Mark O’Connell brings a wealth of experience from the military and corporate environments to the online Master of Science in Cybersecurity program. Beginning in 1978, Mark served a 9-year stint in the United States Air Force, where he managed systems software and security at a division of HQ SAC and then a division within the Pentagon, where he was promoted to captain. He later became a consultant with Arthur Andersen & Co. on large systems in which he audited clients’ security profiles and operational readiness.
Following Arthur Anderson, he became Manager of Technical Services at Washington Metro Transit Authority where for 9 years he directly managed all disaster recovery, security, LANs, mainframes, databases, networks, and operating systems with a budget of $10 million and a staff of 25.
For the next 19 years Mark served in a number of senior leadership roles at Verizon, including change manager, procurement officer, and Data Center director, overseeing an annual budget of $100 million and a staff of 125. Most recently, Mark has served as a consultant at Siwel-Livingstone, where he advises clients on topics such as security and software asset management.