Citizens Financial Group announced that Brendan Goode will assume the role of Chief Security Officer, effective April 29, 2024. Upon assuming the CSO role, Goode will report to Michael Ruttledge, CIO and Head of Enterprise Technology & Security. He will succeed Holly Ridgeway, who will retire from Citizens at the end of June.

“Brendan is a highly skilled security executive whose extensive experience and innovative insights in security, operational resilience, and fraud will enable him to provide strong and effective leadership to protect the bank and improve service for our customers,” said Michael Ruttledge, Chief Information Officer and Head of Enterprise Technology and Security. “We have designed a thoughtful transition process that will further strengthen the bank’s security posture and business resilience capabilities.”

Goode joins Citizens from Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), where he most recently served as Chief Security Officer with responsibility for the Group Security organization. In that role he brought cybersecurity, fraud, physical security, and business resilience together to combat and respond to growing cyber and financial threats to the bank, the market, and at the same time dramatically improve experience for its customers.

Prior to CBA, Brendan served as a Managing Director at Citigroup in New York City where he oversaw information security, business continuity, operational resilience, and emerging operational risks. Previously, Brendan was the CISO for UK & Ireland for Deutsche Bank and global head of Information Security Operations. Preceding his decade plus tenure in the financial services industry, Goode was a member of the Senior Executive Service at the Department of Homeland Security where he was responsible for improving cyber detection and response capabilities for Federal Civilian Agencies and the private sector. Brendan has a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering.

A 20 year-plus security industry-veteran, Ridgeway has been with Citizens since 2017 and has been responsible for cybersecurity, physical security, and business resilience. She joined Citizens from Mandiant where she was the Director of Information Security Programs and previously served as the Chief Information Security Officer for PNC Financial Services and held senior leadership roles with the FBI and Department of Justice. She will remain with Citizens until the end of June to ensure a seamless transition.

Added Ruttledge: “Holly enjoyed a long and highly successful career in security and has been essential in developing and implementing effective strategies to protect the bank from cyberthreats. We wish her the best in her future endeavors and appreciate all she has done to ensure the safety and security of our colleagues, assets and data.”