Upendra Mardikar

As TIAA’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Upendra is responsible for developing and leading comprehensive cybersecurity and fraud strategies and governance across the enterprise; and implementing advanced IT security systems and tools to protect critical business information and detect and monitor threats and vulnerabilities 24/7.

Upendra joined TIAA in 2022 and leads the four-time CSO50 award-winning TIAA Global Cybersecurity and Fraud Management team. With more than 25 years in the financial services industry, Upendra is a seasoned cybersecurity technology leader known for his track record delivering large-scale transformations and developing innovative solutions for securing multi-cloud platforms, client-facing technologies, and customer and developer experiences.

Prior to TIAA, Upendra served as CISO for Snap Finance where he developed and built new cybersecurity platforms to enable business growth; and also held senior cybersecurity leadership positions at American Express, Visa and PayPal where he implemented cybersecurity strategy and governance, propelled digital transformation globally and led high-performing security teams.

Upendra is an avid inventor with 105 patents (granted and pending) in the areas of cybersecurity, identity, biometrics, tokenization, blockchain and digital technology; and he notably co-created Google Pay and Apple Pay payment securities and implemented the cyber algorithm for the Card Verification Value (CVV2).

He also co-authored the first version of Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS); co-authored two books titled “Privacy: Applied. Proactive. Innovative.” and “Purple Book of Software Security and Security;” and co-created an online community around cybersecurity called the Purple Book Community.

Upendra serves as a leading advisor with industry groups such as Oasis, Fast Identity Online and Trusted Computing Group and is recognized as a prominent keynote in the security community, appearing at the European Identity & Cloud, the National Finance Center, Internet of Things, KNOW Identity conferences, Stanford University and UT Austin.

Upendra holds a master’s degree in business administration from Santa Clara University and a bachelor’s degree in engineering computer science from VNIT in Nagpur, India. His security industry certifications include CISSP, ISSAP and CSSLP.