Cybersecurity is one of the most dynamic fields in business today. Ohio Northern University alumna Nicole Muryn Clement, BSBA ’08, has built a career helping organizations navigate its complexity.
In her current role with Bank of America, Clement focuses on evaluating cyber threats and strengthening defenses. She and her global team concentrate on understanding emerging cyber risks and helping advance the practices that protect critical systems and information.
The work reflects the kind of structured, forward-looking problem solving that has defined her career.
“Cybersecurity requires constant learning and practical action,” Clement said. “The goal is to understand risks and environment changes clearly, and help teams continue to respond in smart and effective ways.”
Clement’s career has included work across industry, policy, and operations. She started out helping develop best practices through a trade association and later worked on cybersecurity policy issues.
As a next step, she “wanted to do something more operational,” so she moved into consulting, where she managed teams supporting cybersecurity programs for financial services clients.
Clement embraces her adaptive career path.
“I like to tell young people that it’s OK to have different goals at different parts of your life as your family or circumstance changes,” Clement said, adding that “being able to help my parents at various points of their lives was very important to me.”
In addition to solving problems, she enjoys building and leading teams. “I’ve been able to bring folks together who have different skills and knowledge and can drive their own work, but who work well together. I’m so proud of them and what we’ve been able to accomplish. Yes, the job can be stressful, but I’d feel more stressed if I didn’t have fantastic colleagues and team members.”
Regularly bringing her team together in person “helps us connect as humans. We have dinners and volunteer at food banks, for example.”
ONU was her first choice when considering universities because its “business program was more comprehensive” than that of other schools of its size. She says that broad perspective has stayed with her.
“Cybersecurity is not just a technical discipline,” she explained. “It requires understanding how businesses operate and how decisions connect across an organization.”
Studying abroad, participating in Cuban Business Studies, being involved with the Society for the Advancement of Management, and serving as president of the Student Planning Committee also contributed to her development as a leader. She is grateful, too, to have had “the opportunity to get to know my professors and to connect with a diverse group of friends.”
In a way, she is following in her grandfather’s footsteps. “He had a patent for automated steel mills and was the non-engineer of the group,” Clement said. “I’ve always appreciated the value of bringing different perspectives to complex problems.”
Looking ahead, Clement says cybersecurity will continue to evolve quickly as new technologies change how organizations think about risk. For students and young professionals, her advice is to stay curious, adaptable, and willing to keep learning.