In addition to being a ski bum and bartender, Joe Meaney was the first Insurance and Risk Manager at three different companies. Currently, Joe serves as the Global Insurance and Risk Manager at AES. During this conversation, Joe reveals the importance of a good risk engineer, the dark role Risk Managers must play while creating value for a company, the art of hiring, and the beautiful secret of the strange world of risk and insurance.

Key Takeaways:

• Joe was the very first insurance and risk manager at three different companies, including AES.

• RIMS has been there for Joe several times as a network of knowledgeable people.

• Even though every company was different, he learned invaluable skills in every position he held.

• Joe hired Katie based on a gut feeling. He taught her to take risks.

• Joe says America’s willingness to take risks is what has made it great.

• A business should consider a risk management team long before it believes it needs to.

• Joe offers tips for those starting to build a risk management team.

• When Joe first started with AES they did not have a focus on risk engineering.

• Joe includes a Mark Twain quote with every email he sends.

• Joe considers himself an outlier, living in a world much like The Matrix.

• The insult Joe is most proud of is when someone called him emotional.

• Joe details the role of a Risk Manager.

• Joe believes the most brilliant ideas come when a team is talking after hours.

• If Joe could give his former self one piece of advice it would be to take more risks.

Mentioned in This Episode:

The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything, by Stephen M. R. Covey