Board Cyber and Operational Resilience
Strengthen governance, regulatory alignment and crisis response in the cyber space.
Course key facts
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Date
8 - 9 September 2026
Duration
2 days
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Credits
Non credit bearing
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Format
In-person
Fee
£5,000
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Location
On Campus (South Kensington)
Overview
This programme is built for senior and Board-level leaders who need to reshape how their organisation approaches digital risk. With the PRA and FCA extending supervisory oversight - and government guidance now urging firms to strengthen defences against AI-enabled cyber threats - accountability sits squarely with the Boardroom. The challenge is enabling confident oversight of resilience and incident response, even where technical depth at Board level is limited.
Moving from compliance to capability, the course addresses what cyber resilience now demands: Board-level ownership, integration with operational resilience, and clear regulatory alignment. You will leave with a stronger, more holistic view of risk - one that supports decisive action and sustained organisational resilience.
Across two focused, practical days, you will explore:
- Characteristics of a resilient leader under crisis
- The ecosystem of cyber threats and resilience
- Incident response and crisis handling
- Governance structures and controls
- Third-party risk oversight
Course details
- Understand Board-level cyber governance responsibilities.
- Interpret PRA and FCA expectations.
- Strengthen operational resilience oversight.
- Challenge executive management effectively.
- Make confident decisions during cyber incidents.
- Improve crisis leadership capability.
- Enhance Board-level reporting.
- Develop long-term governance capability.
- Executive Directors and Non-Executive Directors.
- Board Chairs and Board committee members.
- CEOs, COOs, CROs, CIOs, CISOs, and CTOs.
- Operational resilience, risk, audit, and compliance leaders.
Through this programme you will learn to address:
- Rising cyber threats and digital vulnerabilities.
- Increasing regulatory and compliance demands.
- The need for secure, trusted, and resilient digital ecosystems.
Learning journey
Expert instructors combine with real-world exercises and applied practice to strengthen leadership capability - so you can lead with confidence through cyber disruption.
- Regulatory Expectations: Understanding PRA and FCA requirements for Board-level cyber governance. Bank of England oversight frameworks and supervisory expectations. Board accountability under SM&CR and operational resilience rules.
- Topical Threats & Response Strategies: Current cyber threat landscape facing UK financial services. Building operational resilience and business continuity frameworks. Incident management protocols and board decision-making during crises.
- Cyber in an Interconnected Threat Landscape: Cyber risk sits within a wider, interconnected ecosystem. A single incident can create cascading impacts across operations, third parties, and critical infrastructure such as energy and supply chains.
- Are you resilient in a crisis: In a crisis, outcomes depend on the resilience of those in charge. Boards must make critical decisions under pressure with limited information, while maintaining clarity and control.
- Peer Learning & Network Strength: Leveraging shared experience and real-world scenarios to strengthen Board effectiveness, and building the professional networks that enable faster insight and collective resilience.
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Your Instructors
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Lord George Robertson
Chancellor, University of Dundee10th NATO Secretary General (1999–2003), UK Defence Secretary (1997–1999), Member of UK Parliament & House of Lords and Advocate for resilience leadership
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Director of the Centre for Active Resilience and Security (CARS)
Head of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ and President of the Royal Institute of Navigation (2024–Present).
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Lord Toby Harris
Chair, National Preparedness Commission (est. 2020)Former President, Institute of Strategic Risk Management and Former Member, House of Lords Select Committees on Personal Internet Security and on Democracy & Digital Technologies.
Natasha Grant
Deputy Director, UK Cabinet Office (COBR)Former Head of Operations & Performance, UKSA and Former Head of Border Security Policy, Home Office
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George Bowman
Deputy Director, UK Cabinet Office (COBR)Leads National Crisis Response (COBR) and Former Head of Policy Unit, Home Office
Professor of Practice at ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ
Former founding Managing Director of NATO DIANA, Ex-Whitehall official advising on counter-terrorism and PhD in Physics from King's College London
Manu Sharma
Visiting Professor, ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏPartner, Grant Thornton UK, Skilled Person under Bank of England regulations and part of TheCityUK consultation board on operational resilience for financial services
Contact us
Kathryn Gresty
Senior Programme Administrator
- Phone: +44 (0)20 7594 6882
- Email: cpd@imperial.ac.uk
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