Poonam Hardas

Deputy Chancellor, Administration and Institutional Strategy

Current Positions: Senior Director, Enterprise Information Management Risk, Group Risk Management, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).
Areas of Expertise: Institutional strategy, data and AI governance, privacy, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, operational resilience, third-party risk, organizational transformation and corporate governance.

Profile

Poonam Hardas is a senior financial-services and risk-management executive with more than 20 years of international experience across Canada, Hong Kong, the United States, the United Kingdom and India. At RBC, she provides independent oversight of enterprise data and artificial-intelligence risks, supporting strong governance, controls and risk-management practices. Her earlier leadership experience includes serving as Data Privacy Officer and Head of Operational and Resilience Risk at HSBC. As CARSA’s Deputy Chancellor, Administration and Institutional Strategy, she supports institutional planning, governance, responsible AI, partnerships, organizational resilience and sustainable growth.

Selected Accomplishments and Leadership Contributions

  • More than 20 years of international financial-services and risk-management experience.
  • Provides enterprise oversight of data and artificial-intelligence risks at RBC.
  • Former Data Privacy Officer at HSBC.
  • Former Head of Operational and Resilience Risk at HSBC.
  • Led cross-border risk and regulatory initiatives across nine Asian markets.
  • Experienced in data governance, privacy, cybersecurity, third-party risk, business continuity and geopolitical risk.
  • Has established centres of excellence and led enterprise-wide transformation programs.
  • Advises on regulatory compliance, control environments and organizational resilience.
  • Serves as a Board Director of Cultural Interpretation Services for Our Communities (CISOC).
  • Supports women in STEM through professional mentorship and leadership development.
  • Brings extensive experience working across different regulatory, business and cultural environments.
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