John Walp has more than 20 years of Information Technology experience, more than half of which has been focused on information security challenges. He currently serves as Administrative Vice President and Corporate Information Security Officer for M&T Bank, a $79 billion financial institution headquartered in Buffalo, NY. Previously, he held the role of Vice President, Network Security Solutions Manager for M&T.

His responsibilities include forming and executing the overall strategy for Information Security and Privacy at M&T Bank.

John is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) as well as a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM). He is a graduate of the FBI Citizens Academy and serves as the Executive Vice President of the FBI’s Buffalo InfraGard Membership Alliance. Mr. Walp serves on the advisory board for the National Security Agency-sponsored Center of Excellence in Information Systems Assurance Research and Education (CEISARE) at the University of Buffalo as well as the Business Advisory Board of Medaille College. He is a member of the High-Tech Crime Consortium and the U.S. Secret Services Electronic Crimes Task Force.

A veteran of the United State Air Force, he served his country for 22 years which included both active and reserve service. In 2004, Mr. Walp was recalled to active duty and deployed to the State of Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.  He was selected as part of an elite logistics cadre to aid in establishing the Central Command’s Deployment and Distribution Operations Center.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from State University of New York College at Buffalo. He and his wife Laurie have four children and make their home in Amherst, NY.