Camera-Shy Risk Managers Can Benefit From Media Exposure

Risk managers are generally not media hounds. Indeed, cautious by nature and training, corporate insurance buyers often prefer to remain in the background, fearful of the consequences of a misstatement in the press–but some have learned to parlay media attention to the advantage of their companies and careers.

Rich Sarnie, for one, doesn't equivocate on the subject. The benefits of engaging–even cultivating–the media usually outweigh any possible negative outcomes, he contends.

In fact, the media played a significant role in helping him recently become the new group director of risk management at Miami-based Ryder System Inc., he said.

“Published stories helped me land my current job,” he noted. “When I came down here to interview for it, those talking to me had already 'Googled' me and seen two separate stories written about me.”

Until taking his current job, Mr. Sarnie was director of risk management at Iselin, N.J.-based Engelhard Corp., acquired by BASF AG last June. (While at Engelhard, Mr. Sarnie participated in the National Underwriter “State of the Market Roundtable,” with highlights published in NU's June 13, 2005 edition. In that same issue, he was cited in Editor-In-Chief Sam Friedman's column, headlined “The Ideal Risk Manager.”)

Talking about his press coverage over the years, he said, “I can't tell you how many times those stories have been reprinted. During my interviews here, executives said, 'We saw your quotes–this is profound, all good stuff.' It's based on experiences like this that I've learned risk managers should not be afraid of contacts with journalists–absolutely not.”

He said that when there is a positively written article “about what you're doing as a professional, senior management reads it and your stock goes up. It's a win-win. Everybody likes positive press and recognition.”

Although Mr. Sarnie is effusive about his media experience, many risk managers are still reluctant to talk to the press. They cite potential damage resulting from being misquoted, having words taken out of context, or having agreements with writers (such as reading back quotes prior to publication) not honored.

Bob Garrison, vice president of North American risk management at Siemens Financial Services Inc. in Iselin, N.J., who has been quoted in the trade press about a half-dozen times, said: “Yes, I think there's a benefit to working with the media, but it certainly requires a 'tread very lightly' approach.”

For many, he said, there is a stigma attached to talking to the press “in any shape or form, and some companies have guidelines where you can't even talk about good news, so we're very cautious.”

Mr. Garrison added that he would not discuss general business matters, or “detailed specifics of our own insurance programs,” with the press.

He noted, however, that he is willing to discuss “things that are happening in our industry generally and our view of it. But even there I'm required to call my communications group and let them know a contact has been made, and separately I contact my boss in Germany.”

Laurie Champion, vice president of risk management at Coca-Cola Enterprises in Atlanta and a former risk executive at Ford, added: “I talk to the press if I know I'm dealing with someone who will take the time to get it right and there's an industry reason to do it.”

At Ford, she said she spoke off the record a few times with a reporter at a major newspaper after the investigation into broker/insurer bid-rigging by New York's attorney general (now governor), Eliot Spitzer, came to light–with the approval of media relations–and the publication did honor the agreement.

Other risk managers also have reservations. “The first time a journalist called and wanted to talk to me, I was uncomfortable,” said John R.S. Fraser, chief risk officer and vice president of internal audit at Hydro One Inc. in Toronto. Since then, however, he has been featured or quoted in a variety of publications.

“I didn't want to be misquoted and get in trouble with my boss,” he said, “but today I can say I've never been misquoted in any evil way. In some cases the media may have attributed more to me in terms of what Hydro One has done in enterprise risk management than is true.”

Whatever their concerns, increasingly risk managers around the globe are following Mr. Sarnie's lead–even though, unlike him, very few have received professional media training from employers.

What is driving the push toward dealing with the press, whether specialty trade magazines such as this one, or more general business publications?

Certainly, the wish to get ahead professionally is a big factor, according to Henry Good, former risk manager at Rohm & Haas, and now a corporate risk consultant for ABD Insurance and Financial Services in Redwood City, Calif.

He noted that a risk manager quoted in general business publications that a CFO would read who comes off intelligently may have a better shot at landing a job interview. “So the press definitely can open other doors from a career perspective,” he said.

Personal advancement is only one reason to reach out to the media, said Mr. Good, who spent 35 years at the U.S. headquarters of Rohm & Haas in Philadelphia (15 as risk manager) and has never tried to join another company. Another time to reach out might be when trying to change the way the industry does business.

“As a risk manager, I was always testing the waters, looking for new ways to do things,” he said. “I would push on insurers and brokers, saying, 'Give me the second right answer, not what you're telling 99 percent of your corporate customers to do.'” As part of that effort, he said he often recommended story ideas to writers and editors, “and often I would see them do those stories.”

A risk manager also may want to work with the media when trying to promote a company's positive initiatives in risk management. For instance, press coverage has helped establish Hydro One as one of Canada's earliest and most successful implementers of an enterprise risk management program, according to Mr. Fraser.

Initially Mr. Fraser–who put the company's ERM efforts together from scratch–wasn't keen on sharing specifics about his program with the media. Eventually, however, he wrote a major feature article about the initiative.

“It was a proactive decision not to hide under a bushel. As a result of that and other stories, I'm well-known and people from other companies and organizations…have come to talk to me about our experiences,” he said. “They learn from us. That wouldn't be happening without the press.”

Mr. Fraser noted that Hydro One includes the media as a key component in its overall quarterly enterprise risk management planning. Additionally, with such a well-known ERM program, ratings agencies such as Standard & Poor's have taken positive note, he said.

While there are definite advantages to working with the media, some risk managers continue to question its use. Even Mr. Sarnie hasn't left his guard down entirely.

“I've been very lucky,” he said. “I've never had to do damage control after publication, and I hope to God I never do. It takes about 10 'attaboys' to get rid of the effects from a single bad story, but that's just the way life is.”