Victoria Babalola
Bloomington,IN
Summary
Cybersecurity and risk management professional with over 20 years of experience spanning systems analysis, project management, product leadership, and information security. Skilled in third-party risk management, policy development, and regulatory compliance. Proven record of leading cross-functional teams, conducting vendor security assessments, and ensuring alignment with industry standards (NIST, ISO 27001, GDPR, PCI DSS). Adept at bridging technical, business, and regulatory perspectives to safeguard organizations from third-party and emerging cyber risks.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
Work History
Head, Operations and Third-Party Risk Management
OpenFactor Technology South Africa
01.2021 - 01.2025
- Managed daily operations and strategic initiatives for a rapidly growing fintech startup.
- Defined and managed products roadmaps, aligning with company strategy and customer needs.
- Oversaw day-to-day operations which includes monitoring, threat analysis, and incident management. Lead the security team in identifying, analyzing, and responding to security incidents; ensure timely communication during incidences.
- Led third-party risk assessments, evaluating vendor security controls, cloud service providers, and SaaS platforms for compliance with NIST CSF, ISO 27001, and regulatory requirements.
- Developed and implemented third-party risk management framework, embedding due diligence, onboarding, and continuous monitoring into vendor and partner lifecycle.
- Collaborated with procurement, legal, and compliance teams to negotiate and enforce security clauses in contracts and SLAs.
- Maintained third-party risk register; monitor and report remediation progress to management and stakeholders.
- Conducted risk-based security reviews and guide management on mitigating vendors and partners related cyber risks.
- Ensured compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements, minimizing risk exposure
- Designed and implemented information security policies, procedures, and standards to protect company's data and technology infrastructure. Also conduct risk assessments and develop strategies to mitigate identified risks.
- Provided training and awareness for staff on risk responsibilities.
Head of Products
OpenFactor Technology South Africa
01.2017 - 01.2021
- Oversaw delivery of four technology platforms targeting SMEs in the insurance and financial services space.
- Led the end-to-end product lifecycle from concept through launch, ensuring that security best practices were integrated at every stage of the product lifecycle
- Conducted market research and competitive analysis to identify product opportunities and inform decision-making. We reduced time-to-market by 20%
- Collaborated with stakeholders to define product vision, strategy, and roadmap, prioritizing features and enhancements based on market analysis and customer feedback. We had improved customer satisfaction by 30% through enhanced product features and proactive issue resolution.
- Ensured regular security assessments, vulnerability testing, and audits to proactively manage risks and prevent data breaches on platforms.
- Led a team of 50+ professionals, fostering a high-performance culture and ensuring alignment with company goals. Implemented Jira, Slack, Trello and Confluence, improving team efficiency by 40%.
- Managed vendor relationships and partnerships, ensuring third-party technology providers met compliance and security requirements.
- Directed cross-functional teams through vendor selection, onboarding, and integration processes.
- Collaborated with regulators and financial institutions on third-party oversight obligations and industry compliance.
Manager – Business Applications & Automations
Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria
01.2011 - 01.2014
- Subject-Matter Expert/Project Manager for a large-scale technology project overseen by the Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria, and National Assembly.
- Embedded governance, vendor oversight, and compliance controls throughout project delivery lifecycle.
- Worked closely with departmental heads to identify areas and potential projects requiring process redesign and improvement.
- Worked with a team of Third-Party Assessors for performance reviews, goal setting and productivity targets for vendor solutions.
- Troubleshooting and problem solving for standard and non-standard vendor issues.
- Worked closely with the IT, audit and legal teams for the implementation of security frameworks and to ensure compliance security regulations.
- Partnered with IT, Audit, and Legal to implement security frameworks for vendor engagements.
System Analyst and Project Manager
United Bank for Africa
01.2004 - 01.2011
- Provided support working with analysts and engineers in deploying and maintaining critical banking third-party applications.
- Conducted risk assessments and control reviews for technology vendors supporting core banking functions.
- Supported vendors’ onboarding process with system risk evaluation, documentation review, and coordination with legal, IT security, and procurement.
- Ensured alignment with internal security policies and external regulatory requirements.
- Led troubleshooting efforts to resolve complex system issues, reducing downtime by 40%.
- Developed and implemented system enhancements to improve functionality and user experience.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to integrate new applications and technologies.
- Conducted regular system audits to ensure compliance with regulatory standards and security protocols.
- Ensured vendor offboarding activities include proper data handling and risk mitigation procedures.
- Collaborated with functional unit heads, vendors, subject matter experts, end-users and developers to institute the technical visions for mission critical projects in the bank while analysing trade-offs between performance needs and usability
- Critically evaluating information gathered from all stakeholders, reconciling conflicts, and decomposing high-level information into details so as to address critical system issues for the business.
- Interfacing with departmental heads as technical advisor as they develop new strategies that might require new solutions, new functionalities, or upgrades on existing systems
- Project managed the successful implementation of well over twenty high visibility projects and integrations of different sizes and complexities across multiple strategic business units and branches in the bank. Adopted a blend of agile and waterfall methodologies so as to provide the right balance of predictability and agility.
- Conducted training programs to implement new operational processes and technology enablers, project evaluations to measure performance, assessing results and documenting lessons learnt from each project
Education
MS - Cybersecurity Risk Management
Indiana University
Bloomington, INMBA -
GIBS, University of Pretoria
South AfricaBTech - Computer Science
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology
NigeriaSkills
- Third-Party/Vendor Risk Management
- Cybersecurity Risk Assessments
- Information Security Policy Development
- Regulatory & Compliance Oversight (NIST, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, GDPR)
- Technology Governance & Controls
- FinTech Product Development & Leadership
- Stakeholder & Regulatory Engagement
Decision-making
Multitasking Abilities
Excellent communication
Attention to detail
Time management
Problem-solving
Teamwork and collaboration
Calm under pressure
Accomplishments
- Built and implemented a Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) framework at OpenFactor Technology, streamlining vendor due diligence, onboarding, and continuous monitoring — strengthening oversight of cloud and SaaS providers.
- Reduced vendor-related vulnerabilities by 30% by conducting risk-based security reviews, enforcing remediation timelines, and embedding security clauses into vendor contracts and SLAs.
- Secured regulatory confidence by collaborating with financial regulators and institutions to demonstrate compliance with third-party oversight obligations in the FinTech sector.
- Led delivery of four innovative FinTech platforms for SMEs in the insurance and financial services industry, ensuring secure vendor integrations and compliance readiness from inception.
- Directed a government-regulated technology program at the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), embedding vendor governance and compliance controls in a multi-stakeholder project overseen by the Ministry of Finance, Central Bank, and National Assembly.
- Reduced core banking downtime by 40% at United Bank for Africa by leading troubleshooting efforts, improving vendor-managed systems, and integrating risk-based controls.
- Advanced staff awareness of vendor risk obligations through training programs, improving compliance culture and reducing audit findings related to third-party engagements.
Affiliations
Women in Cybersecurity
Shared Assessments
International Association of Privacy Professionals
International Information System Security Certification Consortium
Timeline
Head, Operations and Third-Party Risk Management
OpenFactor Technology South Africa
01.2021 - 01.2025
Head of Products
OpenFactor Technology South Africa
01.2017 - 01.2021
Manager – Business Applications & Automations
Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria
01.2011 - 01.2014
System Analyst and Project Manager
United Bank for Africa
01.2004 - 01.2011
MS - Cybersecurity Risk Management
Indiana University
MBA -
GIBS, University of Pretoria
BTech - Computer Science
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology
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