Cybersecurity expert Courtney Guss trains executives, crisis management teams and tech engineers to keep an eye on the future and their skills sharp. When she decided to upgrade her business
and leadership skillset with an MBA, she knew traditional classes on campus were out of the question.
“I needed something flexible because I travel for work and my schedule is very unpredictable,” she said.
Guss enrolled in the online Master of Business Administration program at Bowling Green State University in January 2022. She was a senior management consultant for IBM’s Cybersecurity Services at the time, based in Columbus, Ohio. Six months later, a surprise transfer sent her halfway around the world.
“The assignment in Singapore was unexpected,” she noted, as was moving her family abroad for more than a year. Guss had concerns about continuing her MBA studies as well, given her new location and responsibilities.
“Thankfully, I did contact the school and asked them if a temporary assignment like this was okay, and they were wonderful” she remembered. Pausing her studies for one term allowed her settle in Singapore with her husband and daughter before resuming the program. “I found that the schedule was so flexible and accommodating that I was able to just dive back into finishing up my MBA,” she said.
Guss did have to navigate a 12-hour time difference with the United States, but her BGSU professors and classmates were supportive. Her experience working across multiple time zones in her professional life also helped.
“My schedule was all day in Asia-Pacific, and then I would turn around, have dinner and start all over again with the U.S. and Europe,” she said, recalling a typical online workday with IBM. Guss believes the collaborative, multitasking style she developed managing remote teams there helped her handle graduate study efficiently—and benefit from it even more. “I actually found the schoolwork easier because I could bounce it up against real-life work experience,” she confirmed.
Through it all, Guss stayed on track. She graduated from the program in August 2023, right before her assignment in Southeast Asia ended. Three months later, she accepted a position as senior cyber resiliency advisor for technology company Immersive Labs. It’s her latest success in a long career journey defined by big ambitions and bold steps.
Rising Through the Ranks of Tech
Guss earned her bachelor’s in apparel merchandising and product development at BGSU in 2004. She spent the first 12 years of her career in the insurance industry, focused on program management and regulatory compliance as well as risk and portfolio underwriting.
While she liked the experience she was gaining, she wasn’t satisfied with her progress. “Although it’s a great industry and stable field, I felt like I needed more variety and a challenge,” she confessed. A chance encounter over ribs, brisket and shop talk led to an unexpected opportunity in a fast-growing area of business.
“I met someone from the IT security field at a barbeque, of all places,” she said. “After talking about how risk management in the insurance sector translated to the IT security space, he was willing to give me a shot at changing careers.”
Guss made the transition to cybersecurity soon after, but the learning curve was steep. Many of her new colleagues held technology degrees or had spent years in the industry. Catching up on the infrastructure, components and processes she needed to understand was daunting.
“[It] was like drinking through a firehose for the first year,” she confided. “I always had this feeling of imposter syndrome, or that I wasn’t quite as knowledgeable as my peers.”
Guss continued to learn on the job and rose steadily, advancing to managing director. Once she joined IBM in 2021 and began working with international clients, she flourished. “I was exposed to a variety of projects, companies and industries that allowed me to further my development,” she said.
Guss also began looking into master’s programs to keep building her expertise. However, she wasn’t sure whether the best choice would be a business or tech-related degree. During a conversation with her manager, she asked his advice on the subject.
She recalled his response. “He said, ‘You know, there are a lot of very technical people at our company. We’ve got engineers and architects by the thousands. What we lack are strategic business-minded people who can translate the technical language or jargon into business language. So, I would encourage you to get your MBA.'”
Though his answer surprised her, she he knew he was right. “The decision to get my MBA ended up making a lot of sense,” she said. “The classes actually were more applicable to what I want to do in my career.”
An Education in Business and Beyond
In addition to the strategy and operations courses she took online at BGSU, Guss liked being able to customize the MBA program for her needs. “The supply chain electives that I selected applied to what’s going on in my business life,” she said.
Guss also appreciated the fact that classes were easy to access and the instructions were clear.
“The Canvas modules were set up in a way that there was really no room for confusion in terms of when things were due or how to submit documents or papers,” she said. “I could scan the class at the beginning of each term and know exactly what the expectations were, exactly what my schedule was going to look like.”
Interacting with other students was a highlight as well, due to the diversity of thought and experiences she encountered. “It was really interesting, the mix of people in each of the classes,” Guss marveled. “It was every field you could imagine.”
She says speaking with professionals from industries so different from her own—such as nursing, manufacturing and aviation—was always compelling. “It made the discussions enriching,” she confirmed.
Sharing her own ideas and experiences helped her realize her value professionally and acknowledge how much she’d achieved.
“What I’ve learned from this is that I do bring a lot to the table from a business perspective,” she said. “We don’t all have to come from the same educational background—or even professional background—in order to be successful.”
Working closely with professors changed her mindset too, as she reframed her goals over the course of the program. “The industries that some of them had worked in, and the feedback and background that they provided, [told] me that you can really pivot at any point,” she observed. It was a revelation she took to heart.
“It’s given me the opportunity to sit back and think about what the future looks like,” she said. “Maybe I don’t have to be so focused on one thing. Maybe I can really expand.”
Big Plans for a Big World
Guss is now based in Dallas, Texas. In her new role with Immersive Labs, she works with businesses and government agencies to upskill their cybersecurity workforce, focusing on the human element of keeping tech infrastructure and applications safe.
She continues to travel throughout the U.S. and Europe, serving clients in different countries and time zones. She loves the variety—and she’s also enjoying the nice salary bump that came with the position. Guss credits the latter in part to her MBA, among other benefits she has already seen from earning the degree.
“I’ve been able to have conversations with my boss and my mentor on a different level,” she reported. “From a credibility and visibility perspective, it’s definitely something that will be valuable.”
Her post-MBA life has come with other perks, such as more time to enjoy her accomplishment. She’s still getting used to that. “I’ve had to actually find hobbies,” she smiled. “I don’t know what to do with all of this free time!”
Though the year she spent in Singapore while finishing her degree was intense, she’s grateful for the fresh outlook it gave her. “My perspective on long-range career goals shifted after the overseas stint,” she confirmed.
“I went into this focused on my job and what [an MBA] could do for me,” she explained. “I think what I’ve come out with is, I do have a lot of experience and I’ve gained even more knowledge from this program, as well as broadened my network.”
Guss says the attention her MBA has received from colleagues and employers, her improved marketability, and the quick transition she made to a great position are ample evidence that her investment is paying off. But the most meaningful outcome has been personal.
“My epiphany is that I’m capable of more, and the world is a bigger place than it was when I went into this,” she shared. “What I found, and this program reinforced, is if you’re willing to work hard and learn new things you can do anything.”