What does a Risk Manager actually do?

Do you know what a Chief Risk Officer does at an insurance company? We ask ERGO’s Risk Manager Martin Brown.

Mr Brown, what does a Chief Risk Officer do? Describe your work in three sentences.

Martin Brown: As ERGO’s Chief Risk Officer, it is my job to understand and control ERGO’s various risks, both in Germany and abroad. You have to have all risks in sight, look at them together and balance them against each other. It’s also important to reinforce the risk culture, that is to say the attitude of all employees in the company to handling risks, i.e. their risk awareness.

What is your daily work routine and what are the particular challenges?

It’s hard to describe a typical working day because ultimately there is no such thing as a typical day. Every day is different, which is also the real attraction of the job. Apart from managing the employees in the department, I am constantly moving from issue to issue: from preparing a statement on a risk-relevant Board decision to discussing calculation methods for our risk calculation models and taskforce work on outstanding risks that require special attention.

What qualities are especially helpful in your job?

Resilience, as we call it in English, my native language. That means never giving up and constantly staying on the ball even when faced with a constantly growing number of issues or undesirable developments. Naturally you also need a good understanding of numbers and the ability to think in wider contexts.

Why do you think that your job is important for ERGO, for clients and for employees?

Risk management affects everyone. We make sure that long-term success is more important than short-term supposedly high yields and this contributes to the success of the company. After all, only if we are successful are we able to offer our clients the promised security and offer employees an attractive and secure workplace.

What did you want to be when you were ten years old? And why did you not become this?

Footballing world champion. Sadly I had to change my plans because of my English origins. But at least now I live in the country of the football world champions.