As a senior executive at Sterling Bank & Trust, led the charge in restoring regulatory confidence and addressing a formal OCC agreement related to Information Security, Business Continuity, and Vendor Management. Built and led the Information Security, Business Continuity, and Vendor Management departments from the ground up, creating robust programs that fortified the bank’s security infrastructure. By implementing comprehensive strategies to ensure compliance, mitigate risk, and enhance operational resilience, the bank was successfully positioned to meet and exceed regulatory requirements, while fostering a culture of security throughout the organization. These efforts restored trust with the OCC and ensured sustainable long-term growth and protection for the institution.

Executive cybersecurity advisory services designed for small to medium-sized companies, focused on helping CEOs and boards address cybersecurity risks holistically. Services include Information Security Strategy (virtual Chief Information Security Officer), board advisory, comprehensive security assessments, and tailored security training. These offerings empower business leaders to implement effective, streamlined cybersecurity strategies that align with their operational goals and budgets. The focus is on simplifying cybersecurity for executives, enabling informed decision-making, reducing risk, and ensuring organizational resilience against evolving threats.

Concurrently teaches a graduate-level Cybersecurity course that focused on core information security principles. In this role, maintains a class syllabus, assignment log, and provides additional material to help students attain a clear understanding of the fundamentals within cybersecurity. Plans and presents lectures, assignments, coursework, and in-field experiences to align with course curricula.

Served as an Executive Leader that oversaw and coordinated security efforts across the company and identified security initiatives and standards. Proactively plans, coordinates, and directs processes associated with protecting, safeguarding, and security of company assets, employees, visitors, and others.Key Contributions & Accomplishments:- Motivates team toward success, ensuring that all established goals and objectives are met within prescribed priorities/deadlines, time limitations, budgetary constraints, and delivery requirements.- As a Subject Matter Expert/Corporate Liaison, advised, guides, and assists with the formulation of goals and objectives.- Drives the design, implementation, and consistent monitoring of security policies, procedures, and programs, enforcing adherence and compliance with federal, state, and local legal regulations.

Directed oversight across all strategy, operations, and budgetary constraints, ensuring the protection of enterprise information assets and resources. Drove development and management of the Information Security Program, including coordination of security efforts that lower overall cybersecurity risk profiles for the airport. Developed and executed the Division of Aviation security policies and processes, while controlling the workflow and integrity of data, applications, and networks in accordance with the airport's overall business strategy and goal attainment.Key Contributions & Accomplishments:- Launched and approved the design of security systems based on identified cyber risks for the organization.- Oversaw a network of security personnel and vendors who safeguarded the airport’s assets, intellectual property, information systems, and the physical security of Information Technology processing facilities.- As an Executive Leader, coordinated all assigned hiring, training, coaching, evaluation, and supervision of security personnel in conjunction with the development of educational/training programs, which ensured a streamlined training operation across security policies, procedures, and standards.- Demonstrated exceptional interpersonal communication and collaboration skills by fostering and expanding relationships with other localities, state, and federal law enforcement, and other government inter-agencies.- Orchestrated incident response planning in addition to the investigation of security breaches and assisted with disciplinary and legal matters in association with such breaches. Enforced process improvements, adjustments, and remediations to disaster recovery and business continuity plans following airport security goals and objectives.

Responsible for management and enhancement of the Technology Risk and Control Framework, technology risk management methods and processes, and providing governance oversight to project teams throughout the entire organization. Broad responsibilities for ensuring consistent risk management practices are developed and deployed across the TD Bank Group and subsidiary technology environments.Accountable for driving risk management and governance strategies for emerging areas such as cloud, rapid development and deployment models, and cybersecurity, while ensuring that TD Bank Group’s Technology Risk and Control Framework is aligned to regulatory requirements and guidance, including the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) cybersecurity assessment tool and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.

Develop overall Cybersecurity strategy in response to threats by measuring and understanding risks to the Bank and the financial industry. Developed and implemented an enterprise-wide information security framework (ISO 27001/NIST 800-53r4/FFIEC/PCI DSS) to establish cybersecurity defenses against security vulnerabilities/compromises by driving Information Security cultural change within the business lines requirements.• Earn respect of regulators (FDIC/OCC) as an agent of positive change and reduction of risk. As a result, was an integral component of satisfying Formal Agreement (January 21, 2016) issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, OCC (April 15th, 2010).• Created and maintained Information Security Program, including but not limited to standards, policies, metrics, KPIs and procedures designed for business and technology units to establish and maintain a compliant, risk-focused information security platform. Status of program reported to the Board Risk Committee quarterly and to the full Board of Directors annually.• Improved the Bank’s Patch Management and Vulnerability Program, which resulted in a reduction of Critical and High vulnerabilities by 94% and shifted to a culture of near real-time vulnerability scanning and patching.• Utilized cybersecurity applications to identify information security risks and address them quickly without affecting production while providing training and testing to all employees to increase cybersecurity culture throughout the organization resulting with a reduction of phishing failure rates from 22% to YTD 1.16%.• Contributed to Information Technology operating cost reduction by ~25% (1.5MM) while increasing technology/security capabilities and reducing overall Information Security risk to the organization.

Responsible for managing and overseeing the daily processing, troubleshooting, Information Security program, facilities management and maintenance of the Bank’s IT operations, core software, network structure, policies and procedures, vendor management program, and IT Budget of 1.3 Million. Manage IT Projects from conception to completion.

Implemented special projects.

Responsible for managing and overseeing the daily processing, troubleshooting, and maintenance of the banks IT operations and core software.

Managed and maintained daily processing of banks operations including help desk, software and hardware issues (tier 2 and tier 3 levels), online banking, and on-call user support.

Completed daily procedures associated with iSeries, Internet Banking, and Network, as well as provided help desk support.