RIMScast

The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc.
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The official podcast of RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society. Tune in for weekly discussions about risk management hot topics, interviews with leaders in the profession, and updates on RIMS events and education.

  1. 10 hr ago

    Why APIW President Dawnmarie Black Wants Professionals to Stop Saying They "Fell Into Insurance"

    Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.   In this episode, Justin interviews APIW President Dawnmarie Black about her role at Amwins and her journey to get there, starting with clerical work in her father's insurance agency. Dawnmarie speaks about the great training program she received early in her career, being mentored, joining an association board, and growing her career through being mentored, networking, connecting, building relationships, being mentored, and leadership. She emphasizes communication and transparency as the basis of relationships. Justin and Dawnmarie discuss upcoming trends in risk, recruiting talent, and retaining professionals with a culture of trust and development. Dawnmarie speaks of Amwins's innovative outreach to underrepresented children and HBCUs about the insurance industry. Finally, Dawnmarie focuses on her association work and the upcoming APIW 50th Anniversary Gala on November 3rd in NYC. Listen for themes of communication, connection, and relationship building.   Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:16] About this episode of RIMScast. We will be joined today by Dawnmarie Black of Amwins. She is also the President of the Association of Professional Insurance Women (APIW). But first… [:42] RIMS-CRMP Workshop. We are delighted to announce that on August 27th and 28th, RIMS President Manny Padilla will be leading the two-day in-person workshop at St. John's University at 101 Astor Place in New York City. A link to the registration is in this episode's show notes. [1:02] RIMS-CRMP Virtual Workshops. RIMS will partner with PARIMA for the RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep on September 1st and 2nd. Registration links are in this episode's show notes. [1:12] Also on the webinars page, you will see a two-part series hosted by the RIMS Membership Department. The "Classroom to Career" webinar series highlights how RIMS equips students with the knowledge, skills, and connections needed to thrive in risk management careers. [1:28] Participants will gain insights into industry trends, career pathways, and practical tools that help them confidently step into the evolving world of risk management after graduation. These sessions will be hosted on September 1st and 9th. [1:41] These sessions are member exclusives and are complimentary for RIMS members, of course. So, if you are interested in becoming a member, this would be the time. Visit RIMS.org/membership. [1:51] RIMS is back on YouTube. Our handle is @RIMSOfficialChannel. We've got plenty of videos there, including RIMScast, RIMScast Canada video podcasts, and other informative and entertaining content from RIMS. Subscribe to the channel today! [2:08] On with the Show! Our guest today is Dawnmarie Black. She is the Senior Vice President and Client Relationship Manager at Amwins, and she is the President of the Association of Professional Insurance Women (APIW). [2:26] We'll talk a bit about her career journey, what she believes it takes to attract and retain talent in insurance and risk management, and the interconnected risks that are on her radar. Let's get to it! [2:39] Interview! Dawnmarie Black, Welcome to RIMScast! [2:48] Justin says, you know Dawnmarie Black from Amwins, and she is also the President of the Association of Professional Insurance Women (APIW). Justin is wearing their pin. [3:21] Dawnmarie is a Client Relationship Manager at Amwins. She builds relationships with retail trading partners. It's a strategic national, corporate relationship across the U.S. [3:35] Dawnmarie works and collaborates with their market placement teams or carrier strategy teams and Amwins internal brokers. [3:44] There's a lot of collaboration to ensure that Amwins brokers are finding the opportunities and so the client and Amwins understand how Amwins fits into their strategic priorities, and to grow both businesses. [4:04] Dawnmarie says she and her team are there to support the retail brokers and also support Amwins's internal brokers in their growth initiatives. [4:13] Dawnmarie joined Amwins in September of 2025. [4:32] Dawnmarie's father owned an insurance agency in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She worked at his agency from age 16. She went to Allegheny College in Meadville and worked at a local agency. She did a lot of mailroom, file room, cold calling, and CSR work. [4:59] Dawnmarie thought she would ultimately move up in her father's agency and someday be the succession plan. He sold it, and Dawnmarie went to work for Chubb in their training program. It was a phenomenal start into this industry. They had a great training program. [5:16] Dawnmarie says a lot of her group are still colleagues and friends today, which set the stage for her career. [5:21] Dawnmarie says she moved through underwriting and brokerage, she built and launched an IT system at Aon, and went back to underwriting for a while. Most recently, Dawnmarie was the head of market development for the Americas at Lloyd's of London. [5:54] Dawnmarie says it was an incredible role to understand what's happening in the global marketplace, at a 30,000-foot view, working with coders in the U.S. very closely. This is how she got to Amwins. She was promoting the Lloyd's market to the Amwins leadership team. [6:37] Justin finds it fascinating that Dawnmarie was not the successor to her father but made her own way in the insurance industry. She learned it from the ground up. She has touched every part of the industry except for claims. She has come full circle, working with retailers again. [7:04] Dawnmarie says it has been a very interesting and fulfilling journey. She feels like it has placed her well to be in a position like this, to be working with Amwins's retailers. [7:36] Dawnmarie says she establishes trust with people through communication and transparency. She tells it like it is. She also will go the extra mile, out of her way to make sure things get done. At Amwins, there is a service leadership culture. [8:01] Dawnmarie says she is there to help; to help direct, to help move things, or to help resolve things, at a very strategic, macro level. That fills her cup. She owns up to what she is promising.  [8:19] Dawnmarie says, if she tells you she is going to get something done, she will get it done, to the best of her ability, or there will be a very good reason why it hasn't been done. It's important to communicate that. [8:39] Dawnmarie says she thinks that the next generation of leaders exhibits these qualities. They are thoughtful and demanding and have high expectations. When Dawnmarie entered the industry, the culture required her to prove herself. There was a way to approach the business. [9:14] Dawnmarie says the Chubb training program was 12 weeks in their training center in Warren, New Jersey. You learned the policy forms, how to work with insureds, and understand needs. You understood risk. You learned underwriting and pricing. [9:36] The emphasis was understanding the business. Unfortunately for our young risk professionals, there are not as many programs like that available today. [9:49] Dawnmarie says you find companies that are putting training programs together. Amwins has an underwriter development program that is outstanding. A lot of the business produced in Amwins comes from those who have come through the UDP or a broker development program. [10:05] Dawnmarie says our industry has gotten away from the super-formalized training programs, probably to the detriment of our younger professionals, but we're all stepping in and finding ways to fill those gaps. [10:30] Justin concludes that Dawnmarie had an analog, hands-on, pen-and-paper training program. [11:06] Dawnmarie joined the APIW early in her career. She would go to two or three monthly luncheons a year. Then she left APIW for a few years. [11:26] About 10 years ago, while she was at Lloyd's, Dawnmarie was asked to join the board of APIW and get more involved. There, Dawnmarie held the roles of Co-head of Programming, then Treasurer, and ultimately, she was asked to step into the President position. [11:46] Dawnmarie says she has seen the incredible evolution of APIW, going from 500 members to 3,500 members in 11 chapters across the U.S. with 60 corporate sponsorships. APIW has grown since the first time Dawnmarie was involved. [12:20] Dawnmarie says that in her early 40s, she went to her first Women's Leadership Conference by the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF). There weren't a lot of events like that then. Dawnmarie was struggling to figure out what she wanted in her career. [12:50] At this Women's Leadership Conference, a woman spoke on the importance of getting involved, joining boards, and growing your network. Dawnmarie had always done that organically, but she hadn't done it thoughtfully. It was client-driven. [13:08] Dawnmarie went back to management and said that IICF board positions go to sponsor companies. She asked if Lloyd's would sponsor IICF and could she be chosen as the board member? That's where she got her first board experience. [13:24] Dawnmarie moved up and ended up Co-chair of the Boston Chapter. She learned a lot, and it prepared her for APIW. [13:41] A Quick Break! Many fantastic RIMS events are coming up in 2026. This is a last call for registration for the Second Annual RIMS Texas Regional Conference, which will be held from August 10th through the 12th at the Grand Hyatt on the San Antonio River Walk. [13:58] Visit RIMS.org/Events for registration information. The hotel cutoff date was July 10th. Reservations may still be made after the hotel cutoff date, subject to availability; however, the negotiated group rate is no longer guaranteed, so reserve now. [14:14] The 11th Annual Chicagoland Risk Forum will return to the Old Post Office on Thursday, September 24th, 2026. Visit ChicagolandRiskForum.org for more inform

  2. 6 days ago

    Reeling in Risk with Inland Fisheries Ireland CRO Colette Cummins

    Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.   In this episode, Justin interviews Colette Cummins, Chief Risk Officer of Inland Fisheries Ireland and a RIMS-CRMP Commissioner, on what it's like to be a CRO in an organization whose mission is protecting a national natural resource. Justin invites Colette to share her career journey, and she tells how she developed in credit risk management, audit, and enterprise risk management, and how she landed in the public sector, protecting the environment while guiding Inland Fisheries Ireland toward building a solid risk framework. Colette speaks of the surprises she found in the public sector, and the impressive risk mindset and commitment she finds at IFI.   Listen for principles of building out risk registers and a risk framework, whether in the private sector or a public sector agency.   Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:16] About this episode of RIMScast. Our guest today is Collete Cummins. She is the Chief Risk Officer for Inland Fisheries Ireland and a RIMS-CRMP Commissioner. We're going to have a great dialog. But first… [:42] RIMS-CRMP Workshop. We are delighted to announce that on August 27th and 28th, RIMS President Manny Padilla will be leading the two-day in-person workshop at St. John's University at 101 Astor Place in New York City. A link to the registration is in this episode's show notes. [1:02] RIMS-CRMP Virtual Workshops. RIMS will partner with PARIMA for the RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep on September 1st and 2nd. Registration links are in this episode's show notes. [1:12] On the webinars page, you will see a two-part series hosted by the RIMS Membership Department. The "Classroom to Career" webinar series highlights how RIMS equips students with the knowledge, skills, and connections needed to thrive in risk management careers. [1:28] Participants will gain insights into industry trends, career pathways, and practical tools that help them confidently step into the evolving world of risk management after graduation. These sessions will be hosted on September 1st and 9th. [1:41] These sessions are member exclusives and are complimentary for RIMS members, of course. So, if you are interested in becoming a member, this would be the time. Visit RIMS.org/membership. [1:51] RIMS is back on YouTube. Our handle is @RIMSOfficialChannel. We've got plenty of videos there, including RIMScast, RIMScast Canada video podcasts, and other informative and entertaining content from RIMS. Subscribe to the channel today! [2:08] On with the Show! Our guest today is Colette Cummins. She is the Chief Risk Officer for Inland Fisheries Ireland. The IFI is the dedicated state agency for protecting, managing, and conserving Ireland's inland fisheries and sea angling resources. [2:26] Colette is the agency's first CRO, but she's not new to risk management. We're going to hear about her career journey and why she feels that this position was custom-made for her, combining her love for environmental awareness with her risk management knowledge. [2:42] Colette is also a RIMS-CRMP Commissioner, and on September 24th, you can hear from her directly, along with Elliott Long, another RIMS-CRMP Commissioner, in the informational session, "A Conversation with RIMS-CRMP Commissioners Who Hold the Credential." [2:58] That's a free informational session. Visit RIMS.org/CertificationWeek for more information. A link is in this episode's show notes. But we're here to talk with Colette about her fascinating career and risk philosophies. Let's get to it! [3:13] Interview! Colette Cummins, Welcome to RIMScast! [3:28] Colette was told once that she is excessively optimistic. She's very positive. She took it as a compliment. [4:18] Colette started fresh out of university in credit analysis and credit risk management. She worked in a few financial services organizations. It gave her a taste for risk management at a high level. It was around portfolio analysis and the credit history of customers. [4:51] The role Colette was in wound down, and she was looking to move into a different area in the company, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, in the financial services subsidiary. An opportunity came up to work in internal audit. She decided to try it for a year. She stayed in it for 15 years. [5:32] In the middle of those 15 years, Colette had an interim stint in Operational Risk Management for a year and a half, and she loved it. [5:47] Colette says, in Operational Risk, you're seeing down at a tactical level how to manage and monitor risk. It was very much around risk monitoring. [6:01] Colette explains why she stayed in internal audit for 15 years. Ten years were spent in various internal audit management roles in the financial services subsidiary. It was a tough time for HPE in terms of meeting the new regulatory challenges in Ireland and Europe for financial services. [6:41] Colette was asked to take on the Head of Internal Audit role. She did that for five years. She went into Internal Audit for one year in 2008. In 2015, she worked in Operational Risk. In 2017, she was asked to come back to take over as Head of Internal Audit. [7:11] It was a challenging situation because new EU regulations were coming in for banks and financial services businesses. It was a lot of pressure to meet these. There was a lot of scrutiny from Irish regulators. It was a challenging environment for Internal Audit. [7:53] When Colette moved in as Head of Internal Audit, it was a pivotal role in terms of steering the organization through that regulatory time. It was a great learning experience and very helpful now that she's in a public sector role. [8:09] Colette says, the whole time she was Head of Internal Audit, she was thinking, "How do I get back to Risk? How do I get out of here?" She loved Operational Risk. [8:27] Colette networked heavily within the organization. She got the opportunity to move out of Financial Services up into the global HPE organization as an Enterprise Risk Manager. She got that role through networking. She enjoyed that ERM role and did it for about five years. [9:26] Colette says it was a strategic role. She was working with the heads of each business unit, reviewing their risks. It had a very heavy emphasis on reporting to the audit committee and the board on what was happening in risk management in the business units. [9:58] Colette didn't feel as if she was effecting change or driving new strategies within the organization, but she learned a huge amount about negotiating with senior management and a lot about the fundamentals of risk management. [10:18] For the last year or two of her role, Colette wondered what she was doing there. She had a sense of wanting to stay in risk management but wanting to do something different, maybe something more value-add and less commercially driven. [10:39] Colette says towards the end of 2025, HPE announced it was cutting resources and implementing cost-cutting initiatives. As part of that, her role was made redundant. At first, it was a big upheaval and quite a shock after 22 years with the organization. [11:03] Colette says that upheaval turned into a great opportunity. It was the push she needed to ask herself where she wanted to go and what she wanted to do. It was an opportunity to try something completely different. [11:28] Colette says she didn't know anybody in the public sector. She had no contacts. But in Ireland, you cannot in any way canvass for jobs in the public sector. Everything is heavily regulated with very strict anti-corruption regulations. [11:54] Colette says she had no knowledge of the organization. She had no intention of applying for a role for at least six months. But she started looking at what was out there. She was going to put some time into development and building out her CV and getting some qualifications. [12:33] Colette says she had been thinking she would like to do something in the public sector; something more meaningful and less commercially-driven. She wanted to do something with more autonomy, more impact, and more control over risk at the organisation. [12:54] Colette says, one Wednesday afternoon, she was looking, and she saw this job that had just come up. It's in exactly the right location, it's public sector, and it's IFI, an environmental body. Colette said, "Wow! This is it!" Forgetting her six months off, she had to go for it. [13:19] Colette interviewed for the job when she hadn't yet finished her old role at HPE. She was hugely busy, trying to wrap up her role and interviewing. The interview process for the public sector in Ireland is extremely rigorous and tough. She was successful in the role. [13:43] Colette says she just had a couple of weeks off and then went straight into it in March of 2026. She has been CRO at Inland Fisheries Ireland for four months now. [14:06] Colette says IFI is the state organization that is responsible for protecting the fish stock in Ireland. Ireland is a country with a lot of waterways. IFI is responsible for protecting the fish in 45,000 miles of rivers, 128,000 hectares of lakes, and 3,500 miles of shoreline. [14:43] It's doing everything to protect and restore the fish stock in those areas. Historically, the organization was very much about protection, preventing fishermen from overfishing and from fishing illegally, especially protected species. IFI has a substantial staff who patrol the rivers. [15:17] Now IFI is working on pollution, reacting to any pollution episodes and ensuring that they're investigated and stopped. Colette says that prevention measures sit with a different state body. The Environmental Protection Agency works on the prevention of pollution.  [15:41] Colette says because the IFI has staff on the ground, it will see pollution coming in, react to it, and get in touch with the EPA to say, We've seen something coming i

  3. 21 Jul

    The Human Side of Risk with Jerome Mayne

    Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.   In this episode, Justin interviews Jerome Mayne about his experiences and his upcoming RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026 keynote, "Choices and Consequences: The Human Side of Risk." In his keynote, Jerome will speak about his experiences and the human factors in decisions. He shares part of the story from his keynote and his book Diary of a White Collar Criminal. Justin and Jerome discuss how fraud develops. Most fraud comes after a series of bad decisions. Jerome says, looking back, you may not understand why you made those decisions. His keynote will address, through storytelling, how fraud happens. Jerome uses humor to tell very serious stories. Jerome speaks of an organizational culture in which it is safe to discuss with leaders bad decisions you may have made. If there is an atmosphere of fear, you will not have these discussions.   Listen for the value of connecting and giving your audience takeaways they will remember.   Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:16] About this episode of RIMScast. We will be joined by Jerome Mayne, opening keynote speaker for the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026. We will talk about choices and consequences. But first… [:42] RIMS-CRMP Workshop. We are delighted to announce that on August 27th and 28th, RIMS President Manny Padilla will be leading the two-day in-person workshop at St. John's University at 101 Astor Place in New York City. A link to the registration is in this episode's show notes. [1:02] RIMS-CRMP Virtual Workshops. The next virtual RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep courses will be held on July 28th and 29th. RIMS will partner with PARIMA for the RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep on September 1st and 2nd. Registration links are in this episode's show notes. [1:19] On the webinars page, you will see a two-part series hosted by the RIMS Membership Department. The "Classroom to Career" webinar series highlights how RIMS equips students with the knowledge, skills, and connections needed to thrive in risk management careers. [1:34] Participants will gain insights into industry trends, career pathways, and practical tools that help them confidently step into the evolving world of risk management after graduation. These sessions will be hosted on September 1st and 9th. [1:48] These sessions are member exclusives and are complimentary for RIMS members, of course. So, if you are interested in becoming a member, this would be the time. Visit RIMS.org/membership. [1:57] Live Events! The RIMS ERM Conference 2026 will be held on November 19th and 20th in Columbus, Ohio. Registration will open in July. Look out for the call for nominations for the RIMS ERM Global Award of Distinction. Visit RIMS.org/ERM2026 in July for that announcement. [2:19] RIMS is back on YouTube. Our handle is @RIMSOfficialChannel. We've got plenty of videos there, including RIMScast, RIMScast Canada video podcasts, and other informative and entertaining content from RIMS. Subscribe to the channel today! [2:38] On with the Show! Our guest today is Jerome Mayne. He is an Ethics and Humorous Keynote Speaker. He will be kicking off the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026. [2:48] Jerome is the author of Diary of a White Collar Criminal, the first-hand account of his career in comedy and his 21-month Federal prison sentence for white-collar conspiracy. Learn more at JeromeMayne.com. [3:03] Jerome will provide a unique blend of ethical insights and humor at the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026 in San Antonio on Tuesday, August 11th, with his session, "Choices and Consequences: The Human Side of Risk." [3:20] We're going to get a preview of that session, and also get his perspective on ethical decision-making and how risk managers can avoid certain temptations. We're going to have a lot of fun! Let's get to it! [3:33] Interview! Jerome Mayne, Welcome to RIMScast! [3:38] Jerome was recommended by a RIMS member to be a great person to "kick off" the conference. Jerome says word of mouth is the best marketing. [4:28] Jerome says people don't like to think they're going to an ethics conference. That could be a real "sleeper." [4:50] Jerome says his whole perspective is from the human side. He speaks about decisions. He doesn't speak about financial transactions. He's not doing bullet points. He's not a scholar in ethics. He knows about decisions. [5:12] Policies and checklists are important, but there's still a human being making the decision, especially with technology. [5:30] Jerome says his experience and story have to do with decision-making. It doesn't matter what industry it is; it's all the same. It's human. That's what he talks about, and he says he's fortunate because he gets to tell a story. [5:50] One of the things Jerome hears most is that he connected with the group because he's a regular guy, like everybody else in the office. He wasn't a Bernie Madoff. He didn't plan something. It was decisions. [6:23] Jerome says that in real estate finance, you've got a lot of things that have to happen. There are Fannie Mae guidelines, and underwriters that make sure the transactions are right. They didn't call it risk management. It was your manager who kept an eye on it. [6:47] With real estate finance, you have underwriters, but they can't catch everything, and there was less technology. It was a lot about the human factor. Then when you sell all these loans in a pool, and it goes to Wall Street, there are audits, and that's where they can find stuff. [7:12] There were some red flags before it went to auditing, but that's the risk. [7:28] Jerome thinks risk management has evolved since his time in real estate. In Jerome's time, humans made the decisions to get the customer involved. There were human decisions to make sure that financial transactions went through. Now there are more computers to flag stuff. [8:04] Jerome says, ultimately, today, risk managers are looking for fraud and for specific risks they have identified that indicate there is a problem. It starts with the organization's culture. If you're not comfortable thinking about decisions you've made, that can be a red flag. [8:45] Fraud isn't the first thing that happens. It's usually a decision, a mistake, or a justification. It kind of rolls from there. Justification is really easy. Fraud is the last thing that happens. [9:28] Jerome says people call it the slippery slope. Jerome calls it your gut instinct. Instinct is like muscle memory. If something doesn't look right, you know what to do. You feel it right away. [9:53] And then, maybe there's a reason that you don't do it. You want this transaction to go through, or you like the customer and you think it's not a big deal. It's not like they told you they were going to commit fraud. [10:24] And then, you keep working with that customer, and you realize, more and more, you're just making decisions to make it through the transactions. Jerome will share a story like this in the session. It didn't start with one thing, and they never asked Jerome to do anything for them. [11:01] It was never part of the deal that Jerome was going to make money at it. His biggest worry was that he was going to get fired, maybe. [11:15] A Quick Break! There are many fantastic RIMS events coming up in 2026. The Annual Florida RIMS Educational Conference will be held from July 28th through August 1st at the lovely Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida. A link to the event is in this episode's show notes. [11:33] Register now for the Second Annual RIMS Texas Regional Conference, which will be held from August 10th through the 12th at the Grand Hyatt on the San Antonio River Walk. Visit RIMS.org/Events for registration information. [11:51] The hotel cutoff date was July 10th. Reservations may still be made after the hotel cutoff date, subject to availability; however, the negotiated group rate is no longer guaranteed, so reserve now. [12:03] The 11th Annual Chicagoland Risk Forum will return to the Old Post Office on Thursday, September 24th, 2026. Visit ChicagolandRiskForum.org for more information. [12:14] The RIMS Western Regional Conference will be held from October 4th through the 7th in Seattle, Washington. The agenda is live, and registration is open. Visit RIMSWesternRegional.com and the link in this episode's show notes for more information. [12:31] Save the dates: October 18th through the 21st. We will be in Quebec City to celebrate the 50th Live RIMS Canada Conference. Booth sales are open, and sponsorship opportunities are still available. Advance registration is open now. [12:47] Visit RIMSCanadaConference.ca for more information. Also, remember to check out RIMS.org/Canada for our spinoff show, RIMScast Canada, hosted by National Conference Committee Chair, Aaron Lukoni. [13:03] The RIMS ERM Conference 2026 will be held on November 19th and 20th in Columbus, Ohio. Registration is now open. [13:12] Be on the lookout for an announcement about submissions for the RIMS Global ERM Award of Distinction. Visit RIMS.org/ERM2026.  [13:22] Let's Return to Our Interview with RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026 Keynote, Jerome Mayne! [13:32] Justin and Jerome have standup comedy in common. Justin did standup in New York from 2006 to 2007. He says it takes a certain calling to want to get up and do that. [14:11] Jerome had done improv and started doing standup. He had always been a performer and a musician, performing on stage. He started improv, "smoking stage," and standup because his life was swimming along just great. [14:36] Then, Boom! Jerome was indicted. He was going through pre-trial. He didn't have a job anymore; he didn't know what to do, and he didn't know what was going to happen to him. His life wasn't happy, and being in a club every night of the week, you can develop some bad habits. [15:33] Jerome says there was some great stu

  4. 14 Jul

    Taking on Global Leadership in Insurance with Sierra Signorelli, Spencer Funding Their Future Honoree

    Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.   In this episode, Justin interviews Spencer Funding Their Future Honoree, Sierra Signorelli, about her background in environmental science, what drew her into insurance, and what convinced her that this profession was where she wanted to build a career. They discuss her career path from environmental consulting to environmental insurance underwriting to leading a global team and to currently serving as CEO of U.S. and Commercial Insurance at Zurich, and the pivotal moments that changed the trajectory of her career. They discuss her passion for helping women make their way in the industry, and her activities to bring new talent into insurance careers. Justin and Sierra discuss the Spencer Educational Foundation and how Zurich's interest in nurturing new talent aligns with Spencer's work.   Listen for Sierra's passion about the dynamic state of the insurance industry and how it can bring new risk solutions to companies.   Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:16] About this episode of RIMScast. Our guest is Sierra Signorelli, CEO of U.S. and Commercial Insurance at Zurich and one of this year's Spencer Funding Their Future Gala Honorees. But first… [:42] RIMS-CRMP Workshop. We are delighted to announce that on August 27th and 28th, RIMS President Manny Padilla will be leading the two-day in-person workshop at St. John's University at 101 Astor Place in New York City. A link to the registration is in this episode's show notes. [1:02] RIMS-CRMP Virtual Workshops. The next RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep with PARIMA will be held virtually on July 21st and 22nd. Registration links are in this episode's notes. [1:14] We have a summertime webinar. On July 16th, Zurich will present "Too Hot to Ignore: Heat-Related Injuries and Workers' Compensation." Register at RIMS.org/webinars and via the link in this episode's show notes. [1:29] Also on the webinars page, you will see a two-part series hosted by the RIMS Membership Department. The "Classroom to Career" webinar series highlights how RIMS equips students with the knowledge, skills, and connections needed to thrive in risk management careers. [1:44] Participants will gain insights into industry trends, career pathways, and practical tools that help them confidently step into the evolving world of risk management after graduation. These sessions will be hosted on September 1st and 9th. [1:58] These sessions are member exclusives and are complimentary for RIMS members, of course. So, if you are interested in becoming a member, this would be the time. Visit RIMS.org/membership. [2:07] The RIMS ERM Conference 2026 will be held on November 19th and 20th in Columbus, Ohio. Registration will open in July. Be on the lookout for the call for nominations for the RIMS ERM Global Award of Distinction. Visit RIMS.org/ERM2026 in July for that announcement. [2:29] RIMS is back on YouTube. Our handle is @RIMSOfficialChannel. We've got plenty of videos there, including RIMScast, RIMScast Canada video podcasts, and other informative and entertaining content from RIMS. Subscribe to the channel today! [2:48] On with the Show! Our guest today is one of the modern trailblazers of risk and insurance. She is Sierra Signorelli, the CEO of U.S. and Commercial Insurance at Zurich. She is also one of this year's Spencer Educational Foundation's Funding Their Future honorees. [3:08] Sierra will receive her honor at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City on September 17th at the Spencer Funding Their Future Gala. [3:16] Sierra is here today to discuss her career development, her career journey, how it evolved into a global leadership role, and some words of wisdom for the next generation of risk and insurance talent. She has a lot of great insight and takeaways for us all. Let's get to it! [3:37] Interview! Sierra Signorelli, Welcome to RIMScast! [3:47] Justin and Sierra discuss longtime mutual friend Marya Propis. Sierra says their paths crossed early in their careers at AIG. They got to know each other through the Women's Executive Leadership Initiative Program. [4:09] Sierra says quite a few exceptional women in important roles in our industry came out of that program cohort. It's fantastic to come back together with Marya for this event. [4:37] Sierra studied environmental science. She tries to live and work with a sense of purpose. In university, she wanted to make the world a better place with environmental science. [4:58] Sierra says there are areas of overlap between insurance and environmental science. Her initial work out of school was about understanding changing weather patterns, flooding, epidemiology, chemistry, liability, and toxic tort. She leans on what she studied. [5:33] Sierra says that in school, they studied Earth Systems Science. Much of the modeling they did in school is the same modeling that Cat modelers do at Zurich. [6:04] Sierra first worked at an environmental engineering consulting firm. A colleague left to join a new company. He called her to come and interview. It hadn't been on her mind, but on his recommendation, she interviewed. Meeting the people, Sierra was intrigued. [7:08] Sierra says once she joined, she never looked back. She joined as an underwriter doing environmental insurance, so it tied to her background. It felt like it was her own little business. It was her responsibility to build a portfolio of business and build relationships with brokers. [7:37] Sierra says it was fascinating. The industry gives lots of training, both industry-led and within companies. The opportunity to learn was fun. Sierra felt it was a great place to start to build a career. [8:20] Sierra has had a few meaningful career pivots. As an underwriter, transitioning to her first manager role was a big step. It taught her that you have to have sponsorship or support within an organization to get the next roles. [8:47] Sierra says it was a big step from being an individual contributor to leading a much larger team. Having somebody willing to put that on her was really important. She will be forever grateful for that first step. [9:12] Sierra says the next meaningful step was from running a business in a region to being a CUO for one of the businesses globally. The organization restructured and put Sierra across lines of business she had no expertise in. That was a huge shift for her. [9:40] Sierra was no longer the deep expert, but she had to lead a team of experts and be credible with those individuals. Most of them had 30 or 40 years of experience. Sierra was in her early 40s. It was a fantastic opportunity that somebody was brave enough to give her. [10:09] Shortly after, Sierra moved from New York to Asia. It was quite a difference. She took that step because she was in a global role. She says, even though she traveled a lot and she's curious about people and cultures, it's not until you sit somewhere that you really experience it. [10:39] Moving overseas and being on the receiving end of New York gave Sierra an appreciation for sitting in the market. At that company, all brilliant things came from New York, and the rest of them had to figure out how they added value. The time difference was a challenge. [11:24] Sierra says the time difference has a huge impact on your life. The company wanted to become more global and had placed executives all over the world in different hubs. When you have 3,000 people in one area, everything is time-zone-centric to them. [12:01] As a global leader, in another time zone, you have to be comfortable not participating in everything and having people who represent you on your behalf, knowing when you really need to engage. You need to know to move the time if you won't be coherent at 3:00 a.m. [12:24] Sierra went back and forth once a month from Asia to New York to do Business Unit Reviews. It takes a lot out of you. The world has changed, and she does many more video meetings. Global travel has an impact on quality of life. [13:00] During those years, Sierra was raising children. They started pre-school and kindergarten in Asia. Sierra says she couldn't possibly do it unless her husband was on board; he had a career that was more flexible, and he was willing to step up. That's a family discussion to have. [14:03] A Quick Break! There are so many other wonderful RIMS events coming up in 2026. The Annual Florida RIMS Educational Conference will be held from July 28th through August 1st at the lovely Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida. A link to the event is in this episode's show notes. [14:22] Register now for the Second Annual RIMS Texas Regional Conference, which will be held from August 10th through the 12th at the Grand Hyatt on the San Antonio River Walk. Visit RIMS.org/Events for registration information. [14:36] The hotel cutoff date was July 10th. Reservations may still be made after the hotel cutoff date, subject to availability; however, the negotiated group rate is no longer guaranteed, so reserve now. [14:48] The 11th Annual Chicagoland Risk Forum will return to the Old Post Office on Thursday, September 24th, 2026. Visit ChicagolandRiskForum.org for more information. [15:00] The RIMS Western Regional Conference will be held from October 4th through the 7th in Seattle, Washington. The agenda is live, and registration is open. Visit RIMSWesternRegional.com and the link in this episode's show notes for more information. [15:16] Save the dates: October 18th through the 21st. We will be in Quebec City to celebrate the 50th Live RIMS Canada Conference. Booth sales are open, and sponsorship opportunities are still available. Advance registration is open now. [15:33] Visit RIMSCanadaConference.ca for more information. Also, remember to check out RIMS.org/Canada for our spinoff show, RIMScast Canada, hosted by National Conference Committee Chair, Aaron Lukoni. [15:47] T

  5. 7 Jul

    Reputation and Defense with Jeff McKissack

    Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.   In this episode, Justin interviews Jeff McKissack about participating and speaking at RIMS events, and his upcoming RIMS Texas Regional Conference session on August 11th in San Antonio, on the increasing overlap between reputation management and risk management. Jeff shares the critical impact of reputation risk and the growing threat of AI-generated content. He explains how even executives have caused reputational damage to their organizations, and he reveals a practical step that risk managers can take immediately to reduce the likelihood of reputation-related incidents and subsequent litigation. Justin and Jeff discuss the RIMS Texas Regional Conference, and how you can connect with Jeff after his presentation.   Listen for ways to implement reputation management strategies in your organization.   Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:16] About this episode of RIMScast. We will be joined by Jeff McKissack of Defense by Design to talk all about reputation risk management. But first… [:39] RIMS-CRMP Workshop. We are delighted to announce that on August 27th and 28th, RIMS President Manny Padilla will be leading the two-day in-person workshop at St. John's University at 101 Astor Place in New York City. A link to the registration is in this episode's show notes. [:59] RIMS-CRMP Virtual Workshops. The next RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep with PARIMA will be held virtually on July 21st and 22nd. Registration links are in this episode's notes. [1:11] We have a summertime webinar. On July 16th, Zurich will present "Too Hot to Ignore: Heat-Related Injuries and Workers' Compensation." Register at RIMS.org/webinars and via the link in this episode's show notes. [1:25] Also on the webinars page, you will see a two-part series hosted by the RIMS Membership Department. The "Classroom to Career" webinar series highlights how RIMS equips students with the knowledge, skills, and connections needed to thrive in risk management careers. [1:41] Participants will gain insights into industry trends, career pathways, and practical tools that help them confidently step into the evolving world of risk management after graduation. These sessions will be hosted on September 1st and 9th. [1:55] These sessions are member exclusives and are complimentary for RIMS members, of course. So, if you are interested in becoming a member, this would be the time. Visit RIMS.org/membership. [2:04] You can enroll now in the Virtual RIMS CRO Certificate Program in Advanced Enterprise Risk Management hosted by the famous James Lam. Beginning July 15th, workshops will be held bi-weekly from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET. The registration link is in the show notes. [2:28] The RIMS ERM Conference 2026 will be held on November 19th and 20th in Columbus, Ohio. Registration will open in July. Be on the lookout for the call for nominations for the RIMS ERM Global Award of Distinction. Visit RIMS.org/ERM2026 in July for that announcement. [2:49] RIMS is back on YouTube. Our handle is @RIMSOfficialChannel. We've got plenty of videos there, including RIMScast, RIMScast Canada video podcasts, and other informative and entertaining content from RIMS. Subscribe to the channel today! [3:08] On with the Show! Our guest today is the Founder of Defense by Design, Jeff McKissack, a noted authority in the fields of threat assessment and the prevention of violent crime, with over 35 years of experience. [3:22] Jeff provides continuing education seminars for those in the educational, medical, legal, financial, real estate, human resources, and risk management sectors. He is one of the favorite speakers in the RIMS Texas Chapters. [3:36] You can find him at the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026 on August 11th at 1:45, when he will present "How Reputation Management is Impacting Risk Management." [3:46] As you will hear in this interview, his session at the RIMS Texas Regional will dovetail with the Risks of Physical Harm and Violence. He's here to provide a preview of his session. [3:55] We talk about the Risk Management impact of social media, AI, and deepfake technologies on operations and profits, and how employee activity online and off the clock can ripple through staffing, operations, morale, productivity, profits, and brand image.  [4:10] This episode is a year in the making. Let's get to it! [4:12] Interview! Jeff McKissack, Welcome to RIMScast! [4:29] Jeff has a strong history with RIMS and the RIMS Texas Chapters. He has spoken at DFW RIMS on several occasions. Jeff Strege brought Jeff down to speak at Houston RIMS. He spoke at a couple of conferences co-hosted by South Texas RIMS. [4:59] Last year, Jeff was at the Inaugural Texas Regional RIMS Conference in San Antonio. He's there again this year. [5:15] Jeff loves RIMS, in general, because he doesn't have to explain himself. When he speaks to HR or risk management, his two favorite positions, even above the C-Suite, risk managers and HR directors totally get what he does and why.  [5:34] Jeff says the common response he typically gets is they've never met anybody who does what he does or speaks the language he speaks. He's heard it for 39 years. He loves speaking to people in risk and insurance companies because he speaks the language of liability. [5:54] Jeff does a lot of work with attorneys, as well, on both sides. He tells folks he's trilingual because of all these different industries. He's multifaceted. [6:06] Jeff talks about years of working with risk professionals and feeling their pain points. He reverse-engineers many of those scenarios. He asks, Where are the points where this could have been prevented, or at the bare minimum, mitigated? [6:43] A president of an association of independent electrical contractors called him for help. He asked, You have people working hours, in isolated locations, with expensive equipment on their trucks? What could go wrong? Without much of a push, he's able to jump in and help. [7:20] Jeff says there are only three types of businesses: businesses that have internal employees, businesses that have external employees, and businesses that have both. The risks for those three categories are very different from each other. [7:40] Jeff explains some of the differences in risks between having internal employees operating equipment and external employees in trucks on the road with equipment. There are different security concerns, risk concerns, and liability concerns. Address all the concerns. [8:16] Jeff recently saw a police video of a dump truck plowing through an intersection, with its brakes out, into a ravine. Fortunately, no one was killed. Why did the brakes give out? Who was responsible for checking them? They dodged a major bullet by nobody being injured or killed. [9:11] Jeff says he has three wheelhouses: physical risk, data risk, and reputational risk. He doesn't do active shooter training. He deals with factors that can lead to an active shooter before the shooting happens. He deals in prevention, not in reaction. [9:42] Jeff doesn't deal in cybersecurity but in data. He doesn't talk about people who hack your computers; he talks about people who hack your people. That bleeds over into reputation management. [9:57] Reputation management, with the internet and social media, has taken on a different dynamic. [10:07] Either your employees go online and self-incriminate themselves by putting something out there to the world that reflects upon your company, or they do something off the clock that can still have an impact on your company and its reputation. [10:22] Jeff mentions two courtrooms that we want to avoid: an actual courtroom, and the court of popular opinion. [11:01] Jeff says some things before social media still ended up being headline stories in the traditional media that reflected negatively upon employers. Social media has massively amplified that dynamic. [11:31] Jeff's talk is about how reputation management is impacting risk management. It will be held on August 11th at 1:45 p.m. during the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026. It examines how reputation management and risk management increasingly overlap. [11:53] Jeff says risk management and HR management often think that whatever happens off the clock is not on them — until it is. There was an Assistant District Attorney some months ago who walked out of a bar "two out of three sheets to the wind." [12:17] The cops wanted her to get an Uber and go home. She made a huge scene about it, captured on the bodycams. She ended up being arrested. "You don't know who I am. You can't do this to me!" The next day, not only was she fired, she lost her license. [12:33] There are YouTube channels devoted to police bodycams. People and companies suffer the reputational consequences of those videos. Once they're on YouTube, they go viral. [12:54] A lot of channels have hundreds of thousands to millions of views, reflecting on a company's public image, even though it was one of their employees off the clock. [13:40] Jeff says the biggest thing is education and training. We think people know what we know and the way we think. No, they don't. Jeff compares it to schools teaching social ills. As risk managers, you need to teach employees responsibility if you want to change their behavior. [14:40] Jeff says, Do not expect what you do not inspect. [14:50] A Quick Break! There are so many other wonderful RIMS events coming up in 2026. The Annual Florida RIMS Educational Conference will be held from July 28th through August 1st at the lovely Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida. A link to the event is in this episode's show notes. [15:09] Register now for the Second Annual RIMS Texas Regional Conference, which will be held from August 10th through the 12th at the Grand Hyatt on the San Antonio River Walk. Visit RIMS.org/Events for regis

  6. 30 Jun

    Mid-Year Risk Roundup 2026 with Morgan O'Rourke and Hilary Tuttle

    Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.   In this episode, Justin interviews RIMS Vice President of Content & Publications, Morgan O'Rourke, and RIMS Risk Management Magazine Managing Editor, Hilary Tuttle, on the Q2 digital edition online now. The discussion starts with Hilary's Hurricane prediction and the risks associated with storms. They discussed the risks of applying AI in the risk industry, and how using it for the simple tasks means your remaining tasks are the hard ones. To get the best results, be polite to your AI! Justin asks about Red Teaming, its purpose, and how it operates. Human behavior is an important consideration in risk management.   Listen for pointers on what to do as a risk manager for the rest of 2026, and some things to avoid.   Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:16] About this episode of RIMScast. This is our mid-year risk review, and we will be rejoined by Morgan O'Rourke and Hilary Tuttle. They are here to discuss the major trends shaping the risk landscape; what's happened so far in 2026, and what we can look forward to. But first… [:47] RIMS Virtual Workshops. The next RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep with PARIMA will be held virtually on July 21st and 22nd. Registration links are in this episode's notes. [:58] We have a summertime webinar. On July 16th, Zurich will present "Too Hot to Ignore: Heat-Related Injuries and Workers' Compensation." Register at RIMS.org/webinars and via the link in this episode's show notes. [1:13] Also on the webinars page, you will see a two-part series hosted by the RIMS Membership Department. The "Classroom to Career" webinar series highlights how RIMS equips students with the knowledge, skills, and connections needed to thrive in risk management careers. [1:29] Participants will gain insights into industry trends, career pathways, and practical tools that help them confidently step into the evolving world of risk management after graduation. These sessions will be hosted on September 1st and 9th. [1:42] These sessions are member exclusives and are complimentary for RIMS members, of course. So, if you are interested in becoming a member, this would be the time. Visit RIMS.org/membership. [1:52] You can enroll now in the RIMS CRO Certificate Program in Advanced Enterprise Risk Management hosted by the famous James Lam. Beginning July 15th, workshops will be held bi-weekly from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The registration link is in the show notes. [2:16] The RIMS ERM Conference 2026 will be held on November 19th and 20th in Columbus, Ohio. Registration will open in July. Be on the lookout for the call for nominations for the RIMS ERM Global Award of Distinction. Visit RIMS.org/ERM2026 in July for that announcement. [2:37] RIMS is back on YouTube. Our handle is @RIMSOfficialChannel. We've got plenty of videos there, including RIMScast, RIMScast Canada video podcasts, and other informative and entertaining content from RIMS. Subscribe to the channel today! [2:55] On with the Show! We are in the middle of the year, and that means that it's time for our mid-year risk review with two of my favorite people, Morgan O'Rourke, RIMS Vice President of Content & Publications, and Hilary Tuttle, Managing Editor of RIMS Risk Management Magazine.  [3:14] Morgan and Hilary are joining us today to discuss some of the highlights of the Q2 Edition of RIMS Risk Management Magazine, which is available now. [3:21] We're going to talk about hurricane preparedness, reputation, red-teaming, AI, and other emerging trends that risk professionals should be aware of, avoiding, and embracing. We're going to have a lot of fun! Let's get to it! [3:35] Interview! Morgan O'Rourke and Hilary Tuttle, Welcome Back to RIMScast! [3:42] Justin mentions that the Publications Department is a team of five. After nine years, Justin is still the second-newest person. [4:29] Morgan says Risk Management Magazine has articles going up every week. Every quarter, they have a digital issue, reminiscent of a physical magazine, with pages and a table of contents. When this episode is released, the Q2 digital issue was published a week ago. [4:54] RIMS Risk Management Magazine has occasional special issues, on ERM and the Special RISKWORLD Awards Issue. Hilary says the Editor's Picks are articles you may have missed on the website. Morgan says it's sometimes new stuff, or archival stuff that's still relevant. [5:30] Morgan says they try to publish in a frequency and format that everybody can appreciate. Morgan and Hilary miss the physical print magazine. Justin thinks they've maintained the essence of the print magazine. Morgan says that's what the digital magazines are meant to do. [6:22] Morgan says print is not necessarily the way that everybody consumes things nowadays, so you've got to be where everybody's attention is, and that's what we're trying to do. [6:40] The Marquee article in the Q2 digital edition is Hilary's coverage of the 2026 hurricane season outlook. Hilary is well-versed in hurricane preparedness and seasonal outlooks. Hilary says this year, a lot of the forecasts are calling for a below-average season. [7:26] This year, Hilary focused on factors that will make the season different. She focused on macroeconomic volatility, geopolitical instability, and U.S. Federal budget cuts as some of the biggest complications this year that are making a fragile and challenging recovery landscape. [8:03] Hilary says we talk about increased prices in disaster materials, preparation materials, supply problems, and a Federal support system characterized by defunding or dysfunction, and what that means for risk managers tasked with hurricane preparation or recovery. [8:43] Hilary says, looking beyond the forecast, it's important to assess how your resilience strategy is going to hold up in practice. Even a single landfall is going to be more expensive, potentially. The cost may be higher than ever. Response materials are 40% more expensive. [9:28] Justin says we had a risk engineer from Global Risk Consultants on the show recently, talking about the physical preparations, 48 hours, 36 hours, and 24 hours before an impact. [9:56] Hilary says, between materials shortages and price increases, the supply chain is potentially going to be a huge problem for disaster preparation and responses. Getting things is difficult with the Strait of Hormuz closed. People are seeing it across industries and materials. [10:22] Some response materials are also going to be more expensive because of the increased cost of oil. Hilary found that interesting when reporting the piece. Generator fuel is drastically more expensive than it has been. [10:43] It's a best practice to have 72 hours' worth per generator on site, if you're in a high-risk area. [11:55] Materials that require petrochemical input include plywood and structural lumber. Boarding your windows is going to be more expensive, if you can get it. Transport costs are going to be drastically higher. [11:11] Heavy-duty plastic sheeting is a petrochemical-related product. Some products also use by-products of the crude oil production: polymers, petroleum derivatives, and plastics, like rubber seals. All of those will be more expensive as crude oil fluctuates. [11:40] Morgan says you have to prepare for increased costs. You may be underinsured for the costs of materials you may have insured for in the beginning. Be aware of increased costs and do what you can to prepare, whether by increasing coverage or buying more in bulk. [12:10] If you're going to face increased costs, the more you do beforehand to offset those costs is probably for the better. Hilary says she put together 10 detailed and useful tips. One thing that she bumped up the list is to revisit your insurance values and policy limits. [12:40] Hilary thinks the risk of underinsurance is worth underscoring this year. It is going to be drastically more expensive to rebuild. Make sure you have the coverage you need to cover those expenses and the expenses of potentially needing to relocate when things are closed. [12:56] Car parts are drastically more expensive, so if you operate fleets, it's worth noting that those metals are delayed and pricier because of tariffs and supply chain problems. [13:11] Hilary says it's also worth noting that we had Tropical Storm Arthur last week. It never reached hurricane strength, but it still managed to do four to six billion dollars in damage, according to initial estimates from AccuWeather. [13:27] Tropical Storm Arthur hit the Gulf Coast and did a lot of damage in terms of business interruption, delayed flights, and extended power outages. In terms of business continuity, it doesn't need to be a hurricane to do a tremendous amount of damage. [13:47] AccuWeather says the hurricane classification system is solely based on wind speed. Wind does not do as much damage as water. Storm surge, inland flooding, and water damage are not reflected in hurricane classification. We shouldn't just be concerned about hurricanes. [14:21] The peril and the need for preparation are just as dramatic for other storms. [14:28] Morgan notes that the storm season started on June 1st, and we had a billion-dollar potential damage storm within a week or so. Hilary says it's one of the earliest we've seen. [14:46] Morgan says they're usually more in the fall. In some years, we've seen tropical storms before the season. Storms are not necessarily confined to the Atlantic Coast. There are Pacific storms to take into account. [15:18] Morgan learned about Pacific storms from Hilary. In between Hilary's article drafts, there were three Pacific hurricanes that formed, so she had to update the story. The Super El Niño is the climate pattern that creates these storms in the Eastern Pacific.  [15:47] With the Super El Niño, you get more activity in th

  7. 23 Jun

    Choosing the Challenge with Johnell Holly

    Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.   In this episode, Justin interviews Johnell Holly about growing up in Compton, serving in the military, and eventually becoming one of the most senior leaders at FM. They discuss experiences that shaped his mindset and lessons from his early years that still guide his leadership. They discuss what Johnell learned in the military that influences his decision-making. Johnell explains why he left the military and how he started working for FM. Johnell shares his life advice: choose the hard things; they will prepare you for opportunities to improve yourself. Johnell relates his early experience in sales and how it shaped his career. Lastly, they discussed the Spencer Educational Foundation and how Johnell became involved.   Listen for advice on overcoming hard circumstances and showing up at your best.   Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:16] About this episode of RIMScast. Our guest is Johnell R. Holly, the Executive Vice President for U.S. and Latin America Operations at FM. He is also the Board Chair for the Spencer Educational Foundation. We will learn about his career and leadership philosophies. But first… [:47] RIMS Virtual Workshops. The next RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep with PARIMA will be held virtually on July 21st and 22nd. Registration links are in this episode's notes. [:58] We have a summertime webinar. On July 16th, Zurich will present "Too Hot to Ignore: Heat-Related Injuries and Workers' Compensation." Register at RIMS.org/webinars and via the link in this episode's show notes. [1:13] Also on the webinars page, you will see a two-part series hosted by the RIMS Membership Department. The "Classroom to Career" webinar series highlights how RIMS equips students with the knowledge, skills, and connections needed to thrive in risk management careers. [1:28] Participants will gain insights into industry trends, career pathways, and practical tools that help them confidently step into the evolving world of risk management after graduation. These sessions will be hosted on September 1st and 9th. [1:42] These sessions are member exclusives and are complimentary for RIMS members, of course. So, if you are interested in becoming a member, this would be the time. Visit RIMS.org/membership. [1:52] You can enroll now in the RIMS CRO Certificate Program in Advanced Enterprise Risk Management hosted by the famous James Lam. Beginning July 15th, workshops will be held bi-weekly from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The registration link is in the show notes. [2:16] The RIMS ERM Conference 2026 will be held on November 19th and 20th in Columbus, Ohio. The deadline for session submissions was extended through June 26th. Visit RIMS.org/ERM2026 to get those final submissions in. Registration will open in July. [2:37] RIMS is back on YouTube. Our handle is @RIMSOfficialChannel. We've got plenty of videos there, including RIMScast, RIMScast Canada video podcasts, and other informative and entertaining content from RIMS. Subscribe to the channel today! [2:56] On with the Show! Our guest today is Johnell Holly. He is the Executive Vice President for U.S. and Latin America Operations at FM. He is also the Board Chair for the Spencer Educational Foundation. [3:10] Johnell caught my attention last year at the Spencer's Funding Their Future Gala, which this year will be held on September 17th at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. [3:21] I found Johnell's career journey to be incredibly inspiring. He is here to discuss his path from humble upbringings to the military to the risk and insurance space and ultimately to philanthropic missions and leadership with Spencer. [3:36] I'm confident this dialogue will resonate with anyone who feels the odds are against them and is looking for extra motivation to overcome and choose the hard challenges in life and career. Let's get to it! [3:39] Interview! Johnell Holly, Welcome to RIMScast! [4:10] Johnell says he is absolutely thrilled for the Spencer Funding Their Futures Gala. It's one of the premier events of the year. Every year, it seems to get better and better, and it continues to achieve new heights. Johnell is excited to see where it goes this year and into the future. [4:51] Johnell comes from Compton, a rough neighborhood. Johnell wanted something different from how he grew up. He wanted to get a very good education. So he went to the United States Military Academy to get a very good education from a very high-profile institution. [6:01] Johnell started at the Academy in 1990 and graduated in 1995. In 1995, Johnell went into the Army as a commissioned officer and was in the Army until 2001. His last day of Active Duty was the week prior to 9/11. [6:47] Justin thanks Johnell for his service. [7:07] Johnell says there's a lot of what he does today that relates to his military education. He says there's also a lot from his childhood that helped him along his career, including his desire to improve himself. [7:27] Johnell says some things in the military resonated with him that made it very easy to be more successful outside of the military, such as the work ethic and making the choice to do the harder things when they present themselves. [7:52] Johnell says, it's like doing the harder military school. Once you get that done, everything else is a bit easier. Johnell says that taking a tough assignment or job within FM, he knows that if he does a job that no one else wants to do, he will have what most people won't have. [8:11] Johnell says he did things like that deliberately over the years. His mantra would be, Always choose hard, and hopefully, you get to a point where that no longer has to happen. [6:25] Justin heard a speaker say that if you have six things coming up, one of them is the tough one, and five of them are easy ones, people will choose the five easy ones first, before they get to the tough one. Justin says Johnell chooses the hard one first before the five easy ones. [8:55] Johnell agrees, not just in his career; he learned it very young. When he was young, he didn't like how he was showing up. He knew he needed to position himself with more strengths. [9:17] The only way Johnell was going to get those strengths was to do all the things he was afraid to do or hated to do. He had to face fears, get over them, and get through the hard stuff. He teaches his kids that today. [9:32] Johnell has five kids. The three oldest are girls. The oldest also graduated from Wespoint and is serving. The daughter below her is on a destroyer right now in the Mediterranean, so she's in the war. [10:02] Johnell has two sons. Both of them are in the top 15 or 20 in the nation for football. One is a redshirt freshman at Michigan, and the other will head out to FSU and Georgia in the next week for his official visits. He'll pick one of them. [10:31] Johnell talks to his daughters in the service regularly. [10:42] Justin asks about NIL deals for Johnell's sons. Johnell says the NIL deals are peanuts compared to the insurance negotiations he does daily. [11:07] When Johnell left the Army, insurance was definitely not on his radar. He was being asked by the military to go back and get his Master's. That meant leaving the state of Washington, where he was assigned. He didn't want to leave; he had things to take care of. [11:38] Johnell needed to look and see what other options were out there. He went to a headhunter. He interviewed for five or six companies, and all of them made an offer. One of them had a position in Seattle, where he wanted to be. [12:05] After some negotiation, Johnell decided to give it a go as a consultant engineer, an entry-level position, for FM. He wasn't aware it was an insurance company. He thought he was going into engineering. Coming directly from the military, he wasn't familiar with business. [12:36] Once Johnell got into FM, he realized that it was an insurance company. Once he saw that, he was very interested in that side of the business and wanted to get over to it very quickly. By 2002, Johnell had moved to the insurance side of FM. [13:31] Johnell says, early on, risk management and insurance had been thought of as a secondary thought to business. Understanding of the hazards and operating to reduce those hazards didn't exist at the levels that it does today. [14:11] Today, thinking about risk and ensuring that you are resilient is no longer optional. You cannot just hope that things aren't going to go wrong. You have to assume that things are going to go wrong. Those who do that well will be more successful. [14:35] A Quick Break! There are so many other wonderful RIMS events coming up in 2026. The Annual Florida RIMS Educational Conference will be held from July 28th through August 1st at the lovely Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida. A link to the event is in this episode's show notes. [14:53] Register now for the Second Annual RIMS Texas Regional Conference, which will be held from August 10th through 12th at the Grand Hyatt on the San Antonio River Walk. [15:05] The 11th Annual Chicagoland Risk Forum will return to the Old Post Office on Thursday, September 24th, 2026, in Chicago. Visit ChicagolandRiskForum.org for more information. [15:15] The RIMS Western Regional Conference will be held from October 4th through the 7th in Seattle, Washington. The agenda is live, and registration is open. Visit RIMSWesternRegional.com and the link in this episode's show notes for more information. [15:32] Save the dates October 18th through the 21st. We will be in Quebec City to celebrate the 50th Live RIMS Canada Conference. Booth sales are open, and sponsorship opportunities are still available. Advance registration is open now. [15:48] Visit RIMSCanadaConference.ca for more information. Also, remember to check out RIMS.org/Canada for our spinoff show, RIMScast Canada, hos

  8. 16 Jun

    Marya Propis: From Industry Leader to Talent Champion

    Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.   In this episode, Justin interviews Marya Propis about her career in retail brokerage, wholesale distribution, and executive leadership. Marya speaks of leaders who influenced her, how her leadership skills have changed in 30 years, and how emotional intelligence guides her as she helps young insurance professionals at RT Specialty. She also shares the importance of physical fitness and self-care in showing up at her best each day. Marya discusses the wholesale Excess and Surplus Lines marketplace in the U.S. She talks about her involvement in industry associations and the enthusiasm she has for helping students and new risk professionals. She shares information about the Spencer Educational Foundation's Funding Their Future 2026 Gala, where she will be one of two honorees. She serves as a Director of Distinction, acting as an ambassador for the Spencer Educational Foundation.   Listen for Marya's enthusiastic approach to persuasive leadership.   Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:16] About this episode of RIMScast. We will be rejoined by our friend Marya Propis, President of Retail Distribution at RT Specialty and honoree at this year's Spencer's Funding Their Future Gala in New York City on September 17th. There is a lot to catch up on. But first… [:47] RIMS Virtual Workshops. The next RIMS-CRMP-FED Exam Prep with AFERM will be held on June 16th and 17th. The next RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep with PARIMA will be held virtually on July 21st and 22nd. Links to registration are in this episode's notes. [:58] We have a summertime webinar. On July 16th, Zurich will present "Too Hot to Ignore: Heat-Related Injuries and Workers' Compensation." Register at RIMS.org/webinars and via the link in this episode's show notes. [1:13] You can enroll now in the RIMS CRO Certificate Program in Advanced Enterprise Risk Management hosted by the famous James Lam. Beginning July 15th, workshops will be held bi-weekly from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The registration link is in the show notes. [1:34] The RIMS ERM Conference 2026 will be held on November 19th and 20th in Columbus, Ohio. We want to hear from you. Submit a session proposal by June 19th to reach engaged practitioners, innovators, and leaders looking for guidance they can utilize right away. [1:52] Help define what's next for Enterprise Risk Management. Submit a session proposal by Friday, June 19th. Visit RIMS.org/ERM2026. [2:02] Folks, through the generosity of its industry partners, RIMS has launched The Foundation for Risk Management™, which provides scholarships for early-career professionals to attend RIMS events like RIMS Texas Regional Conference, RIMS Canada Conference, and RISKWORLD. [2:21] The Foundation also helps beneficiaries earn their RIMS-CRMP and fund research projects. To learn more or contribute to the Foundation, visit RIMS.org/FRM and visit the link in this episode's show notes. [2:36] RIMS is back on YouTube. Our handle is @RIMSOfficialChannel. We've got plenty of videos there, including RIMScast, RIMScast Canada video podcasts, and other informative and entertaining content from RIMS. Subscribe to the channel today! [2:56] On with the Show! Marya Propis is rejoining us on RIMScast. She is the President of Retail Distribution at RT Specialty, and she will be honored this year at the Spencer Funding their Future Gala at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City on September 17th. [3:17] We'll learn about Marya's career, her risk management philosophy, how her physical wellness fuels her progress as a risk and insurance professional, and why she feels it is critical to continue her support for women in the profession. We're going to have fun. Let's get to it! [3:39] Interview! Marya Propis, Welcome Back to RIMScast! [3:49] Since the last time Justin and Marya spoke, Marya has joined RT Specialty. She is coming up on her 6th anniversary with RT Specialty. It has been the most enjoyable and successful career chapter she has been fortunate to enjoy. [4:04] Marya says there are so many great things to talk about in terms of what's going on in the marketplace and at RT Specialty and how that pertains to Spencer. [4:20] Marya is President of Retail Distribution. She was promoted to that role several months ago. A dedicated group under her leadership is keeping a finger on the pulse of what's going on in the ultra-dynamic U.S. retail landscape. [4:47] They are always thinking of ways to be more client-centric, partner more fully with their retail clients, and think of all the places that their clients need RT to be as the top wholesale partner in the U.S. [5:08] Marya has six people on her team for a wholesaler that placed $32 billion of premium last year. But, actually, her team is the entirety of all the brokers and underwriters that work for RT Specialty. That's 1,500 people. [5:28] Marya's job is to make the brokers and underwriters who work for the team more successful every day. Her stakeholders are the market-facing, talented brokers and underwriters. They are her team. [5:46] Marya sets best practices and standards around compensation, conferences, and the way they engage. Client-centricity is very important, so Marya extends direction for it. [6:00] Marya explains how leadership style has evolved. In the first half of her career, it was all about command and control, from the top down. Telling everyone what to do has evolved positively. [6:19] Marya prides herself on having very good influence and leadership skills. She says people want to follow her direction. She had to learn a lot to go from telling people what to do to creating a path people want to follow. Being a command-and-control leader doesn't feel good. [7:00] Marya says that when we started talking about emotional intelligence as an important part of leadership, she realized she had it. She just hadn't been using it in any of her management or leadership roles. [7:11] It became more acceptable to use emotional intelligence to get your team aligned and get people thinking around the direction you need to go as a team or a firm. That's been very positive for Marya, but she couldn't flip that switch overnight. [7:30] Marya had to learn a lot to change her leadership style so people want to follow and feel that she is creating the right direction, so they can be more successful, not leading them down a path to doom and demise. [7:52] Marya says that an emphasis on emotional intelligence came hand in hand with the industry starting to pay attention to women in insurance and the lack of representation of female leadership in insurance. [8:09] Marya says that a decade ago the insurance industry started to be deliberate about realizing they didn't have many women in leadership and that there were obstacles in the industry to women being promoted and compensated at the same rate as their male colleagues. [8:31] Emotional intelligence came along with the recognition that women have a distinct and unique skill set. Emotional intelligence is a prevalent part of a woman's skill set. Women bring real value as leaders. The traits that come with that include emotional intelligence. [9:07] Justin says we have such a great group of rising risk professionals, particularly females, in the profession and the RIMScast listenership, so this is a great way to kick off this dialog.  [9:25] Marya says she has worked for a lot of great leaders. She was fortunate to work closely with many executives. You can watch a leader and learn a technique or a trait that you can add to the skill set you already have. Marya says she gets her best material from others. [10:14] Marya says Pat Ryan, who founded RT Specialty, is the absolute Superman of insurance. Any time she hears Pat Ryan talk, she leaves with a gem that she commits to do or think about, going forward. He uses an expression: "Do the right thing, because it's the right thing to do." [10:47] If you use that as a guiding principle for how you set your priorities and make decisions, based on what your retail clients need, then it's very obvious what you need to do. It has become a guiding principle for her in the way she makes decisions every day. [11:47] Marya says her scope of responsibility is just retail clients. Her colleague Leah Ohodnicki oversees carrier management. They talk all the time. There are so many of the same principles that they apply, just to different channels in the marketplace. [12:07] Marya has been a career salesperson. For her whole insurance career, she has sold stuff. She has sold capabilities and products. She sells and represents wholesale brokerage services. [12:27] Marya says no client is like another. You must see every client with fresh, objective eyes. Every client has something unique, or a competitive advantage, or something special about the way they've built their firm. Sometimes you have to look carefully to find it, but it's always there. [13:06] You have to be willing to put yourself in their shoes. How do they see the world? How is that retailer creating visibility and driving success? [13:26] Marya prides herself on being a student of who the retail client is and thinking about how to better frame partnership strategies to work with them as effectively as possible, rather than thinking about herself, RT Specialty, and all the stuff she can throw at any retail client. [13:48] In Marya's mind, the way to do it is to start by asking what they need. Where is the place that they will need RT Specialty to be more successful? Then she constructs an engagement approach around that. That's different from how she thought about it 20 years ago. [14:15] In any industry, Marya doesn't want to be a vendor. She wants to be a partner. There's a big difference in the way you have to think to be a trusted business partner. That's a very impor

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About

The official podcast of RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society. Tune in for weekly discussions about risk management hot topics, interviews with leaders in the profession, and updates on RIMS events and education.

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  • Creator
    The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc.
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All content in RIMScast is the exclusive copyright of The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS)
  • Show Website
    RIMScast

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