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Spotlight on Risk Management’s Resilient Women

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Ahead of International Women’s Day, RIMS is celebrating women’s achievements in the profession. Three women leaders in different stages of their careers recently spoke with Risk Management Monitor about what motivated them to make the move into and within the industry, and what the can be done to even the landscape for all professionals. Download the current RIMScast episode for their full interviews.

Kathleen P. Crowe, Aon Risk Solutions and chair of the RIMS Rising Risk Professionals Advisory Group.

What is your impression of risk management’s playing field?

Crowe: I’ve been in the industry for about six years and even in that time I’ve seen a pretty significant change in the overall makeup of the risk management and insurance positions. A lot of companies – Aon included – have women in leadership positions, which I appreciate. Women represent three of my four largest clients – we’re talking about massive, publicly traded companies and they are responsible for risk management functions.

It used to be the boys club but it’s becoming the women’s club, too, and I am glad to have these fantastic women to look up to. There’s been a lot of significant progress and I’m excited about the future.

How much of a challenge is knowledge transfer in risk management?

Crowe: I think everyone is facing similar issues in finding ways to integrate people into different areas so they can be trained to step up. The knowledge sharing process takes time and effort and though it’s a constant reminder that everyone is busy, it’s a way to prioritize and make sure we’re investing appropriately in the younger generation. This will enable them to succeed in higher positions as they progress through their careers and take on management positions and oversee others.

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Cassandra R. Cole, Department Chair of Risk Management Insurance, Real Estate, and Legal Studies at Florida State University; Director of the Master of Science in RiskManagement and Insurance Program and the William T. Hold Professor in Risk Management and Insurance.

You have been an educator for years. Does your curriculum evolve to reflect news and industry trends?

Cole: Definitely. Much of my research comes from what’s going on in the world. It makes the classroom more exciting and the information you share more relevant. It helps the student better understand the connection between what’s going on in the textbook and what’s going on in the real world.

For example, I teach employee benefits on a regular basis and with the passage of the Affordable Care Act, that had implications for company health insurance plans and we spent a lot of time exploring how that law would impact companies, what they offer, their cost of insurance and how it would affect employees.

Are more female students showing an interest in risk management courses and degrees? What could higher education and the profession itself to generate or maintain enthusiasm? 

Cole: There has been a significant shift overall in terms of a gender spread. At the undergraduate level, it’s probably more 50-50. At the advanced programs and doctoral level is where I’m seeing a difference and where we still need to continue to inspire women to pursue those advanced degrees.

I think one of the things other than the actual teaching experience is connecting with students, helping them make decisions, [and] helping prepare them for that transition into the work. It is nice, though, to hear from a student who says ‘you’re the first female business professor I’ve had,’ because it demonstrates where they can go in their careers.

We are definitely making some advances but there are disparities in pay that need to be addressed and corrected.

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Soraya Wright, founder and CEO of SMW Risk Management Consulting and also a member of the RIMS Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council.

You were at Clorox for more than 20 years and left as the vice president of Global Risk Management and Crisis Management. What influenced you to go out on your own?

Wright: I initially thought I would be semi-retired, but two friends hired me as a consultant. I realized I had to formalize myself as a company if I was going to take on all these projects.

One of my mentees influenced me to keep working because she appreciated that I was someone who raised the issue of bringing on women and people of color onto strategic projects while I had been at Clorox. I thought about the work I was doing as a consultant and her words and they grabbed at my heart, and I felt another purpose. So, I continue to stay engaged and learn and practice my expertise as a risk manager. But I also devote some time for my passion, which is mentoring and coaching others and influencing change so there are opportunities for under-represented members of our profession.

How do you feel the profession can further encourage women to maintain their careers?

Wright: By providing opportunities for those who demonstrate an interest. Mentorship is important and I believe we’re obligated to reach back and help the next generation and also our peers. Our clients have more leverage than many realize, so just requesting that certain types of people with certain viewpoints work on your project can make all the difference in your work and in someone’s career. If we do that we’ll continue to see this wave of advancement and the leveling of the playing field.

RIMS ERM 2018: Earning the ‘Mandate’ and a ‘Seat at the Table’

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MONTREAL – More than 300 risk management professionals and students attended the 2018 RIMS ERM Conference on Monday and Tuesday in an effort to gain insight from, and network with, the industry’s enterprise risk management leaders. Wisdom, data, and motivation within the ERM space were on tap during all the sessions and workshops.

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On October 29, Martin Vilsoe, partner of the Implement Consulting Group, opened the two-day event by highlighting the importance of ERM’s worldwide capabilities and how to operationalize the best ERM practices. Vilsoe said that risk managers need to “earn the mandate” to work with ERM, and focused on the idea that risks can equal opportunities.

He said that ultimately the risk manager’s job when implementing an ERM framework is to “enable brave decisions” and to maintain an organization’s best direction. With a visual aid of a freighter and individual boats in an ocean, he rhetorically asked: “Is your framework similar to a supertanker or 15-speed boats going in separate directions?”

He also spoke to the importance of risk management’s value to an organization without the sole reliance on analytics.

“Risk management’s purpose is to show value. If it is about value, then we better bring it,” he said. “We don’t always communicate that. There’s a big difference between calculating and measuring value versus communicating value. You can do it without having complete proof – you shouldn’t lie to people, but you should tell them you’re doing something great for the organization.

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He encouraged the audience to consider their current roles as a consultant – and the importance of “winning customers” in this alternate role. This involves some sales prowess, he said, and the ability to tell a core story or narrative that describes what you do to engage with stakeholders. Build a core story around the ERM program and send different messages to different stakeholders around your core story.

“I don’t see enough of this in risk management programs because of the idea that it is ‘too big,’ or ‘I can’t communicate it,’” he said. “You can do it. We have to move past that mentality.

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“The misconceptions is that risk management is about IT systems. And if you’re thinking as a risk consultant, be aware that putting stuff in systems will not help you manage your risks. Your ability to facilitate awareness, promote decisions and execute them, will.”

Day 2

Dovetailing on the idea that risks can become opportunities, October 30 opened with “Advancing Risk Management: Having A Seat At The Table,” presented by Laura Cisi, the Clorox Company’s vice president of global risk management, and Soraya Wright, founder and CEO of SMW Risk Management Consulting LLC.

In a fireside chat-style setting, the duo used Clorox – a 105-year-old company – as a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of its ERM initiatives.

A 25-year veteran of the risk management industry, Cisi has been with Clorox for the past four years and said her ERM initiatives evolved from being viewed as the “insurance department” to a “strategic business partner,” with Wright’s collaboration with Cisi’s team to take the company on its ERM journey.

The duo said its ERM framework was built on routines, which provide “an outline that enabled us to use [it] to use as a tool,” for decision-making and assessing its critical risks as well, such as embracing a change in its formula during the manufacturing process.

“We decided to convert from chlorine to high-strength bleach,” Cisi said. “That risk bubbled up through our ERM committee and the actions that needed to be taken, and the methodology behind that came up through ERM.”

ERM was also a key influence when assessing the decision in 2014 to close Clorox Venezuela and cease operations in the country. “‘Should we be the first to exit?’” was the question on stakeholders’ minds for a long time before they discontinued operations, Cisi said. The company was required to sell more than two-thirds of its products at prices frozen by the Venezuelan government. As a result, Clorox Venezuela had been selling its products at a loss, causing ongoing operating losses despite attempts to reach a pragmatic solution with the country’s government. “Looking back, it was a good decision.”

Ultimately, the risk manager’s seat is one of many at a table occupied by executives, stakeholders and the C-suite. Cisi and Wright advocated not for being the loudest one there – but for bringing sound ideas and options. And perhaps coincidentally, Cisi and Wright’s approach seem to be putting Vilsoe’s mantras of engagement and alignment into practice.

“I think every day we get to demonstrate ERM, and not something we just do annually. For example, the ways we engage with product development and business development – we used to be thought of as compliance… and a department that said ‘no,’ Cisi said. “To shift that conversation to create more open engagements where you say ‘I’m your partner and it’s my job to identify these risks. Ultimately, it’s your business decision as to whether or not you go forward with them.”

It was then, she continued, that the risk management department was being consulted on the potential for new products by executives and other groups.

“That was when the conversation shifted from risks to opportunities,” Cisi said, adding, “and that was something they could relate to.”

RIMS members can access the live, uncut audio from “A Seat At The Table” via RIMScast.

An all-access RIMScast episode featuring conference speakers is available here.