Cliff Bates

Executive Vice President — Enterprise Infrastructure, Risk & Security

Park City, UT  |  hello@batesfam.net  |  linkedin.com/in/clbates

Executive Summary

Strategic, execution-driven Executive Vice President with 25+ years of IT leadership in top-50 U.S. banking. Proven track record directing enterprise budgets, leading global teams of 250+, and driving core banking modernizations, active/active data center resilience, and enterprise-wide cyber vulnerability remediation. Trusted advisor to C-suite and board-level executives, specializing in aligning IT strategy with operational agility, risk mitigation, and regulatory compliance.

Core Competencies

Strategic Leadership

Enterprise IT Strategy & Vision, Board & Executive Alignment, Global & Offshore Talent Leadership, AI & Emerging Technology Governance

Operations & Financials

Enterprise P&L / Budget Management, Strategic Vendor & Contract Management (IBM, Microsoft, ServiceNow, TCS, Splunk, Oracle), Active/Active Multi-Site Data Center Resilience, High-Availability Infrastructure

Risk & Security

Cyber Vulnerability Remediation, Information Security & Cyber Defense, Regulatory Compliance & Examination Defense (FDIC/FFIEC/GLBA), DR & Business Continuity

Modernization & Governance

Core Systems Transformation (TCS BaNCS), Enterprise Architecture, Risk Management & Audit Governance, Crisis & Incident Management

Experience

Executive Career Transition & Professional Development

Mar 2025 – Present

Executive Vice President, IT Director

Dec 2017 – Mar 2025

Zions Bancorporation — Salt Lake City, UT

Senior Vice President, Core Technical Readiness

Mar 2013 – Dec 2017

Zions Bancorporation — Salt Lake City, UT

Vice President, IT Enterprise Communications Manager Sr.

2011 – Mar 2013

Zions Bancorporation — Salt Lake City, UT

Vice President, IT Manager

2004 – 2011

Zions Bancorporation — Salt Lake City, UT

IT Systems Engineer

2000 – 2004

Zions Bancorporation — Salt Lake City, UT

IT Consultant

1998 – 2000

Uinta Business Systems — Contractor to Zions Bancorporation and other Utah-based companies

Education & Community Leadership

Bachelor of Science: Business Management — University of Phoenix, Salt Lake City, UT (2009)

Co-Chair, Zions Bank Paint-a-Thon  ·  Member, Zions Peer Bank Forum (MAAG)  ·  Leadership Involvement, ZTC Building Committee

References

Available on request.