EVP, Chief Product Officer and Head of State Street Digital
State Street
Donna Milrod is executive vice president and chief product officer at State Street, responsible for leading the strategy, value proposition and growth of our Asset Servicing business, including Digital Asset Solutions. Donna is a member of State Street’s Executive Committee, the company’s senior leadership team.
Previously, Donna led the company’s Global Asset Managers segment business as well as the Global Clients Division.
Donna has over 25 years of experience in banking and financial services including leadership positions at Deutsche Bank, where she served as deputy chief executive officer for its North America business. Before joining State Street, she was a senior advisor to Broadridge and McKinsey & Company, where she provided advice for navigating risk, optimizing operating efficiencies and increasing revenue growth. Prior to that, Donna was with the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) where she served on the Management Committee and was the head of DTCC Solutions, delivering innovative post-trade processing solutions to clients.
Currently, Donna serves as an independent board director of Orion Innovation, a privately held technology services company. She also sits on the board of Partnership Fund for New York City and is a member of the New York Women’s Forum, the Committee of 200, National Association of Corporate Directors, Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of New York. Previously, she served on the boards of Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) and Cabela’s Inc. (NYSE:CAB).
Donna has appeared on American Banker's Most Powerful Women in Finance list for five consecutive years (2021-2025). In 2025, Donna was inducted into Global Custodian’s Hall of Fame for her outstanding contributions and distinguished career in securities services. She was named to TabbFORUM’s 2025 Top 40 Innovators list; an honor roll of executives who are leading technology-driven innovation and disruption in financial markets. In recognition of her leadership driving positive change around workplace inclusion and diversity, Donna earned a place on each of INvolve’s Executive Role Model, Advocates and Allies lists: Empower (2024, 2023), Outstanding (2023) and HERoes (2024, 2022).
Donna was honored by Crain’s New York Business as one of 2021’s Notable Women on Wall Street, and in 2019 was named one of the Most Influential Corporate Board Directors by WomenInc. Magazine.
As digital assets move from the fringe into institutional portfolios and market infrastructure, custody has emerged as the critical control point in the value chain. For traditional financial institutions, digital asset custody is no longer a niche offering—it is the foundation that determines who owns client relationships, who controls risk, and who participates in the next phase of tokenized markets.
This panel will explore the biggest opportunities and unresolved issues facing TradFi executives as they evaluate digital asset custody strategies. Panelists will discuss how custody underpins trading, settlement, tokenization, and payments; where banks have a natural advantage—and where they face new forms of operational and regulatory risk; and what decisions leadership teams must make in the next 12–24 months to preserve relevance and optionality. The conversation will focus on strategic choices, governance, economics, and execution realities, equipping executives with a framework to assess whether—and how—to engage, including: