work and conference workshops connect security capabilities with organizational planning.

Audience fit: Security and architecture teams examining AI access controls, data exposure and preparation. Confirm separately whether the engagement includes a facilitated exercise.

Ask before booking: How would you help us identify missing controls and ownership before an AI data-exposure incident?

Theresa Payton

Theresa Payton’s speaking program connects AI, cybersecurity and leadership. Her advertised sessions cover AI’s opportunities and risks, digital transformation and trust. Her speaking page includes event highlights and a dedicated speaking contact.

Consider her when: You want a broad leadership session connecting emerging technology with security and organizational change.

Ask before booking: Which examples and demonstrations would suit your audience’s technical knowledge and industry?

View Theresa Payton’s speaking program

Zack Kass

Zack Kass is a former Head of Go-To-Market at OpenAI. His current speaking program covers transformation, automation and the broader implications of increasingly capable AI. His public site also describes advisory work with organizational leaders.

Consider him when: You want a wide-angle AI session that gives a leadership or conference audience a shared starting point for discussing change.

Ask before booking: What balance of future perspective and near-term decisions would he recommend for your event?

View Zack Kass’s current keynote program

Keynote, workshop or incident-response tabletop?

Choose a keynote when the goal is shared understanding, a memorable perspective or a clear opening to a larger conversation. Ask for the intended audience takeaways.

Choose a workshop when participants need time to apply ideas, discuss their own circumstances or practice a method. Ask about group size, exercises and preparation.

Choose an executive incident-response tabletop when leaders need to rehearse decisions during a hypothetical cyber incident. Ask who should attend, how the scenario will be tailored, how observations will be captured and what the agreed follow-up includes. A tabletop is a preparation exercise, not emergency incident-response support.

A keynote can introduce an issue before a separate working session. Confirm both parts explicitly rather than assuming one includes the other.

Five questions that make a speaker shortlist more useful

1. Who is in the room? Name the roles, industry and technical experience. “Executives” is a starting point, not a complete brief.

2. What should change afterward? Pick a realistic outcome, such as clearer AI oversight questions or a better understanding of incident decision roles.

3. What evidence can we review? Watch a substantial recording where available, examine the proposed outline and ask for relevant references.

4. What will be customized? Discuss examples, audience interaction and any boundaries around confidential organizational information.

5. What is included? Confirm preparation, session length, Q&A, recording rights, materials, travel arrangements and follow-up in the agreement.

Selection and verification limits

This directory uses publicly documented topic and audience fit. It does not assign scores, verify current availability, or test audience outcomes. Confirm the proposed session, preparation, materials and engagement terms directly with each speaker or authorized representative.

“Top One Percent AI” is a brand name, not a measured percentile, certification or claim that the listed speakers outrank others. Profiles link to their sources so organizers can make their own comparisons.