Kellogg Risk Summit takes on hot topics in risk management

May 17 conference to address climate change

	Michael Foley '89

What does the term “risk management” mean?

It depends on who you ask — and when you pose the question, according to scholars at the Kellogg School. Creating a forum for those debates is the goal of the Kellogg Risk Summit, an ongoing series of conferences exploring “very contemporary” issues in risk management, explains Russell Walker ’06, associate director of Kellogg’s Zell Center for Risk Research and a senior lecturer of managerial economics and decision sciences.

Attracting alumni and professionals from a wide range of industries — from bankers to small-business owners to executives at multinational firms — the conferences have cultivated “honest discussions” about timely issues that have yet to be solved.

For example, the November 2008 summit — the inaugural event in the series — focused on operational risk in light of the financial markets meltdown. The second summit, in October 2010, explored how consumer behavior changed after the financial crisis and included talks by Yan Chang ’06, vice president, risk management at Discover Financial Services, and Matt Feldman ’86, president and CEO of Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. The most recent conference, on Feb. 23, dealt with managing global risk and featured Michael Foley ’89, CEO of Zurich North America Commercial, and Brian Wesbury ’89, chief economist at First Trust Advisors L.P.

The next event, “Climate Change Risk: Preparing Your Business,” will take place on May 17 and will address the impact of climate-change science and policy on risk management. Speakers will include Jon Anda ’80, head of UBS Environmental Markets Group, among others.