Paul Benda is Executive Vice President for Risk, Fraud, and Cybersecurity at the American Bankers Association (ABA), where he leads the association’s initiatives in cybersecurity, fraud prevention, and physical security. He also serves as Chair of the Fraud and Scams Taskforce at the International Banking Federation (IBFed) and Vice Chair of the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC), coordinating global efforts to strengthen fraud defences and industry resilience.

A former senior Pentagon official and military veteran, Paul has overseen high-impact national security initiatives, including the Pentagon Sentry programme. He sits on the boards of the Cyber Risk Institute and fTLD Registry Services, and has testified before the U.S. Congress on fraud, cybersecurity, and cloud computing security. He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.