Ms. Valerie Abend

Managing Director, Global Banking Security Lead, Accenture
Valerie Abend has over two decades of experience spearheading financial services sector-wide and enterprise-wide security and resilience programs. As Accenture's leader for the Global Financial Services Security Practice and the South Security Market Practice, Valerie advises C-suite executives, board, regulators and policymakers on managing cyber risk and resilience.
Previously, Valerie served as the Senior Critical Infrastructure Officer for the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. In this role, she conceptualized and led the U.S. Federal banking agencies’ cybersecurity and resilience strategy. She was a Managing Director at Bank of New York Mellon and has held positions with the Federal Reserve Board and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Critical Infrastructure Protection at the Treasury Department.
Valerie has testified several times in front of Congress and is frequently quoted in media on cybersecurity issues. She spearheaded the formation and serves as the Chair of the Accenture Cybersecurity Forum Women’s Council and as a member of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Cyber Security Advisory Panel, Cloud Security Alliance Board, the Sector Board Advisors for the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), and the Advisory Group of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace FinCyber Project.