Successful risk managers in America can expect to earn a very good salary at the executive level. While the salary varies by years of experience and the size of the company, Salary.com reports that the median income of top company risk managers is somewhat over $180,000. Even the bottom 10 percent are expected to earn over $100,000. Meanwhile, top earners may enjoy an income that is close to $300,000. Considering how much a successful risk management program can save companies, it is no wonder that these top executives enjoy good compensation.
Job titles might also vary by company, and these could include titles like Vice President or Risk Management or Chief Risk Management Executive. Again, these are for executive jobs, and they usually require at least a related bachelor's degree and 15 years of experience in the field.
Who Are These Top Company Risk Managers?
For people who are interested in working as risk managers and even moving up the ladder into the boardroom, it might be helpful to study the profiles of a sample of risk management executives at top companies.
Sid Sankaran: AIG Chief Risk Manager
Sid Sankaran is the name of the chief risk manager for AIG. He joined the company in 2010, and before that, he worked as a partner for Oliver Wyman Financial services where he had served since 2006. Mr. Sankaran worked for a variety of financial services companies, including insurance companies, focusing on different aspects of risk management for his entire career. His education includes a bachelor's degree in mathematics, with a concentration in actuarial science. He also completed actuarial examinations.
Raffi Festekjian: Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
The CEO of risk at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services is a man named Raffi Festekjian. He started off with a B.S. in engineering and later went on to earn an M.B.A. from the J.L Kellogg Graduate School of Business. He actually spent time working as a civil engineer before moving into managing risk. Since that time, he has spent 20 years in the financial services sector.
David W. Craig: President, Financial & Risk of Reuters
Mr. Craig also has an engineering degree and began his career in manufacturing engineering. He has worked for Reuters since 2007. Before that, he worked for McKinsey & Company in the Global Technology Office.
Careers in Risk Management
Today's successful risk managers in America tended to get into the profession after studying and working in other disciplines first. Recognizing the importance of managing risk is fairly new, so degree programs were not as common a few decades ago as they are now. According to PropertyCasualty360, the demand for risk professionals is expected to grow in the future.
To meet this demand, many schools now offer dedicated risk management degrees at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Other schools have actually had these programs since the 1960s, but they are now getting noticed a lot more. This publication suggests the University of Georgia, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison as schools with some of the top programs in the United States.
As anyone can see, the risk management field can certainly be a lucrative endeavor for those with the dedication, knowledge, and skill that companies from all over the world are looking for. However, it's also important to note that a risk manager does not necessarily need to accomplish all his or her tasks singlehandedly. By using risk management information systems, like the one Ventiv supplies to risk assessment professionals, risk managers are able to drastically increase their productivity through automated functions and other programmable features. Be sure to check out our safety management page here, if you want to learn more about becoming an amazing risk management professional.
