Cyber & IT Supervisory Forum - November 2023

Chris Furlow Chris Furlow is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Bankers Association, America’s oldest and largest state banking organization. TBA advocates for nearly 400 of its member banks in Austin and Washington; trains more than 10,000 bankers annually; provides nationally ‐ recognized community banking services in 48 states; and invests in Texas communities through financial literacy, scholarship and charitable activities. Under Chris’ leadership, TBA has launched ground ‐ breaking community bank cybersecurity and bank innovation capabilities and has successfully challenged Washington’s regulatory over ‐ reach.

Chris’ professional career has prepared him well to meet the competitive, regulatory and cybersecurity challenges facing Texas banks. Previously, he was President of Ridge Global, an international risk management consulting firm, where he helped clients in banking/financial services, energy, defense and other critical infrastructure sectors leverage resilience for competitive advantage. He was instrumental in developing the Cyber ‐ Risk Oversight Certificate Program for the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Furlow has an extensive background in complex policy/regulatory issues in both the public and private sectors. Following the 9/11 attacks, he was named Director for State Affairs in the White House Office of Homeland Security where he served as liaison to the America’s governors and was a member of the Incident Support Group providing coordination on events of “national significance.” During the historic stand ‐ up of the US Department of Homeland Security, he was appointed Executive Director of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) where he led operations of the department’s cross ‐ disciplinary public and private sector committees and served as a senior advisor to Secretary Tom Ridge. Chris brings nearly 30 years of legislative and political experience to TBA’s advocacy efforts. He has served as a US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce, as a state and national party leader, and as aide to a member of the US House Ways & Means Committee. Today, he is a member of the Executive Committee of the State Alliance of the American Bankers Association and is a board member of the Coalition of Bankers Associations. Chris currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Southwest Graduate School of Banking (SWGSB) Foundation at Southern Methodist University and on the Smith ‐ Hutson Banking Advisory Board at Sam Houston State University. He was previously an adjunct professor for the Chief Risk Officer (CRO) program at Carnegie Mellon University and was a Senior Fellow for the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University. In 2023, Chris was appointed to a third term representing the private sector as a member of Texas Cybersecurity Council. He previously served on the US Chamber of Commerce National Security Task Force and Cybersecurity Leadership Council. He is a member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House, London). Thought ‐ leadership articles authored or co ‐ authored by Furlow have appeared in publications such as Harvard Business Review , ABA Banking Journal, The Dallas Morning News, and International Policy Digest.