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Esther Speckhart

@estherspeckhart

Business Information Security Officer and BISO program leader at Blackbaud who advanced customer identity modernization with Blackbaud ID and Auth0 MFA.

United States

Message

At Blackbaud, I served as a Business Information Security Officer, advising business leaders and translating enterprise security strategy into product priorities and practical risk decisions.

I advanced customer identity modernization by coordinating product centralization on Blackbaud ID and enabling Auth0 multi-factor authentication. I also created a product security questionnaire and documented data flows to assess risk and surface control gaps.

At Zurich North America, I led cross-functional security programs and procured and configured ProcessUnity to streamline vendor risk management. I also rolled out Okta single sign-on and multi-factor authentication across externally facing customer and agent web applications.

Across my roles, I’ve worked on identity and access management, application security, third-party risk, and regulatory compliance. Since May 2025, I’ve worked part time in airline ground operations and built a dog-walking business through client service and referrals.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Career Break / Client-Service Business

Current

Independent

May 2025 - Present (1 year 5 months)

Worked part time in airline ground operations and built a dog-walking business through reliable client service and referrals; also completed family travel to South Korea.

Client Services Business Operations Referral Generation

Business Information Security Officer

Blackbaud

Sep 2021 - Apr 2025 (3 years 7 months)

Served as a trusted security advisor to business pillar leaders, translating enterprise security strategy into product priorities and risk decisions. Advanced customer identity modernization and embedded risk and PCI compliance activities into product-team operations.

Security Advisory Product Security PCI DSS Risk Management ServiceNow GRC Auth0 MFA Data Flow Documentation Executive Reporting Metrics

Business Information Security Officer / Security Program Manager

Zurich North America

Oct 2017 - Aug 2021 (3 years 10 months)

Led cross-functional security programs translating business and technical requirements into prioritized risk-reduction initiatives. Procured and configured ProcessUnity for vendor risk management and rolled out Okta SSO and MFA across external applications.

Security Program Management Vendor Risk Management ProcessUnity Okta SSO MFA Imperva Contrast Security Active Directory Application Security Secure Coding Security Champions

Manager, Information Security — Third-Party Risk

Discover Financial Services

Mar 2017 - Sep 2017 (6 months)

Advised business and technology teams on information security risk, balancing control requirements with business needs and documenting risk acceptances aligned to corporate risk appetite.

Third Party Risk Risk Management Risk Acceptability Infosec

Manager, Identity and Access Management

Sears Holdings

Jun 2013 - Feb 2017 (3 years 8 months)

Led development and support teams delivering identity and access management initiatives for high-risk PCI, SOX, and PII environments, including access reviews, role-based access control, and user lifecycle processes in RSA Aveksa. Managed delivery of CyberArk privileged access management across multiple platforms.

IAM RSA Aveksa CyberArk PAM Access Reviews Role Based Access Control User Lifecycle PCI SOX PII

Senior GRC Analyst — Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery

Discover Financial Services

Oct 2006 - Jun 2013 (6 years 8 months)

Executed quarterly access reviews supporting least privilege and compliance with GLBA, NYDFS, and PCI requirements. Designed and implemented access-management workflows and partnered with business teams to document business continuity and disaster recovery plans.