Country Ambassadors

WiD ambassador for Western Europe and Germany

Angelika Steinacker has extensive Security and Identity & Access Management experience, with 30 years in security, and 20 years with a focus on IAM.
In her current role as CTO for IAM with IBM Security Europe, she is working on strategic topics like IAM for IoT and IAM with and for Blockchain as well as a trusted advisor for clients.

Angelika is a regular speaker and writer sharing her expertise and experience on Security and IAM. She is a member of WiD, and a member and mentor of IBM Women in Security Excelling (WISE).

She earned a diploma in Mathematics with a minor in Physics and she holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics with a topic in Cryptography from J. Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.

In her free time, she likes hiking in the Alps, cycling and cross-country skiing.

WiD ambassador for Canada

Chanda Jackson, Sr. Manager – Identity and Access Management Planning, provides oversight of key activities across the Royal Bank of Canada’s IAM group to enable effective operations of the team. Her professional responsibilities include group management, operational risk oversight, governance and reporting.

Kay Chopard is Women in Identity US Ambassador and Executive Director of the Kantara Initiative, a nonprofit corporation. The Kantara Initiative is a unique global ‘commons’ that operates conformity assessment, assurance and grant of Trust Marks against de-jure standards under its Trust Framework program while at the same time nurturing ‘beyond-the-state-of-the-art’ ideas and developing specifications to transform the state of digital identity and personal data agency domains.

Ms. Chopard is the former President and CEO of Chopard Consulting based in the Washington, DC metro area and is the founder of the Women’s Leadership Institute. She has more than 30 years’ experience in executive leadership in government, nonprofit, and business organizations in the DC area where she has a reputation as a transformative leader who has led organizations through launch, transition, and sustainability to deliver game-changing results.  She excels at building networks and collaborations that overcome systemic cultural norms and empowers diverse and inclusive teamwork. She has led several organizations including the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), Identity Ecosystem Steering Group (IDESG), National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA), and served as Acting Division Chief and lead program manager at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S. Department of Transportation.

She is an attorney and is admitted to the practice of law in the state of Iowa and to the U.S. Supreme Court bar. Ms. Chopard also serves on the Board of Directors of the Women in Identity US. She lectures internationally and has authored several articles, white papers, and practice manuals.

WiD ambassador for Canada

As the Senior Director of Identity & Access Management (IAM) Operations, Analytics & Governance, Rola leads a global team consisting of various pillars with respective responsibilities supporting Lines of business across RBC & its subsidiaries through the administration of internal user access, user account configuration in CyberArk, management of Access Manager one of RBC’s key IAM Systems and driving a clear Identity Governance model based on data & analytics designed to reduce risk and increase compliance.

With over 15 years of work experience, she found her passion early on for problem solving & assisting technology users with various challenges and saw first-hand the critical role technology & innovation plays in transforming end user experiences in a positive & meaningful way.

Prior to her current role, Rola served as Senior Director, Enterprise Security Access Management where she drove automation of existing manual procedures leading to a reduction in manual cycles spent on redundant tasks enabling her to create new opportunities for more important work for her team building on their existing skillset & supporting their career growth. She then took on an expanded role as the Senior Director, On-boarding & Access Request Provisioning partnering with various stakeholders across the enterprise to initiate IAM Service Integration for RBC applications while supporting various lines of business through granting user access to select applications.

Rola is an advocate for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She strongly believes that a high performing team can only be accomplished by establishing a diverse & inclusive work environment where each team member feels comfortable and safe to bring their different thinking styles and perspectives to the table. Only then can we, as a team, function at our optimum and be ready for what the future brings.

Rola is known for her commitment to developing others and is active in various Women in Technology & Operations circles. She loves a challenge, has the ability to adapt quickly & identify and zoom in on the positive each change brings while always finding ways to learn and grow.
She is results oriented, values trust & integrity, aspires to make a difference through paying it forward & supporting others every chance she gets.
When not at work, Rola leads a busy, healthy & active lifestyle including a passion for books, podcasts & sketching.

Director, Product Market Enablement, Identity - Global

Rosie is an experienced senior leader, change agent and strategist, within Mastercard Identity Services, focused on providing secure and efficient solutions for identity and authentication.  This includes technologies and services to verify individuals’ identities.  She delivers cutting-edge security products and services for customers across the globe keeping in mind the human toll and impact when it comes to identity and security. With a breadth of experience, that combines business expertise in payments, cyber & intelligence technology and financial crime risk management, her focus centres on clients’ challenges around Identity and consumer trust to provide current & future proof solutions that support diversity, equity, and inclusion.  Having an identity is crucial and safe-guarding that identity is equally crucial. Away from the call of work Rosie is an avid reader, traveller and supporter of charities with disabilities and inclusion.

Rosie is an active member of Women in Identity supporting all aspects of diversity and inclusion within the identity industry globally.  

US Ambassador, Women In Identity Gisselle Cerezo is the Global Vice President for Identity Services at Mastercard focused on Market Commercialisation & Strategy across Identity Verification & Authentication solutions/ services. She has areas of expertise in cyber and intelligence solutions, AML/KYC, and fraud mitigation solutions. Gisselle has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry and payments industry including holding various senior level positions at large technology companies and two of the largest US based payment processors. During her tenure she has led high performing global product management teams and global business development teams. She has deep experience and knowledge in fraud, identity, and BSA-AML regulations. She has advised global enterprise companies on deploying best practices and implementing advanced technology.