Adrian  Searle Profile Picture

Keynote SpeakerAdrian Searle

A Crime, Security and Leadership Expert With a Unique Range of Experience

Adrian has recently finished a three-year stint as Director of the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) and the UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU), responsible for leading the UK’s operational response to fraud and wider economic crime. During Adrian’s time at the helm, the NECC, a multi-agency unit housed in the... Read more

Biography

Adrian has recently finished a three-year stint as Director of the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) and the UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU), responsible for leading the UK’s operational response to fraud and wider economic crime. During Adrian’s time at the helm, the NECC, a multi-agency unit housed in the National Crime Agency, reoriented the collective public- and private-sector response to a more proactive, intelligence-led approach. The NCA also ran its largest-ever operation against global money laundering, there was coordinated police action across the UK against high-street fronts for money laundering, a new world-leading data fusion initiative with seven UK banks was launched, and the UK tech sector supported work against industrial scam centres operating in South East Asia. The result: relevant prosecution and conviction rates began to rise after a decade of decline.

In leading all this, Adrian drew on extensive and varied prior experience. He was previously the Head of Security and Data Risk for NatWest Bank, an advisor to the Board and critical friend to the CISO on cyber security. This followed a role as Head of Incident Management in the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), where Adrian led the cross-UK response to nationally significant cyber incidents, putting in place the necessary underpinning processes and cyber incident training.

This, in turn, drew on the experience of many years in national security-related operational and policy roles, and before that, time in the British Army and making TV documentaries.

Adrian is now a Senior Associate Fellow at RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, and a Senior Advisor to a range of technology and professional services companies including TRM Labs, a blockchain analytics company and Crest Advisory, a policing, justice and public safety focussed think tank and consultancy practice.

Popular Talks by Adrian Searle

  • Why The Current Approach To Countering Economic Crime Still Isn’t Working And What We Need To Do Differently

    – Hugely costly global compliance regimes

    – Criminals and corrupt elites continue to prosper

    – The response needs to be more dynamic and joined up

    Adrian explains how this can be done.

  • Why Public Private Partnership Is Vital to Combatting Fraud and Economic Crime, Its Current Limitations and What Needs to Change

    – Growth in PP activity across the world

    – Some examples of progress and impact

    – But still not nearly enough and some key constraints

    Adrian explains what needs to be done differently.

  • Fraud - A National and Global Security Challenge

    What can be done to turn the tide.

    – Scale of fraud continues to grow

    – Law enforcement and Governments are struggling to respond.

    Adrian explains what can be done.

  • Cyber and Fraud - How the Threats Are Increasingly Entwined

    – What do we mean by Cyber and Fraud?

    – How are the threats coming together?

    – What does this mean for how we should respond to them?