On May 9th, 2024, we hosted our inaugural UK Defense Day in London, themed “Navigating the Contemporary Defense and Security Threat Landscape: A Moody's Perspective”.

Our main aims for the session were to:

• Facilitate a conversation about how data and analytics from traditionally non-defense resources can contribute to and support the defense and security mission.
• Build a strategic partnership with the UK Government to help secure peace and prosperity for the UK and its allies.
   

The event was a resounding success, bringing together members of the UK’s defense and security sectors to share insights and make connections.

Rob Fauber, our President, and CEO recently said:

“The world has grown incredibly complex. Risk has grown more complex. Supply chain failures; cyberattacks; geopolitical tensions; sanctions and security issues; and extreme weather events — all playing out against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and social unrest.

It’s clear: we’re now living in a new era. The Era of RiskN – Exponential Risk.”

We are linked by technology, trade, culture, and commerce. This means that risks no longer exist in isolation. As organizations and nations are linked, so too are the risks they face.

For government agencies, understanding this new era is imperative; resiliency and sustainable value creation depend on recognizing and adapting to exponential risk. It is also an opportunity, not just to understand exponential risk, but to get ahead of it.
 

Keynote session - General Sir Richard Barrons of UDSS

The proceedings began with a keynote from General Sir Richard Barrons of UDSS, who drew from his experiences leading the Joint Forces Command. His focus on lessons from the war in Ukraine drove home the reality that we are in a 'pre-war era', where a mix of great power confrontation and environmental issues, fueled by the transformative effect of the digital age, presents a combination of risks that take us back to a state of existential peril, witnessed after the effects of World Wars 1, 2, and the cold war. His call for a robust fusion of private and public sectors underscores the urgent need for collaborative innovation in safeguarding our sovereignty.

The private sector has invested in people and resources to produce data & technology that, if mobilized and connected to the public sector, could be harnessed, and developed quickly to move faster and be more effective in building and demonstrating resilience.

“Moody’s has capabilities that are ready to be applied right now into defense and national security in a pace-setting way. We know what Moody’s can do and it is genuinely impressive, and oven-ready!” - General Sir Richard Barrons of UDSS.
 

The Moody’s Perspective: Decode risk, unlock opportunities

Our Moody’s presenters provided insights into the unique capabilities we have in this space. They covered macroeconomic impacts arising from ongoing conflicts, interconnected risks, and the roles of major global players in the defense landscape. David Platt - Chief Strategic Development Officer, outlined Moody's future trajectory, steering us from traditional credit analysis towards mastering exponential risks.

We champion the power of data and analytics to deal with the full range of defense and security threats that emerge and change rapidly in a world of growing uncertainty. We help interpret those threats, decode risks, and unlock opportunities, with our blend of expertise and capabilities in the financial, commercial, cyber, climate, and intelligence domains, along with significant political and military knowledge. Our goal is to enhance the security of supply chains and uncover key insights into geopolitical, technological, and resource-related factors.

Overall, this event provided an exceptional opportunity to foster collaboration between the public and private sector and that spirit that was palpable throughout the event.