Four members of National Underwriter’s Risk Managers Advisory Board were asked:

What are you doing about the education of those who report to you?
What do you look for when recruiting new talent?
What are you doing regarding your own education?

Gary Pearce, Vice President of Risk Management, Kelly Services Inc., Troy Mich.

Technology advancements have made possible more educational opportunities than ever before. Our staff is required to complete a curriculum of 25 classes through Kelly Services’ in-house Learning Center to learn about our company’s operations. The Law & Risk Management Division hosts weekly “101” training sessions to teach our staff about key issues.

We attend webinars sponsored by vendors and other organizations. And because Kelly generously invests in professional development, we send people to out-of-town seminars when attractive opportunities arise.

We also take advantage of more traditional approaches, such as tuition reimbursement and on-the-job training and rotation. We’re active in the Detroit Risk and Insurance Management Society chapter, which always has a good roster of meeting topics.

I subscribe to an absurd number of publications, both at home and on the job, and I average an hour or two per day with them to keep up on business and risk topics.

Finally, thanks to the remarkable breadth of exposures that our customers offer, we’re always learning about risk issues we hadn’t previously dealt with.

We’ve been able to retain our key talent and therefore haven’t recently been in the market for new staff. When we are recruiting, I look for the right attitude and an ability to take on new challenges. Experience from a formal risk-management program is a plus, but not a requirement.

Tim East, Director of Corporate Risk Management, The Walt Disney Co., Burbank, Calif.

I completed a master’s degree in Business, Risk Management and Insurance in 2008 from Florida State University, an online program. It was very demanding, but I learned a great deal and feel it greatly enhanced my knowledge and career.

At a minimum [for employees], the requirement is a bachelor’s degree in a field that’s related to risk management/business, finance, management…the possibilities are many because risk management is broad.

For an entry-level position, that’s sufficient; for a more senior position, I’d like to see experience in the industry, either with an insurer or broker, and some certification such as the ARM, CPCU or other credential.

For schools, we look at Florida State University, Georgia Southern and the Katie School—although there are others emerging. For recruiting, we look for individuals who have the education and are the right fit for our unique organization.

Mike McDonald, Vice President of Enterprise Risk Management, Quality Distribution Inc., Tampa, Fla.

I spend a lot of time participating in industry-focused risk-management (rather than general risk-management) events, both as a speaker and attendee. In particular, I look for interactive forums where I can learn from other industry risk-management participants.

Most of my employees require CEUs, so I send them to seminars, specific classes, invite service vendors in for presentations and make online learning available.

Since we do not have any entry-level positions, I do not recruit from schools. We only hire experienced professionals, and I am always looking, whether I have an open position or not. Attitude, personality and work ethic are the things I look for in a potential hire.

Michael Liebowitz, Director of Insurance and Risk Management, New York University

I go to RIMS for my main education. I get the rest of it by networking with colleagues—it takes a lot of time to go back and do a full, formalized education.

I also make sure my employees go to the pertinent continuing-education programs. They go to RIMS and also to local education programs that are specific to their positions.

As for recruiting new talent, I haven’t hired anybody new—and everybody I have promoted has been internal.

Hiring for my organization will be at entry level. For this I look for students who come out of risk-management programs with an emphasis on enterprise risk-management training.

The hardest thing today in finding someone is getting an individual who is well-rounded. Sometimes students are very focused; they jump at the first job that comes along. I understand that, but there is a difference in working at the carriers or the brokers and working inside a corporation with a risk-management department. I would rather have someone with a blank slate than someone with preconceived notions.

Special Reports /

Risk Managers Discuss Hiring Practices & How They Educate Themselves, Staff

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