York College Alumni’s Experience on Help Desk was First Step on Path To C-Level IT Job

Ben Doyle ’07/’10 was recently hired as the Chief Information Security Officer for CareerBuilder.

Ben Doyle ’07/’10 had his heart set on the Pre-Med track at York College of Pennsylvania. He received his associate degree in Chemistry and then was nearly finished with his bachelor’s in Biology when he wondered if he still wanted to pursue a career in medicine.

“It’s not the ideal time to be almost done with a degree and then wonder if that field is for you,” he says, laughing. Rather, Doyle felt a tug to work in IT, mostly thanks to his experience working at York College’s Help Desk.

He enjoyed the ways that science and technology, in particular in information technology, tied in communications and working directly with people. Neither teaching nor working in a lab with his science-based degrees seemed like an appealing fit, Doyle says, so he took the risk and jumped headfirst into a career in technology.

How it started

His first job upon graduation was with Berkshire Hathaway in Lancaster County. As an IT Specialist, Doyle wore many hats, sometimes doing more client-facing work, and other times running network security and risk management. Working in a small department of a large company gave him the opportunity to learn a lot of new things and contribute in ways that were meaningful to him.

“Probably the biggest thing that has impacted the trajectory of my career has been openness and willingness to learn,” Doyle says. “I may not be an expert in this today, but I will be the hardest working person in the room to get where I need to be. I’m willing to learn as long as there are people willing to give me a chance.”

During his time there, he also earned his Master’s in Cyber Security from University of Maryland in 2013 and later his MBA in 2014.

After five years, Doyle moved on to RKL E-Solutions in Lancaster County, where he was a consultant who specialized in network security, audits, risk, and compliance. Around the same time, the subsidiary RKL Risk was launched, and Doyle led the security and compliance efforts with two other individuals.

“The biggest thing I tried to focus on was not being pigeonholed into a single expertise or field, but going the extra mile to explore it until I can confidently speak on the topic,” Doyle says. “If it’s a topic I know nothing about, it’s kind of exciting to volunteer and spend the next two to three months researching until I’m well-versed in it.”

Career transition

In early 2018, Doyle started working remotely with New York-based CPA firm The Bonadio Group, which has clients all over North America. There, he joined the information and risk management division, which was similar to his past jobs, but enhanced by his management role, where he oversaw security audit and HIPPA risk and compliance, among other areas. His role also included working in business development and performance coaching with the rest of his team.

Doyle was on track to become a partner with the firm after about three years, but he was concerned that stepping into that role would take him away from the hands-on work he enjoyed in IT. He worried he might plateau and wanted to challenge himself in a new role that kept his focus on the technology-side of business that he enjoyed the most.

When he was debating the tough choice of leaving the firm, he was approached by a recruiter with CareerBuilder. The position sounded like everything he was looking for, and in March 2021, he started as the Global Chief Information Security Officer and the Interim Chief Information Officer.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to rebuild and reshape our security and risk departments from the ground up,” he says. “It’s great when you can step into a role, implement some new things, but then also push them forward and maintain them.”

Doyle’s experience in telecommuting has also opened the possibility for him to have flexibility in where he lives. A native of York County, he’s getting ready to move to Long Island to be closer to his wife’s family. But he takes with him the experience he learned at York College, and the ability to adapt to whatever he sets his heart to learn.

“I’ve had a lifelong obsession with expanding my knowledge, in both formal and informal ways,” he says. “It’s given me a lot of opportunity to grow, and I’m excited for all the things I’ll continue to learn in this industry.”