Head of Cybersecurity Defense Operations

Manages the activities and strategic priorities of multiple cybersecurity departments. Responsible for financial and human capital planning to ensure short- and long-term strategic efforts support and protect the Bank from internal and external cybersecurity threats.

Drive the development and execution of comprehensive cybersecurity strategies, ensuring alignment with overall cybersecurity vision and organizational needs. Partner with Cyber senior leadership and Finance to direct business and financial resources effectively based on risk assessments and strategic priorities. Monitor and review the effectiveness of risk measurement strategy, update assessments and procedures in partnership with technology risk and enterprise risk teams and communicate risk status to senior management. Lead strategic initiatives across Cybersecurity that drive continuous improvement and operational efficiencies, while maintaining or improving overall outcomes. Establish and maintain incident response policies and procedures, ensuring they align with industry best practices and regulatory requirements. Collaborate with engineering and architecture teams to select appropriate security technologies that align with overall technology roadmap and cybersecurity goals. Leverage industry knowledge and expertise to inform best practices and policies, ensuring continued compliance with applicable laws and regulations. May represent organization in industry forums and regulatory engagements to understand and address cybersecurity-related legal and regulatory requirements. Create strong workforce plan to meet business needs, including (but not limited to) mentoring and coaching high potential team members, developing career paths and succession planning for key roles, identifying training needs and gaps, and establishing culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration. Guide creation and maintenance of internal Cybersecurity training needs to deliver security awareness and training programs across the Bank. Develop Cybersecurity strategy and programs that strategically meets the needs and addresses the challenges of the organization. Partner with procurement and vendor management teams to assess vendor security controls, conduct due diligence, and negotiate appropriate security provisions in contracts. Exercise usual authority of a manager concerning staffing, performance appraisals, promotions, salary recommendations, performance management and terminations. Understand and adhere to the Company’s risk and regulatory standards, policies, and controls in accordance with the Company’s Risk Appetite. Design, implement, maintain, and enhance internal controls to mitigate risk on an ongoing basis. Identify risk-related issues needing escalation to management. Promote an environment that supports belonging and reflects the M&T Bank brand. Maintain M&T internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points together with any issues raised by external regulators as applicable. Complete other related duties as assigned. Scope of Responsibilities: Primary partners: CISO, CIO, Technology Directors Stakeholders: Regulators, Technology team, and the Bank Work is accomplished with minimal direction; strategizes team imperatives in alignment with Bank imperatives. Oversees 2 or more functions/teams or a department within Cybersecurity. This role may act as a lead Cybersecurity representative with Regulators. Accountable for developing and executing budget for functions/teams they oversee. This role manages one or more functions/teams/departments within Cybersecurity: Operations and Threat – proactively identify, analyze, and respond to cyber threats, ensuring the Bank's digital assets are secure and resilient against potential risks and attacks. Functions/teams may include security operations center, governance & oversight, insider threat, data loss prevention, threat intel & hunt,