Ben Wisoner, Sr Security Engineer IAM (Identity and Access Management) with CME Group in Belfast sits down with SyncNI to discuss how he progressed from working in a large retail chain to forging a successful career within a global FinTech company.
Can you talk a bit about your pathway into working in tech?
My pathway into tech was not via a traditional school to university route. I left school at 18 and began working for a large supermarket chain, later I was offered an opportunity to interview for a new “tech support” team the chain had begun to roll out nationwide. I was successful and within two years promoted to leading a team for a flagship store’s tech department. From this role I developed a deep passion for technology and knew I wanted to pursue a professional career in IT.
I decided to return to education in my mid 20’s where I completed both a Software Development HND at Belfast Metropolitan College and then onto a BSc in Computing Technology at Queen’s University, over the span of 6 years and while still working part time. I joined CME Group as an intern for my university placement year where I experienced a fantastic introduction to the world of enterprise IT. On completing my degree I decided to pursue the path of Cyber Security engineering at CME Group.
Having worked within CME for the last seven years, what attracted you to the cyber security sector?
I was initially attracted to Cyber Security to work with technologies that I found to be interesting, but also to be a part of a team with a strong core goal of protecting its users and organization. I also wanted to work in a role that gave me the opportunity to use my problem solving and communication skills I had developed over the previous 10 years. Working in security requires engagement with many different groups (technical and not so technical) to provide critical guidance and support, something I found to be a perfect fit.
How much has this role evolved during your tenure?
My role has constantly changed over the last seven years both due to growth in my career and rapid changes in technology. I have been working in the same team since graduating, now as a lead engineer. The biggest change in my role since starting is the growth of responsibility for the products my team manages and gradual switch of becoming more of a mentor than mentee among my peers. I’m incredibly grateful for the guidance that was given to me in my early career and it’s rewarding that I can do the same for others.
What would you consider to be the highlights and the most satisfactory aspects of the role?
One of the most satisfactory aspects of my role is the variety of work and the fact I rarely experience the same day twice, everyday uncovers a new variety of challenges to solve and learn from. Another highlight for me has been the travel. CME Group is a global company with presence across the world and I have been fortunate to be given the opportunity to travel for work engagements as part of my role, including trips to India and the US. A highlight here was attending an industry leading Cyber Security conference in Las Vegas.
Read more about CME Group including news features and interviews, as well as open job opportunities at: Sync NI - Company - CME Group.
Read Sync NI's free online autumn magazine Celebrating a Decade of Big Data Belfast here.
Subscribe to the Sync NI newsletter for all the latest technology news, jobs and upcoming events in Northern Ireland.
Visit Sync NI online for the latest technology news in Northern Ireland
