As Global Chief Information Security Officer for ANZ, Maria drives the enterprise information security strategy to ensure it evolves with the changing cyber security threat, regulatory and technology landscape, and enables the bank’s digital transformation. She is also responsible for Cyber Security Operations (both detection and protection capabilities), information protection services, security advisory services, security architecture, security policy and standards and ANZ’s security education program. These services include a sophisticated 24/7 in-house security operations centre (SOC) and threat intelligence capability, dedicated enterprise security metrics, as well as integrated delivery of new security capabilities using agile methods to keep pace with increasing cyber threats. In addition, Maria helps to coordinate the many parts of the organisation that provide additional services, which also contribute significantly to ANZ’s security, ensuring the protection of customers, infrastructure and data. This model of shared ownership and governance ensures the protection of around 10 million individual and business customers and operations in more than 30 markets.

Prior to joining ANZ in August 2023, Maria worked at the Australian Department of Defence where she was the inaugural Chief Data Integration Officer, responsible for defining and implementing the organisation’s data and analytics transformation journey. This included establishing and leading enterprise-wide data governance, management, use and innovation, and creating the right environment and collaborative arrangements to support this. She was also responsible for creating new and innovative approaches to leveraging data for better outcomes, ensuring that this was done in a privacy preserving and ethical manner, and that innovative solutions were properly scaled and sustained within the organisation’s very large technology infrastructure. In addition to leading data across the enterprise Maria was also the Capability Manager representative and Program Sponsor for enterprise business systems, establishing and leading the Business Integration Program. This included driving the capability program and providing assurance on change and benefits realisation. Earlier in her career, as inaugural Chief Data Officer of Services Australia (2019-2021) Maria established the Data Division; and as the inaugural NSW Government Chief Information Security Officer (2017-19) she established Cyber Security NSW. Prior to this, Maria was the CIO and CISO of AUSTRAC where she led the design and creation of the Fintel Alliance (a world-first public-private partnership) and leading-edge capabilities. She also established and chaired an international capability improvement committee for financial intelligence agencies across the ASEAN region.

Maria is also an Honorary Professor of AI at the Australian National University, previous Chair of the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet’s Data Champions Executive, and previous Chair of the Australian Computer Society’s Cyber Security Committee. She completed a PhD in Artificial Intelligence with the Microsoft Research Institute, graduated from ANU with an Executive Master of Public Administration from ANZSOG, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.