Texas Bankers Association CEO and leadership

On January 12, 2018, the Texas Bankers Association Board of Directors announced the appointment of Christopher J. Furlow as President & Chief Executive Officer. Previously, he was President of Ridge Global, an international risk management consulting firm, where he developed innovative programs for small business leaders, Fortune 500 executives, and board members. With expertise in cybersecurity and public-private partnerships, he helped clients in financial services & other sectors leverage resilience for competitive advantage. He has an extensive background in complex policy/regulatory issues in both the public & private sectors. After the 9/11 attacks, Furlow was named Director for State Affairs in the White House Office of Homeland Security where he served as policy liaison to governors and was a member of the Incident Support Group providing coordination on events of “national significance.” During the stand-up of the Department of Homeland Security, he was appointed Executive Director of the Homeland Security Advisory Council and led operations of its multiple public and private sector committees. In a career of 25+ years, he has served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce, aide to a member of the tax-writing House Ways & Means Committee, and political party leader at the state & national levels. A graduate of Louisiana State University, he was a Senior Fellow of the Homeland Security Policy Institute of The George Washington University and was an adjunct professor for Carnegie Mellon University Chief Risk Officer (CRO) program. Chris served on the US Chamber of Commerce National Security Task Force & Cybersecurity Leadership Council. He is a current member of the Texas Cybersecurity Council, Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House, London), Board of Trustees for Southwest Graduate School of Banking (SWGSB) at SMU, and the Advisory Board for the Smith-Hutson Endowed Chair of Banking at SHSU.

Sam Kimberlinwork atTexas Bankers Association and an Executive Vice President & Chief Executive Officer at Texas Bankers Association and are based in Austin Texas Area.