Chadwick Smith

Chadwick (Chad) Smith is the State Chief Information Security Officer of the State of Alabama, appointed in November 2024. The Office of Information Technology (OIT) lists him as Chadwick Smith, Chief Information Security Officer.

Career path

His summit biography credits him with more than 26 years of public- and private-sector leadership experience in risk management, security operations and digital transformation. Before the state role, he held technology and cybersecurity positions in banking, insurance and global technology firms.

At Colonial Bank, he founded the bank's first comprehensive information security program and served as regulatory liaison to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in Washington, D.C. He spent 17 years at Cisco Systems advising Fortune 500 customers, working across verticals to design resilient architectures and develop cybersecurity programs. The supplied sources give no dates for the Colonial Bank and Cisco roles and do not state their order.

His consulting work has covered finance, healthcare, manufacturing and law enforcement. Listed projects include enhancing railroad emergency response systems, supporting real-time drone surveillance for law enforcement collaboration, and working with federal law enforcement on the apprehension of cyber adversaries. OIT's November 2024 announcement noted that he came from private industry and held certifications in cybersecurity, data networking and international privacy.

Remit at OIT

Smith reports to Daniel Urquhart, the Secretary of Information Technology, and leads the state's cybersecurity and privacy strategy, with a mission to protect critical government infrastructure and sensitive data across agencies and sectors. He heads Alabama's whole-of-state cybersecurity initiative, building frameworks that incorporate NIST standards and encouraging collaboration across agencies and local government. His responsibilities include cyber incident response, policy development and regulatory compliance, and he represents the state in federal dialogues on cybersecurity. OIT described his team's focus as information security and governance, risk and compliance.

Talks and public statements

On November 13, 2025, at the Alabama Digital Government Summit, Smith joined state CIO Daniel Urquhart for a conversation moderated by Frank Cilluffo, director of the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security at Auburn University. The two discussed how agency autonomy makes consistent security practices difficult to maintain. On partnerships, Smith said, "Cybersecurity is a team sport." He described the state's posture as resting on a broad network of collaborators. He also described a move to immersive virtual training, with scenarios unfolding in real time on screen, a format he said draws participants in and opens room for frank conversation. He said Alabama is preparing for attackers using AI-driven tools and is examining how to automate and interconnect its platforms to reduce dependence on people.

The event page for the state's inaugural Public Sector Cybersecurity Summit, held in Montgomery in June 2026, carries a note from him encouraging security professionals to attend.

In September 2026, Central Alabama Water published his statement on a cybersecurity response training for water utilities, in which he cited that summer's attacks on water systems nationwide as evidence that cyber threats affect essential services. He said such exercises bring partners together before a crisis and build the relationships, plans and resilience needed to protect Alabama residents.

His biography states that he has presented on cybersecurity to boardrooms, executive teams, lawmakers and industry groups. He has served on customer advisory boards for global technology companies and serves on a non-profit board.