Unbottling Risk Management with Victoria Ogbuehi of Coca-Cola

Jun 11, 2024

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Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.

Justin Smulison interviews Victoria Ogbuehi of Coca-Cola about her education, her aspirations, her 12 years in public security, and her move into risk management. She describes the personality traits that are most helpful in an ERM career, such as a learning mindset and a habit of hard work. She describes winning her awards, as well as the importance of the RIMS-CRMP to her career and even her confidence. She cautions young professionals that if they are lazy, they should not try to work in risk management.

Listen in to learn about a fascinating career move from security to risk management.

Key Takeaways:

[:01] About RIMS and RIMScast.

[:16] About this episode of RIMScast, coming to you from RIMS Headquarters in New York. My guest is Victoria Ogbuehi, RIMS-CRMP. She is the Senior Risk and Resilience Manager for Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company in Nigeria and a four-time Outstanding Security Performance Award winner! Lots to discuss!

[:51] First, let's talk about RIMS Virtual Workshops. The full calendar of virtual workshops is at RIMS.org/VirtualWorkshops. On June 18th and 19th, we have Fundamentals of Risk Management. On July 9th and 10th, we have Managing Workers' Compensation.

[1:07] On July 23rd and 24th, we have Claims Management. Other dates for Fall and Winter are on the Virtual Workshops full calendar at RIMS.org/VirtualWorkshops.

[1:20] Let's talk about prep courses for the RIMS-CRMP. Our guest today is a beneficiary of the RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep Course. The next session for risk managers based in the U.S. and Canada will be held on August 7th and 8th, followed by a two-day session on September 12th and 13th, and lastly, on December 17th and 18th.

[1:50] The next RIMS-CRMP-FED Exam Prep Course will be held on December 3rd through 5th, 2024. Additional Prep Courses are offered through NST Academy, India, Conrad Clark Nigeria, UCLA, and others. A link to these resources and more is also in this episode's show notes.

[2:11] Victoria Ogbuehi is the Senior Risk and Resilience Manager for the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, based in Nigeria. I know her from being a RIMS-CRMP holder. She has a fascinating career I wanted everyone to hear about, including 12 years at the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps!

[2:40] Victoria was risk-adjacent and then made her way over to full-time risk management. I can't wait for all of you to hear what her risk journey has been like.

[2:52] Victoria Ogbuehi, welcome to RIMScast!

[3:25] Victoria's 12 years with the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, coming right out of school, were the most stressful years of her life. Entering the real world, she saw her school days seemed to be out of reality. The 12 years were hectic but they were a cherished time and a learning process that made her find her footing in her risk role today.

[4:14] Victoria started as a core inspector and grew in rank. She had never intended to be a security professional.

[4:48] Victoria studied economics in her undergraduate years. She had wanted to work in the Central Bank of Nigeria, the World Bank, or the Securities and Exchange Commission. She wanted to help grow economies.

[5:27] Victoria has never worked at a financial center or in the field of economics. In her third year as a public security professional, she felt stuck and she knew it was time to pursue a career in security. In Nigeria, some job applications are restricted to an age window and she wanted to make a change. She wanted security to be her calling for life.

[6:40] Victoria went back to school to study law enforcement and criminal justice. With that degree, she felt more confident and motivated. She went back again to study law. She understood that knowing the law would help her be a better law enforcer. She got certificates for security management and operations. It was her journey of building for 12 years until she left.

[8:08] Security is a male-dominated field, globally. For Victoria, it was not about men dominating the field but about the passion for what she did.

[9:08] There were so many challenges for Victoria in Security. One of the biggest challenges was inadequate training. She is very studious and doesn't like to go a year without taking a course in something. For three years, she wasn't exposed to any courses. Then she took them at her own expense without support. She had to beg her employer to acknowledge her studies.

[10:12] Another big challenge for Victoria was that there was no motivation. She felt stuck all the time. Simply put, there were few opportunities for growth.

[11:00] Victoria had heard about risk and insurance at school. As a student, she did not see herself as becoming a risk manager. However, when the opportunity to become a risk manager eventually came, she applied. The application process was tough. The position was strategic and she had to appear before the Managing Director and the Group Chief Risk Officer.

[12:21] Victoria had the advantage of her knowledge of economics and 12 years of security operations experience. She saw this opening more as an opportunity to learn something new than as a job. The people who hired Victoria saw potential in her. She didn't have confidence in herself but relied on her economics education. That was Victoria's journey to risk management.

[13:38] It's RIMS plug time! Webinars! On June 13th, our friends from Riskonnect return to present Unlocking the Value of Business Continuity and Insurable Risk Management.

[13:52] Our friends at TÜV SÜD GRC return on June 20th to present Sustainability Without the Sticker Shock: Save Green While Going Green. Register at RIMS.org/Webinars. Webinars are complimentary for RIMS members!

[14:08] The RIMS ERM Conference 2024 will be held on November 18th and 19th in Boston, Massachusetts. The agenda will be announced soon, as will a call for submissions for the ERM Award of Distinction. I'll have that link up soon on an upcoming episode.

[14:28] Review your organization's ERM program, and if you feel it was successful and you have the numbers and the data to back it up, compile that information and get ready to submit your ERM program for the ERM Award of Distinction.

[14:42] The Spencer Educational Foundation's goal to help build a talent pipeline of risk management and insurance professionals is achieved, in part, through a collaboration with risk management and insurance educators across the United States and Canada. This also applies to not-for-profit entities.

[15:02] If this description applies to you, you should apply for a Spencer General Grant. The application deadline is July 30th, 2024. General Grant awardees are typically notified at the end of October.

[15:18] The Spencer 2024 Funding Their Future Gala will be held on Thursday, September 12th, 2024 at The Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. Links are in this episode's show notes. This year's honoree will be Lilian Vanvieldt-Gray. She is the Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for Alliant Insurance Services.

[15:41] Lilian Vanvieldt-Gray will appear on an upcoming RIMScast episode. Be sure to subscribe to RIMScast through your favorite podcasting app to make sure you catch that episode and the 291-plus other episodes that antedate it.

[15:58] Back to the interview with Victoria Ogbuehi! In addition to being an employee of Coca-Cola, Victoria is involved in ERM. Victoria says applying ERM at her group in Coca-Cola is not difficult but complex. The group has well-developed guidelines for enterprise risk management. Over 80% of what you do are deterrents. They have robust processes in place.

[17:24] Victoria engages every risk-accountable leader. She notes four serious security risks across the business: kidnapping, terrorism, crime, and internal fraud. Other functions, such as supply chain, finance, procurement, and so on, each have specific risks they are looking out for. Victoria's duty is to coordinate the risk management efforts of the different functions.

[18:34] Victoria facilitates Risk Review Sessions and ensures that all the accountable risk owners understand the expectations, especially when reviewing the effectiveness of the measures they put in place. She helps evaluate risk response plans and contingency plans and helps the risk owners understand what is expected of them. It's a gradual process.

[19:16] When there's a change in leadership, Victoria onboards them on the expectations. Risk is not managed by one person or department but is a cross-functional collaborative effort. That is what ERM is all about. Victoria works to understand each group's processes and operations so she can advise them in the best way.

[20:01] Victoria would not say that Coca-Cola HBC in Nigeria is targeted directly for risks or threats. Nigeria is a very diverse country and the most populous in Africa. Because of the diversity, the crimes committed differ across regions. Coca-Cola HBC is one of the biggest companies in the country and has operations across the country.

[21:15] Coca-Cola HBC ensures that they identify all of the crime hot spots and proactively advise their employees on the safe places to go and unsafe places to avoid, how they can avoid those places, and how to conduct themselves in the event they find themselves in those environments unexpectedly, or anything happens. Environments continue to evolve.

[22:09] The ERM group continually monitors the threat velocity and gives advice based on their findings. It is an ongoing activity. Nowhere in the world is completely safe. They do assessments, giving their employees priority and keeping everyone as safe as possible.

[24:07] Victoria has been the honoree of the Outstanding Security Performance Award four times. She considers how far she has come. She used to sleep eight hours a night; now, she sleeps six because she wants to keep getting results. She keeps telling herself to work hard. Her work has been appreciated and honored. That's what the OSPAs mean to her.

[24:55] Victoria speaks of adding the impact of the RIMS-CRMP certification to her title. RIMS is powerful! The certification is one of the best things to happen in her career. She looked for the best single certification available and saw that the RIMS-CRMP was it, so she worked hard for it. She was concerned about passing the exam but the course curriculum was well put together.

[26:03] RIMS-CRMP magnified Victoria's confidence level because she knows what she talks about is correct. Her confidence has been building up since earning it.

[27:14] Victoria's advice to young professionals considering entering the risk management field: "Please don't even venture if you are a lazy person! You can't try it, OK? You have to be very hard-working, tolerant, and patient. These are some of the qualities that will help you accomplish your purposes as a risk manager. You're going to be working cross-functionally."

[27:47] "You cannot wake up one day and say this is what I want to do today and I want to do it alone. It is difficult to manage risk alone. It's something you do cross-functionally. You need collaborative and persuasive skills and know-how to talk to people and have them listen to you; how to engage people naturally."

[28:18] "For most functions, managing risks is not part of their key performance indicators, so they will usually not make it a priority. The way you engage, interact with and persuade them will determine how far they will go to respond to you. You are accountable for those risks. You need a lot of endurance, patience, and tolerance. You have to be hardworking and studious."

[28:53] "Every day you have to be learning new things because the risk landscape continues to evolve. You cannot be a lazy person."

[29:09] Special thanks, again, to Victoria Ogbuehi. You can learn more about Victoria and her fascinating career through the RIMS-CRMP Stories feature. A link is in this episode's show notes.

[29:24] It's Plug Time! The RIMS App is available to RIMS members exclusively. Go to the App Store and download the RIMS App with all sorts of RIMS resources and coverage. It's different from the RIMS Events App. Everyone loves the RIMS App!

[29:56] You can sponsor a RIMScast episode for this, our weekly show, or a dedicated episode. Links to sponsored episodes are in our show notes. RIMScast has a global audience of risk and insurance professionals, legal professionals, students, business leaders, C-Suite executives, and more. Let's collaborate! Contact pd@rims.org for more information.

[30:40] Become a RIMS member and get access to the tools, thought leadership, and network you need to succeed. Visit RIMS.org/membership or email membershipdept@RIMS.org for more information.

[30:58] Risk Knowledge is the RIMS searchable content library that provides relevant information for today's risk professionals. Materials include RIMS executive reports, survey findings, contributed articles, industry research, benchmarking data, and more.

[31:14] For the best reporting on the profession of risk management, read Risk Management Magazine at RMMagazine.com. It is written and published by the best minds in risk management. Justin Smulison is the Business Content Manager at RIMS. You can email Justin at Content@RIMS.org.

[31:35] Thank you for your continued support and engagement on social media channels! We appreciate all your kind words. Listen every week! Stay safe!

Mentioned in this Episode:

RISKWORLD 2025 will be in Chicago! May 4‒7

RIMS DEI Council

Spencer Educational Foundation — Grants Page — Apply Through July 30.

RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP)

RIMS-CRMP Virtual Workshops — Next Workshop with PARIMA July 18‒19, 2024!

RIMS Strategic & Enterprise Risk Center

NEW FOR MEMBERS! RIMS Mobile App

RIMS-CRMP Stories — New interviews featuring today's guest Victoria Ogbuehi and RIMS Treasurer Manny Padilla!

"Leveraging Insurance and Risk Management to Address Political Risk" — RIMS Executive Report

RIMS Webinars:

Unlocking the Value of Business Continuity and Insurable Risk Management | Sponsored by Riskonnect | June 13, 2024