Gemma Ungoed-Thomas

Gemma Ungoed-Thomas is a nonresident senior fellow at the Adrienne Arsht National Security Resilience Initiative in the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. She is also a visiting senior research fellow at King’s College London.

She was previously the director for state threats, cyber, and technology in the Cabinet Office of the government of the United Kingdom, where she led national strategy at the intersection of security, advanced technology, and resilience. She shaped the United Kingdom’s £2 billion National Cyber Strategy, developed the first Counter State Threats Strategy, and co-chaired the National Cyber Advisory Board, convening senior leaders across government, industry, and civil society to strengthen systemic resilience.

Prior to that role, she was the private secretary to the prime minister on home affairs and homeland security, leading cross-government responses to counterterrorism incidents, national cyber events, and major crises such as the Afghanistan evacuation. At the National Cyber Security Centre, she established and led national incident response teams and oversaw the development of the United Kingdom’s cyber incident response capability, managing multidisciplinary operations handling the most significant national cyberattacks. She has also held senior roles at Government Communications Headquarters, leading cross-government cyber defense initiatives and contributing to the development of the United Kingdom’s first National Offensive Cyber Strategy.