Aker All-Staff Meetup: Aker at The Movies

January 2026, Aker held its latest all-staff meetup at the prestigious Chicago Booth Business School near St Paul’s in London. The venue, adorned with portrait photographs of more than 90 Nobel Prize winners from the university’s alumni community, provided an inspiring setting for the day.

The theme of the event was “Aker at the Movies”, reflecting the third chapter in Aker Systems’ evolution. Much like the world’s greatest film franchises; Marvel, Star Wars, Rocky, and The Lord of the Rings. Aker CEO Darren Thomas then delivered an update on the political landscape alongside a high-level overview of the business strategy, his memorable entrance, dressed as Yoda from Star Wars, brought plenty of enjoyment and set the tone for the day.

This was followed by Chris Huggett, Chief Commercial Officer, who walked through the journey of Aker and the company’s transition into a new phase of growth within a diversified business. Steve Roberts, Energy and Utilities lead, shared his insights on the current market and emphasised the importance of real-time data, flexibility, and data-sharing infrastructure. Mark Rowlands, Financial Services and Insurance Lead, spoke about why the financial services sector is ideally suited to secure data platforms. Dr Stephen Allum, Aker's public sector defence lead, spoke on global data creation, Defence and National Security.

We were delighted to welcome a senior Government client who spoke about the positive impact our teams are delivering nationwide. We were also grateful to hear from a very senior industry figure from Deloitte and the CEO of Claritas - both of whom took time from their busy schedules to contribute to an engaging and insightful day.

Sir David Capewell, a member of Aker’s Board, shared his perspectives on the UK Government and the wider geopolitical landscape. Later sessions included updates from sales teams across the public and private sectors, the Aker marketing strategy, plan and brand refresh presented by Charlotte Gurney, and the alliances plan from Georgina Rollins, highlighting the importance of hyperscaler partnerships.

Attendees had opportunities to ask questions throughout the day, both during sessions and later over drinks. The event concluded with Darren Thomas announcing the Project Team of the Year Award, before everyone enjoyed Aker-branded, movie-themed cakes and socialised over drinks -bringing a memorable and inspiring day to a close.