March marks Women’s History Month, a time to recognize the contributions of women across industries and leadership roles. In financial services, female Chief Information Security Officers and senior cybersecurity executives are helping shape how institutions protect customer data, secure transactions, defend digital platforms, and build trust across both traditional finance and emerging digital asset ecosystems.
Financial services now spans a wide range of security-sensitive environments, from global banks and payment networks to fintech platforms and cryptocurrency exchanges. These organizations operate under intense regulatory scrutiny while facing constant threats ranging from fraud and ransomware to nation-state attacks and platform exploitation. The following leaders represent women helping guide cybersecurity strategy across the evolving financial services landscape.
Elizabeth Joyce — Executive Vice President & Global Chief Information Security Officer, State Street
Elizabeth Joyce serves as Executive Vice President and Global Chief Information Security Officer at State Street, one of the world’s most systemically important financial institutions responsible for safeguarding trillions of dollars in assets. In her role, Joyce oversees global cybersecurity strategy, protecting the bank’s infrastructure, custody platforms, and digital financial services operations.
Before joining State Street, Joyce held multiple senior security leadership roles at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, including Senior Vice President and Chief Security Officer. Her career also includes executive positions at Symantec, Iron Mountain, and Autonomy, giving her decades of experience leading large-scale enterprise security programs across global technology and financial environments.
Ann Barron-DiCamillo — Managing Director, Global Head of Technology Optimization (Former Global Head of Cyber Operations), Citi
Ann Barron-DiCamillo is Managing Director and Global Head of Technology Optimization at Citi, where she leads initiatives focused on modernizing technology operations and strengthening risk management across one of the world’s largest banking institutions. She previously served as the bank’s Global Head of Cyber Operations, overseeing large-scale cyber defense and incident response capabilities.
Barron-DiCamillo is widely recognized across the financial services sector for her leadership in cybersecurity collaboration and threat intelligence sharing. She currently serves as Chair of the FS-ISAC Board of Directors and previously led the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) within the Department of Homeland Security, where she helped coordinate national cyber defense efforts.
Amanda West — Senior Vice President & Deputy Chief Information Officer (Former Chief Information Security Officer), First Horizon Bank
Amanda West currently serves as Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Information Officer at First Horizon Bank, where she oversees major banking technology platforms and modernization initiatives across payments, treasury services, and enterprise systems. She previously served as Chief Information Security Officer at the bank, where she guided security operations, identity management, and regulatory compliance programs.
West brings deep expertise in financial crime prevention and risk governance. Over the course of her career she has led large teams responsible for anti-money laundering, fraud prevention, cyber risk, and enterprise risk management programs. She frequently speaks at national conferences on fraud prevention and elder financial exploitation.
Dr. Alissa “Dr. Jay” Abdullah — Deputy Chief Security Officer & Senior Vice President of Emerging Corporate Security Solutions, Mastercard
Dr. Alissa Abdullah serves as Deputy Chief Security Officer and Senior Vice President of Emerging Corporate Security Solutions at Mastercard, where she helps secure one of the world’s largest payment infrastructures processing trillions of dollars in transactions annually. Her work focuses on future-focused security capabilities including identity, cryptography, AI security, and enterprise resilience.
A veteran cybersecurity leader with experience spanning both government and private sector environments, Abdullah previously served as Chief Information Security Officer at Xerox and Stryker and as Deputy Chief Information Officer of the Executive Office of the President. She is widely recognized for her thought leadership across the financial technology and cybersecurity sectors.
Michelle Stewart — Chief Information Security Officer, Safe-Guard Products
Michelle Stewart is Chief Information Security Officer at Safe-Guard Products, where she leads information security strategy and risk management for the financial services company’s global operations. Her responsibilities include overseeing governance, compliance, threat management, and incident response programs designed to protect financial data and digital platforms.
Stewart brings more than 25 years of experience in information technology and cybersecurity leadership. Earlier in her career she held senior security leadership roles at U.S. Bank and Elavon, where she helped lead incident response, security intelligence, and compliance initiatives supporting payment processing and financial services infrastructure.
Dorothy Chau — SVP of Security Assurance & APAC Data Protection Officer, Crypto.com
Dorothy Chau serves as SVP of Security Assurance and APAC Data Protection Officer at Crypto.com, where she helps oversee privacy, compliance, and security assurance functions across one of the world’s largest digital asset platforms. Her role places her at the center of efforts to strengthen trust, governance, and cyber resilience in a fast-moving financial services segment shaped by global regulatory scrutiny and high-value digital transactions.
Before joining Crypto.com, Chau held senior roles spanning fintech policy, cross-border financial affairs, and academia. Hong Kong Baptist University says she previously served as Director of Hong Kong, Macao, and Cross-border Financial Affairs at Tencent and was also a senior lecturer at the university, reflecting a background that combines financial innovation, policy engagement, and enterprise leadership.
Ruth Sandescu — Senior Director of Security Strategy and Governance, Kraken
Ruth Sandescu serves as Senior Director of Security Strategy and Governance at Kraken, where she holds a senior cybersecurity leadership role focused on security strategy and governance for a major global crypto exchange. Her position reflects the growing importance of governance, risk, and security leadership within digital asset companies operating at the intersection of finance, regulation, and cyber defense.
Sandescu has also been recognized at the industry level through her appointment to the inaugural board of directors of the Blockchain Security Standards Council, a group formed by blockchain and digital asset companies to develop security standards for the sector. While less personal background is publicly available than for some traditional bank CISOs, her board role and Kraken title clearly place her among the women helping shape cybersecurity leadership in crypto-focused financial services.
The Role of Women in Financial Cybersecurity Leadership
The financial services sector depends on strong cybersecurity leadership to protect institutions, payment systems, digital platforms, and customer assets from increasingly sophisticated threats. As the sector expands beyond traditional banking into fintech, payments, and digital assets, female CISOs and senior security executives are playing an increasingly important role in shaping cyber resilience, governance, compliance, and digital trust.
The leaders featured here reflect the breadth of modern financial services cybersecurity. Their work helps safeguard critical financial infrastructure while also influencing how the industry adapts to new technologies, new regulatory pressures, and new threat environments.
For more profiles of female cybersecurity leaders in the technology sector, explore Female CISOs to Watch in Technology.