Donna Hart

Donna Hart is the Chief Information Security Officer for the Americas at SMBC, appointed in February 2026.

Career path

Hart began her career as an associate with First Union, where she worked across the Technology Program Office, Desktop Services, several Network Services roles, Technology Production Operations and Information Security. She spent more than two decades at Wells Fargo and Wachovia, a tenure that began in 1997 and lasted 22 years, during which she rose through the ranks to become director of production management technologies, network security senior leader and security infrastructure engineering senior leader.
On February 1, 2021, she joined Ally Financial as Chief Information Security Officer, moving from Wells Fargo.
At Ally, she designed and implemented a comprehensive enterprise information security and technology risk management program, strengthened enterprise cyber resilience, enhanced governance and controls, and briefed board members and regulators on strategic security initiatives.
In February 2026 she joined SMBC as Americas Division Chief Information Security Officer, based in Charlotte, where she partners with her global counterparts to lead Americas information security.

Remit and industry involvement

At SMBC, Hart leads the company's Information Security program for the Americas and is building the cybersecurity function to support the bank's long-term growth as it expands its U.S. presence with a second headquarters in Charlotte.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Computer Information Systems, from Appalachian State University. Hart has contributed to the security community through involvement with FS-ISAC, BITs, and the Women in Technology Steering Committee.

Public talks

Speaking with CIO's Tech Whisperers podcast about cybersecurity at Ally, Hart said, "Human error and phishing are still the major cyber risks to a corporation." She described ransomware as the bank's top threat, tracing it to team members clicking on malicious links, and outlined a program built on security awareness training and expanded phishing, vishing, QR-code and spear-phishing testing. On October 20, 2026, Hart is set to lead a session titled Crisis and Continuity: Managing the Fallout of a Cyber Incident, addressing crisis communications, rapid regulatory reporting and decision-making during a breach.