“If I had a crystal ball, it would be really cloudy right now. It feels like 2011 was a year of unknowns,” Luthi tells NU in an exclusive interview. “If you think about the earthquake in Japan and the tsunami and meltdown of the nuclear reactor; the Occupy movement; Arab spring; Europe's rocky economy, our continuingly struggling economy—think of the things you never thought of happening, and they're happening.”

All of this uncertainty, she says, creates a great opportunity “for us to reach out and collaborate with other risk practitioners within our organizations and bring it all together.”

Luthi notes, “As incoming president of RIMS, I have to say that RIMS is right there with the tools and resources and the thought leadership to help risk managers be at that tipping point and lead the way.”

Officers on RIMS 2012 Board of Directors:

President: Deborah M. Luthi, director, risk management services, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

Vice President: John R. Phelps, director, business risk solutions, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Inc.

Treasurer: Carolyn M. Snow, director, risk management, Humana Inc.

Corporate Secretary: Nowell R. Seaman, manager, risk management & insurance services, University of Saskatchewan.

Newly-Elected Board Members:

Al Gorski, chief risk officer, Orange County Transportation Authority

Leslie Lamb, global risk manager, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Re-Elected Board Members:

Robert Cartwright Jr., loss prevention manager, Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC

Scott B. Clark, Risk & Benefits Officer, Miami-Dade County Public Schools (Ex-Officio)

Kim Hunton, corporate risk manager, City of Ottawa

Dan H. Kugler, assistant treasurer, risk management, Snap-On Inc.

William Montanez, director, risk management, Ace Hardware Corporation

Julie C. Pemberton, director, enterprise risk mnd Insurance Management, Coinstar

Michael D. Phillipus, director, insurance and risk management, ATP Oil & Gas Corporation

Richard J. Roberts Jr., corporate risk manager, Ensign-Bickford Industries, Inc.

Frederick J. Savage, director, risk management (San Ramon), Chevron Corporation

Lori Seidenberg, vice president, enterprise risk management, Centerline Capital Group.