The NED Debate, hosted in association with WTW, is one of the leading annual events for Non-Executive Directors in the UK, driving meaningful dialogue through its dynamic format and open-floor contributions.
This year’s motion — ‘This House believes AI will dramatically change corporate governance’ — puts one of the most consequential questions in boardroom life to a formal vote. The panel bringing it to life comprises leading professionals in technology, regulation, compliance, and boardroom leadership, making them ideally placed to interrogate a question that goes to the heart of what it means to be a NED in 2026 and beyond.
CHAIR:
Graham Durgan
As Chair of the Non-Executive Directors' Association (NEDA), Graham holds decades of experience guiding boards and fostering effective governance, and brings a deep understanding of board dynamics to the table.
Previously CEO of a Listed company and Chair of several entities, he is known for his extensive expertise on governance strategy and non-executive leadership.
Graham founded NEDA to address a gap he observed in the recruitment and development of NEDs; recognising that many capable professionals from non-traditional backgrounds were being overlooked for these critical roles, he created a structured approach to training NEDs - giving them the confidence and competence to step forward. This vision quickly gained traction, and NEDA has developed into a leading association, promoting excellence and diversity of thought in board-level positions. The NED Debate continues to drive these principles, tackling boardroom issues head-on through robust discussions and constructive challenge.
Graham's leadership experience extends across financial services, professional development, publishing, and inclusion advocacy. With a background in accounting, he has served as an ICAEW Council Member for over 30 years and is Chair of Emile Woolf (Holdings) Ltd - ensuring consistent quality in professional firms through IFRS and Audit testing services. Graham is also the Chair of Audeliss Executive Search and INvolve, championing global intersectional inclusion and leveling the playing field for diverse board leaders.
PROPOSING:
Sharron Gunn
Sharron Gunn is Group Chief Executive Officer of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, the UK’s professional membership body for the technology sector. She leads the Institute’s mission to make IT good for society, with a focus on sharpening BCS’ impact, strengthening its influence, and modernising its operations to keep pace with rapid technological change.
Under her leadership, BCS is transforming its membership and professional standards offer, ensuring it remains the trusted home for ethical, competent digital practitioners in the UK and internationally. Central to this work is the Institute’s Policy & Influence function, where Sharron has elevated BCS’ voice on issues such as artificial intelligence, cyber resilience, and digital inclusion, helping to shape national debate and public policy. Alongside this, she has expanded education partnerships and outreach activity to support digital skills at every level and enhance BCS’ global relevance.
Before joining BCS, Sharron spent more than two decades at ICAEW, most recently as Chief Operating Officer. There, she played a pivotal role in transforming the ACA qualification, strengthening its global competitiveness, and leading major operational and digital change.
Malcolm McCaig
Malcolm is a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Tandem Bank and Hampden Agencies Limited. In addition, he is the Chair of United Response, one of the UK’s largest charities, and the Master of the Worshipful Company of Management Consultants.
His extensive experience as a Non-Executive Director spans the past twenty years, having held the positions of Chair, various Committee Chairs and Senior Independent Director in listed companies, subsidiaries of global firms, mutual societies and private equity backed businesses. His Board experience is heavily oriented toward the financial services sector, particularly banking and insurance.
Prior to his Non-Executive career, Malcolm was an equity partner with two of the Big 4 Accountancy firms, in senior leadership roles. Alongside his involvement in professional services, he worked in industry and held senior executive roles with Prudential, National Australia Bank and Cigna.
Malcolm holds a professional qualification as a management consultant, and an honours degree in Astrophysics. In his spare time, he is a keen bagpiper and the Honorary Secretary for the Royal Scottish Pipers’ Society.
OPPOSING:
Mark Babington
Mark Babington is the Executive Director for Regulatory Standards at the FRC. He leads the division responsible for the FRC’s technical and public policy work covering audit, corporate reporting, corporate governance and stewardship, actuarial, and digital reporting and taxonomies.
Prior to joining ExCo, Mark led the FRC’s UK Audit Policy programme, implementing measures to support greater competition in the UK audit market and work to support the reform of international standard setting for auditors, by global regulatory authorities.
Mark has previous experience as a Board Member and Audit and Risk Committee Chair. He is also a member of IESBA, which sets the global Code of Ethics for the accountancy profession, and chairs IESBA’s Sustainability Task Force. Before he joined the FRC, Mark had a 20-year career in audit and was a Director at the UK National Audit Office.
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Alla Konnikov
Alla Konnikov is a Managing Director of Complyport Limited, a UK-qualified solicitor and senior governance and regulatory specialist with over 20 years’ experience across financial services, legal practice and regulatory consultancy. At Complyport, she leads people, operations and resourcing, aligning organisational capability with the firm’s strategic ambitions.
Alla combines legal and regulatory expertise, commercial judgement and psychology training to make governance work in practice. Her focus is on how Boards reach decisions, challenge assumptions and turn agreed priorities into action.
She holds SMF16 (Compliance Oversight) and SMF17 (Money Laundering Reporting Officer) responsibilities within an FCA-authorised investment firm, with direct accountability for compliance oversight and financial crime prevention.
Alla is a Director of the London Governance and Compliance Academy and the Association of Governance, Risk and Compliance. She also serves as a Non-Executive Director across several firms, including an FCA-registered cryptoasset service provider, bringing independent scrutiny to strategy, risk and executive decisions.
(Please note: No one should assume that the Debater's personal views do or do not coincide with the side of the motion for which they are arguing. Debate sides are allocated at random).
REGISTER FOR THE EVENT:
The 2026 NED Debate will be taking place on Thursday 5th November at 51 Lime Street, London.
Spaces are limited, so be sure to register your place now. Learn more here.
The NED Debate is hosted in conjunction with Willis Towers Watson (WTW).
And is proud to be sponsored by Equiniti and CIMA:
With support from NEDA's partners, Grant Thornton and CMS.
