Vice Chair - Board of Directors, Women in Identity, Royal Bank, Canada
Melissa Carvalho, RBC Global Cyber Security Vice President, leads the Cyber security Planning office and the bank’s Global Identity and Access Management group, providing cyber solutions and services for RBC’s 86,000 employees and 17 million clients. Melissa is a results-driven professional recognized for successfully delivering critical, high-risk initiatives for large organizations. She is known as an adept and innovative leader with extensive experience in managing all aspects of information technology, including business needs impact assessments, software development and infrastructure implementations. Melissa consistently leads and motivates individuals to maximize productivity while managing relationships with diverse stakeholder groups. Throughout her career, Melissa has developed and implemented identity strategies to promote organizational growth and improve operational efficiency, including implementing Identity Programs at Canada’s five major banks and consulting on over 50 IAM programs across North America. Melissa is also the Vice Chair for the Women in Identity (WiD) Global Board of Directors. WiD is a global non-profit organization focused on breaking bias to create a world where “Digital identity solutions built for everyone are built by everyone”. With WiD, Melissa combines her two passions, advancing people and advancing technology. Melissa looks to bring people together and create new opportunities for a future without biases. Melissa is an advocate for diversity and inclusion. In addition to her Women in Identity role, she is also the RBC Technology and Operations Co-lead for the LGBTQ+ leadership team. Melissa continues to promote an environment of equality for all and one where everyone is comfortable to bring their ‘true self’ to work. Melissa is a focal point in Cyber Security and is frequently a keynote speaker/panelist for various security focused events across the globe. Recently she was the winner of Globe and Mail Best Executives 2022, the IT World Canada Top 20 Women in Cyber Security 2021 and has been featured on TheFutureEconomy.ca and IT Media Group CIO roundtable. She holds various Directorships like the CyberArk Enterprise Customer Advisory Board and the IT Media Group CIO Advisory board to help CIOs across Canada better understand Cyber Security. In her spare time, Melissa loves to travel. She has been over 65 countries across all 7 continents.
