25 leaders, 25 moments at 25 years: Agnes Bundy Scanlan

Looking back to its earliest days, the IAPP was not called the IAPP. It was originally named the International Association of Privacy Officers until 2002, when officers was replaced with professionals.

Agnes Bundy Scanlan, CIPP/US, fully supported the decision to change the association's name. "As privacy professionals, we have many roles and responsibilities," she said at the time. "Safeguarding privacy is a team effort."

In 2002, Bundy Scanlan was the managing director and chief compliance officer at FleetBoston Financial and founding chairman of the IAPP's Board of Directors. In 1999, she became one of the first bank chief privacy officers. Later, Bundy Scanlan would play other leading and executive roles at TD Bank and Bank of America before eventually serving as the Northeast Regional Director of Supervision Examinations for the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She continues to advise clients with financial services firms, fintechs and others as president of The Cambridge Group. Privacy continues to be a topic of discussion in which Bundy Scanlan is engaged in her corporate independent director work.

Her leadership in the early days of the IAPP has had a lasting impact. In 2004, Bundy Scanlan was awarded the IAPP's inaugural Privacy Vanguard Award, recognizing IAPP members who demonstrate exceptional leadership, knowledge and creativity in the profession.

Bundy Scanlan's influence on other aspiring professionals was also demonstrated in a 2011 IAPP article about the career path of FTI Consulting U.S. Practice Lead for Information Governance, Privacy and Security Michael Spadea, CIPP/US, who shared his experience charting his trajectory into the profession.

While attending law school, a professor informed Spadea about an unpaid internship at Fleet Financial, which eventually became Bank of America. It was there, he said, that he connected with Bundy Scanlan. She became his mentor and helped connect him with other professionals, leading him toward a successful career in the profession.

"Agnes is an exceptional leader in our field," IAPP President and CEO J. Trevor Hughes said recently while reflecting on her leadership. "She recognized early that the profession needed structure and support to thrive. Many of our members may not know her by name, but they should. For they have all benefitted from Anges' efforts to build our community."