Board of Directors

Valerie Abend is the CEO of FS-ISAC. She is a globally recognized cybersecurity and resilience expert with more than 30 years of experience in the private and public sectors, including as an industry practitioner, board director, advisor and consulting practice leader, and public servant.

Previously, Abend was a Senior Managing Director at Accenture, leading the Global Financial Services Security practice, where she advised C-Suite executives, Boards of Directors, and policymakers on managing and overseeing cyber risk and resilience. She has also served on various boards around the world, including the Cloud Security Alliance and the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Cyber Security Advisory Panel.

Prior to joining Accenture, Abend led efforts to improve the security and resilience of the financial system at various financial authorities and as a Managing Director at Bank of New York Mellon. She has testified before Congress and is frequently quoted in the media on cybersecurity issues.

Prior to joining Northern Trust, Kristina was the CISO at CRC Group
Insurance where she led the divestiture from Truist Bank and built the first
security program for the standalone company. Before moving to CRC,
Kristina was the Head of Information Security Governance and Cyber Risk
Standards at AIG where she oversaw governance, board reporting, and
regulatory engagement. In addition, she served as the primary liaison to
AIG’s Global Cyber Insurance practice and was responsible for identifying
and developing cyber risk standards, best practices, and strategies around
technology and cybersecurity with the goal of improving underwriting
efforts. Kristina was also Senior Vice President for Information Security and
Cyber Policy at Wells Fargo. She represented Wells Fargo in cybersecurity
policy initiatives and forums with industry and government partners to
support company information security priorities.

Before joining the private sector, Kristina served as the Cyber Education and
Awareness Branch Chief at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She
served as the senior leader and expert on public policy issues related to
cybersecurity education, awareness, training, and general outreach
activities. Kristina was also a key member of the Department’s Strategic
Review team that oversaw the creation of what is now the Cybersecurity
Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). She also worked directly with the
Deputy Secretary of DHS and played a key role in coordinating and drafting
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Grant Guidance.
A native of Bethlehem, PA, she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s
degrees from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. She is also the head
swim coach at Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington, VA.

Carlton is a recognised cyber leader who actively contributes to the financial sector cyber risk agenda.

Global Head of Cyber and Data Risk at LSEG, which provides financial market infrastructure and financial market data services, Carlton also participates in several strategic financial sector groups, including:

G7 Cyber Experts Group
Bank of England CMORG Cyber Group
FSCCC Steering Committee

Prior to joining LSEG in May 2022, Carlton held various infosec roles at HSBC and JPMorgan. His experience spans governance, risk, and controls and his knowledge of technical security disciplines is extensive, including security architecture, data security, and application security.