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Opinions on the quality of risk management differed between audit committees and the C-suite.

At the annual conference, a variety of topics got the industry's attention.

Cheering for the underdog is a big risk and yet we all do it, don't we?

Often I think that being a corporate risk manager is much like being a medical doctor. The patient is the organization. The risk assessment process is the medical diagnosis procedure. A doctor assesses many symptoms, and their cause-and-effect relationships.

Marilyn Rivers is indefatigable in her efforts to serve her community and industry.

We have all worked for someone who we simply did not trust. No matter how knowledgeable or credentialed, something about this person prevented us from having faith in them.

Risk managers prepare for the annual convention of the Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc. and the losses of 2011 are expected to be a major subject of discussion.

Engineering risk analysis allows risk managers to support proactive decisions in uncertain times.

I'd like to compare two recent events. Both events occurred with communication companies to which I subscribe.

RIMS President John Phelps said new opportunities are emerging for risk managers.

A new shiny object sits on my desk. It is a beautiful sphere made of quartz crystal that I picked up years ago when I was visiting Malta. It is a crystal ball. I originally bought it because it was so beautiful and made for a nice art piece for my home.

I heard a story from a friend recently that has made me think. It's a story of faith, family, responsibility and risk. I am not sure how I feel about it. I am curious as to how others will react to hearing the same story.

RIMS President Deborah M. Luthi, a former art teacher, paints a portrait of the quintessential enterprise risk manager.

Throughout my career in large global corporate risk management, I've had opportunities to be considered for risk leadership roles in various industries, among them health care, manufacturing and higher education.

We have all experienced this before. We are riding an elevator at work. An employee steps in from another floor. They ask our thoughts and advice on project X that is ongoing in their area. We respond with some vacuous, yet polite, statement. They exit the elevator.

Consider this scene. A warm summer evening, a tree-lined street, the sound of kids running around laughing, biking, playing a game of street tennis, hockey and skipping rope. The sound of an ice cream truck's bells tinkle in the background.

If you thought I could ignore the risk management story around Penn State -- or the more recent humbling of Lance Armstrong -- you were wrong.

Have you wondered if or how risk management and business continuation relate? Intuitively, business continuation seems like it should be (and typically is) a distinctly separate discipline with little connection to enterprise risk management.

Three recent events have made me very philosophical. The first involved the renewal of an insurance policy for my firm. Due to many factors, we were at risk of possibly missing the renewal deadline and temporarily losing coverage.

I've told my kids for years that they can expect few real friendships in life, but the few they have should be meaningful. They would argue that they have many friends when, in fact, they actually have many acquaintances.