Bo Berlas

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors announced the appointment of Bo Berlas as its new Chief Information Security Officer on December 5, 2024. Berlas previously served as CISO for the U.S. General Services Administration, where he led Zero Trust Architecture and cybersecurity automation initiatives.

According to the CSBS release, Berlas will oversee the organization's information security strategy, including protecting its digital assets and fostering a strong security culture within CSBS. The release says he will also build a technology platform that lets the states collaborate securely. CSBS President and CEO Brandon Milhorn said Berlas is joining the organization's executive team. Brandon Milhorn, who was President and CEO of CSBS at the time of the announcement, said the organization was continuing to advance its mission and safeguard the integrity of its systems.

According to the release, Berlas brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in cybersecurity to the role. CSBS says Berlas was named a finalist for the 2024 FedScoop50 Federal Leadership Award and received a 2023 Presidential Rank Award. According to CSBS, Berlas served on the FedRAMP Board and sat on the Federal Secure Cloud Advisory Committee as one of two federal CISOs.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors says it is the national organization of financial regulators drawn from the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and all 50 states. CSBS says 79% of all U.S. banks are supervised by state regulators, as are a variety of non-depository financial services. The organization says it runs the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System for state regulators, licensing and registering non-depository financial service providers in the debt, consumer finance, mortgage and money services businesses industries.