Risk Management is Part of Our Daily Lives with Michal Gnatek

Michal Gnatek is the Department Head of the Enterprise Risk Management program at The MITRE Corporation, a not-for-profit organization that operates multiple Federally Funded Research & Development Centers. In this episode, Michal talks about the dynamic group of people he gets to work with across a wide variety of sectors, why this field is such a fascinating space to be in, and the power of networking in this industry.

Key Takeaways:

• A little bit about Michal and his work at MITRE.

• Because a lot of the work MITRE does is for the federal government, traditional risk models don’t necessarily apply at Michal’s company.

• MITRE manages risks in some big sectors like cybersecurity, aviation, data integrity, and healthcare security.

• Is it a challenge to talk to different industrial sectors about risk?

• Michal sometimes has to ask his industry expert to dumb it down so that he can figure out the true risk.

• How did Michal get his start in insurance?

• Insurance is never really going to go away. However, the past two years really have shown that risk management is part of our daily lives.

• Michal took a big risk in his career by switching to a startup. What was that transition like?

• How does a non-compete work when you’re switching to a new insurance broker?

• Michal is grateful for the past opportunities he’s had because they’ve prepared him to be a better risk manager than ever before.

• If you really want to excel in your career, get good at networking and connecting people to other people.

• Is Michal ever tempted to go back to the broker side?

• When you connect the dots through people, really unique opportunities begin to show.

• Risk management is a far more interesting industry than people give us credit for.

• Michal loves staying active and has a passion for biking to keep himself healthy.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Mitre.org

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, by James Clear