The Argyros School Career Services hosted a Risk Management Industry Panel consisting of Sharon Antinoja (Senior Manager of Risk Management Finance at Disney), Marc Hickman (Resident Managing Director, Senior Vice President at Aon Risk Services) and Seth Hedrington (Senior Vice President &Division General Manager at Liberty Mutual).

CNN Money ranks the Risk Management industry 2nd for careers with big growth, but what is Risk Management? The Oxford University Press Dictionary defines Risk Management as “the forecasting and evaluation of financial risks together with the identification of procedures to avoid or minimize their impact.” Those working in risk management are continuously evaluating the many risks of a company and figuring out ways to minimize and insure those risks.

audience listening to panel

The Risk Management Panel aimed to give students insight into the various services and functions of the industry. The event was advertised around campus and through Handshake, and by 5:30 p.m. the conference room in Beckman Hall was filled with undergraduate and graduate students alike.

As a student, there is always an overwhelming feeling being in the presence of successful industry professionals, but the guest panelists were all charismatic and filled the room with a sense of ease. All three were genuine and their conversation flowed freely. The panel began with an overview of the question “What is Risk Management?” The discussion then went into the differences between transferring and limiting risk and gave insight into the day-to-day roles and responsibilities of various jobs. Having input from the views of a company, a broker and an insurance firm gave a well-rounded perspective. Students were engaged in the conversation and used all of the Q&A time to ask great questions about the industry. All three panelists were kind enough to stay after the official end of the event to answer individual student questions.

The Risk Management Panel was a great overview of the industry and seemed to spark a lot of interest from students. Chapman is offering two sections of FIN 496 Risk Management Financing during the Spring 2020 semester, and they will be taught by Dr. Mark DeSantis and Fadel Lawandy. Any students interested in pursuing this field should definitely look into taking the course.