Frank Gardner OBE Keynote Speaker, Virtual Event Speaker

Frank Gardner’s career provides audiences with a rare combination of professional expertise and personal experience. Before entering journalism, he spent nine years working in investment banking before moving into broadcasting. His subsequent career took him from international radio and television reporting to the BBC, where he became one of Britain’s most recognisable authorities on security and terrorism.

His specialist knowledge of the Middle East is underpinned by his Arabic language skills and academic background in Arabic and Islamic Studies. As a correspondent, he has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and across the wider region, developing an extensive understanding of terrorism, political instability, intelligence and the complex forces influencing international security.

Frank’s life changed dramatically in June 2004 when he and BBC cameraman Simon Cumbers were ambushed by Islamist gunmen in Riyadh. Cumbers was killed and Frank was shot multiple times. Despite sustaining life-changing injuries and being permanently paralysed in his legs, Frank returned to active reporting within a year. His bestselling memoir, Blood and Sand, chronicled both his experiences in the Middle East and his extraordinary recovery.

His achievements have been recognised with an OBE for services to journalism. Alongside his broadcasting career, Frank has established himself as a successful novelist, with four Luke Carlton thrillers including Crisis, Ultimatum, Outbreak and Invasion. His fifth novel, Ballistic, is listed for publication in 2026.

For organisations, Frank offers something particularly powerful: an expert understanding of global risk combined with a deeply human story of courage, adaptability and determination.