Chris Hetner is a Senior Executive, Board Director, and leader in Cybersecurity recognized for raising cyber risk to the Corporate Board level in order to protect industries, infrastructures, and economies. He creates operational resilience by aligning robust Cybersecurity strategies with business objectives. Mr. Hetner’s professional judgment combined with a public company perspective and SEC regulatory and investor oversight experience has led to his success in corporate and government roles. Currently, he is an Expert Advisor to the Institute for Defense Analyses (US Dept. of the Treasury), the Special Advisor for Cyber Risk for the NACD, and a National Board Member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Identifying potential risks and initiating solutions that can be replicated across industries is a hallmark of his career.
Throughout his career, Mr. Hetner has created and launched Cybersecurity programs in the public and private sectors. As business functions transfer to the cloud, he has consistently elevated the issue of enterprise-wide preparedness and continuity to Boards and Executive Management teams. The Covid-19 global pandemic has magnified cyber risks across sectors. Based on the growth of the distributed workforce and the increase in the prevalence of bad actors, the threat and severity levels of cyber breaches have become a security and operational resilience priority. According to the 2018 SEC Cyber guidance on board oversight responsibility, Mr. Hetner is primed to discharge his in-depth knowledge and experience in line with heightened regulatory and investor expectations in a board capacity.
He served as the Senior Cybersecurity Advisor to the Chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and as Head of Cybersecurity for the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examination at the SEC. He also represented the Chair of the SEC as a senior member of the US Department of the Treasury Financial Banking Information Infrastructure Committee. His greatest contributions included a vision for and implementation of the first agency-wide Cybersecurity governance structure, threat intelligence program, and incident response capabilities. The Cybersecurity framework he implemented improved the National Examination Program’s ability to monitor and respond to cyber risks and threats across the US Securities market.
Mr. Hetner has also led efforts across financial, regulatory, and government agencies to enhance Cybersecurity coordination in the financial services sector. He successfully led diverse teams, in multiple global locations, through transformative thinking about cyber-risk management, Cybersecurity policy, and regulatory compliance to embrace change and become cultures of action and collaboration. He established governance and risk management structures aligned with strategy and business objectives while integrating resilience into corporate DNA.
Mr. Hetner’s thought leadership is actively sought by governments, private and public entities, industry associations, and media outlets as the threats to critical infrastructure and economies increase. Throughout his career, he has shared his professional expertise by mentoring students at Columbia University, New York University, Fordham School of Law, and Pace University.
He is a Certified Information Security Manager (ISACA), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (ISC2), and holds a high-level USA security clearance. Mr. Hetner earned an MS, cum laude, in Information Assurance from Norwich University and a BS in Security Management from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
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