Executive Insights: RIMS Vice President Soraya Wright
"Lift as we climb." This longtime corporate risk manager and consultant shares her tips for success.
Early in 2021, RIMS® announced that Soraya Wright, founder and chief risk officer of SMW Risk Management Consulting, LLC, was hired to step into the role of vice president of Strategic Initiatives (replacing Carol Fox, who has retired).
Wright’s experience includes serving as a non-executive director with Beazley, working in risk management roles for Target and The Clorox Company, and serving on the RIMS® Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council. In her new position with the organization, she is responsible for identifying trends, assessing the viability of new initiatives, and evaluating existing ones to ensure the organization’s growth and sustainability. Speaking recently from her home office in Hayward, Calif., Wright provided insights for rising risk management professionals.
PC360: Tell our readers a bit about yourself outside of your career.
Wright: I’m a wife, a mother and a grandmother. I’m really a family person. I’m also an undercover artist. My latest hobby is quilting, and I’m a cake decorator. I make wedding cakes as a hobby.
PC360: How would you describe the risk management industry to someone considering it for a career?
Wright: It’s an opportunity to help shape an organization. Risk managers have influence and the ability to drive success. We enable business in a way that’s unique and that no other profession does. We have a unique perspective because we’re in a role where we pull it all together — put the whole entire portfolio together — and that’s pretty powerful.
PC360: Who have been some of your mentors throughout your career?
Wright: I have had many mentors and people who were instrumental in my development. One is Dan Bogan. He was a board member at The Clorox Company. He was the general counsel, and we both reported to the CEO and CFO.
Others were Laura Stein, who’s now executive vice president and general counsel for corporate & legal affairs at Mondelēz International, and Dan Heinrich, former executive vice president and CFO of The Clorox Company. They are still my mentors.
PC360: What was the most valuable piece of advice anyone has ever given you?
Wright: First: Don’t rely on anyone to invest in you; always invest in yourself. That’s about continuous learning and development.
The second best piece of advice I was ever given: Build and protect your brand.
PC360: What skills should the next generation of insurance and risk management professionals be developing?
Wright: You have to learn how to communicate, both verbally and in writing. It’s also important to have leadership skills, because you have to know how to influence people that you have no direct responsibility for. I think you should be well-rounded, and you should get involved and give back to the community. And I believe in lifting as we climb, which means helping the next generation along.
PC360: What do you see as the top three issues facing today’s insurance and risk management professionals?
Wright: I can break it down into three components. They all kind of interweave.
First, there are all types of risk professionals. Some are focused on insurance and finance. Others are focused on strategy. You can’t waste a good crisis, and we’ve had several recently, with the pandemic, with racism, with natural disasters… all occurring around the same time. So I think there’s going to be an expectation that we not only focus on risk finance but also advise leaders in their roles and enable them to achieve their goals.
Second, we’re right in the middle of navigating this crisis. So businesses are trying to build capabilities while also staying afloat.
And third, developing or competing for talent. We’ve got to do a better job promoting insurance and risk management and all the wonderful careers available in this sector.
PC360: What do you see as the most significant changes in the insurance and risk management space in the last decade?
Wright: There are more women now and more people of color. I’m happy to see more minorities working in the space.
There’s also this whole evolution of what a risk professional does. We’re in the middle of a disruption, in terms of technology. A lot of things that other sectors have been focused on for years are now coming to light. So that’s another positive change.
PC360: What in your life and career have best prepared you to serve in your new position with RIMS®?
Wright: My career started with traditional risk and insurance management before I advanced to be more of a risk advisor. I’ve had responsibility for crisis management, business continuity, and mergers and acquisitions. I also had a consulting practice as an outsource risk manager. And I’ve done a lot of community service work. All of these elements prepared me for this role.
PC360: Is there anything we didn’t talk about that you think we should?
Wright: Yes. RIMS® has given me a platform to be visible in such a huge way. Presenting, being a speaker, and facilitating workshops. RIMS® has been there every step of my career, from when I first joined a risk management function and had no idea what risk management was about. I started attending the Annual Conference and taking session classes. Then I got involved with the chapters, and I served on the Diversity & Inclusion Equity Council. There’s no better place to gain visibility in your career.
Visit the RIMS® website to learn more about RIMS LIVE happening April 19-30, 2021.
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