LOS ANGELES, CA, April 24, 2018 - USC's Marshall School of Business invited members of the Risk Management Advisory Council to serve on a panel at the school's Career Conference this past February.  The panelist's program titled, "Risky Business: Exciting Options In The World Of Risk Management," was a big hit, and the tremendous feedback the group received was an indication of the growing interest of university students in risk management careers.

About 130 students from the University of Southern California (USC) - primarily freshman and sophomores from the Marshall School - were in attendance to learn about the strategic planning, client engagement, and other sales opportunities that exist with the world of risk.

"Risk management may be the best-kept secret in high-impact careers in the financial services industry, said IIABCal LeadUp Council Member Mike MacGillivray, Commerical & Personal Lines Insurance Producer for Shaw, Moses, Mendenhall & Associates Insurance Agency in South Pasadena. "Industries actively looking for qualified candidates in risk management include entertainment, tech, aerospace construction and health care.

"More than a half million insurance professional in California will be retiring in the next 10 years," MacGillivray said. "There's a real opportunity now for students to get involved in an insurance career that begins with the education and training at the university level."

The need to address this issue on a university level resulted in the formation three years ago of the Risk Management Advisory Council comprised of more than 50 insurance professionals including firms such as Willis Towers Watson, AON, Fox Entertainment, Worldwide Facilities and Shaw, Moses, Mendenhall & Associates, MacGillivray said.  

“Working with USC’s Marshall School of Business, the Council’s mission is to provide sustained financial and intellectual business capital to support the continuous creation and maintenance of the preeminent undergraduate curriculum designed to educate and equip the next generation of emerging risk professionals," he said. "Currently being offered as a Minor, the Council expects to expand the program to a Major, Executive Education/Certificate Program and, eventually, a Master’s Degree Program in the future.”

USC is one of more than 30 schools in the country, and part of only a handful west of the Mississippi, offering a risk management program.

To generate excitement with the students at the February event, the group put together a video which was shown prior to introducing the panel.  

"The purpose of the video was really threefold," MacGillivray said.  "One, to help students understand that the industry is much broader than simply selling auto insurance - a common misconception many of the students previously kept. Two, there are tremendous opportunities on the horizon in high technology. And, three, in the next 10 years, for every individual entering the risk management industry, three are retiring."