Alex Yao Alex Yao

About Me

I am a Business Information Security Officer (BISO) working in cybersecurity governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) for a large global financial group. My day-to-day sits at the intersection of regulatory expectation, operational risk, and technology change — translating frameworks such as ACSC Essential Eight, APRA CPS 234, and ISO 27001 into practical control programs that reduce risk without paralyzing the business.

My career path has been deliberate. I started as a business continuity intern, then moved into IT support, followed by first-line operational risk, before stepping into BISO / GRC. That progression means I understand the pressure on control owners, the language of regulators, and the reality of implementation in large, complex organizations. Speaking Mandarin and Cantonese also helps me engage with APAC and global stakeholders.

I am particularly interested in automation-led GRC: using Power BI, Power Automate, and VBA to reduce manual assurance effort, improve control visibility, and give executives faster, better evidence. I also contribute to AI risk governance, helping shape how a regulated bank evaluates and oversees AI use cases.

Outside of work, I represent my company at the Sydney Corporate Run and the Sydney Lunar New Year Dragon Boat Race, and I actively participate in Employee Resource Groups that support inclusion, wellbeing, and community engagement.

Career path

  1. Business Information Security Officer (GRC)

    Large global financial group

    Lead local cybersecurity GRC topics including security risk management, cyber hygiene, ACSC Essential Eight alignment, AI risk gap analysis, and application security reviews.

  2. Operational Risk Control Officer (LoD 1)

    Large global financial group

    Coordinated RCSA and first-line control tests, tracked incidents, followed up audit findings, and produced operational risk reports for executives.

  3. IT Help Desk Analyst

    Large global financial group

    Provided IT hardware and software support to internal users, resolving issues quickly and improving employee satisfaction.

  4. Business Continuity Intern

    Large global financial group

    Coordinated Business Impact Analysis across business lines and developed a BIA user manual to reduce repetitive training.