Director of Risk Management - Janus International Group, LLC
(2023-01 - 2024-09)
- Partnered with executive leadership and aligned risk management strategies with market conditions.
- Informed executives and board members quarterly and created Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) mitigation reports that measured mitigation efforts for the top ten risks.
- Improved the existing ERM program, enhanced risk taxonomy, and partnered with EY to assess risk maturity, create a maturity roadmap, and improve governance and reporting metrics.
- Co-chairperson for the ERM Committee and point of contact for all matters related to ERM.
- Managed the insurance brokers on all lines of insurance and collaborated with underwriters to secure insurance for both domestic and international operations.
- Achieved a 49% reduction in Executive Risk insurance renewal costs, saving over $1M while enhancing coverage and increasing limits.
- Achieved a 34% reduction in Property & Casualty insurance renewal costs despite a year-over-year increase in exposure.
- Regularly reviewed contracts, lease agreements, and multi-unit construction contracts to transfer risk where appropriate.
- Reduced the Total Cost of Risk by 10% within one year for a billion-dollar publicly held company.
- Fostered a culture of transparency and accountability across all departments, enhancing the company's risk culture.
- Championed process improvements that streamlined risk identification, mitigation planning, and response practices.
- Conducted comprehensive due diligence for mergers & acquisitions and partnerships, effectively mitigating potential unforeseen risks.
- Led the Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new insurance broker and reduced the annual service fee by 50%.
- Managed the implementation of a new insurance broker to include new claim reporting guidelines and certificate of insurance requests.
- Responsible for the Executive Risk and Property & Casualty insurance renewals and collected exposure updates from the international team and domestic teams.
Risk Manager - McKissack Construction at MARTA - Atlanta, GA
(2022-10 - 2022-12)
- Managed Marta Station Rehabilitation collaborating closely with General Contractors, Architects and Engineers and Design professionals on projects that exceeded $35 M budget.
- Partnered with Project Managers to ensure the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) project estimation was aligned with budgets.
- Project management for design delays and review periods to ensure enhancement to each Marta station rehabilitation project was aligned with the CMAR or GC's schedule.
- Represented Marta during project status meetings and provided professional judgement on general concepts on wayfinding signage design and location renderings.
- Frequently visited construction sites to observe the progress of each project.
Interim Director of Risk & Safety - Biscuitville, Inc.
(2021-10 - 2022-09)
- Reporting to the Chief People Officer, defined and developed the safety vision, purpose, and goals for a sustainable safety-first culture for the Restaurant Support Center, Restaurant locations and the Distribution / Warehouse risks.
- Provide risk guidance to the Executive Leadership team concerning deployment of the Incident Command and Crisis/Emergency Management processes.
- General consulting on Enterprise Risk Management, emergency response plans and incident command response planning associated with natural disasters, pandemic related incidents, including the coronavirus pandemic.
- Led a virtual training session on OSHA's Emergency Temporary Standard pending changes during an all-hands-on deck virtual meeting that included every team member of the company, field operations and the Executive Leadership Team.
- Provided oversight for insurance programs to include Workers Compensation, General Liability and Automobile Liability within the Captive Insurance Group and Account Executive Insurance team.
- Partnered with the VP of Development and Facilities to redesign the Restaurant Support Center front desk security and created a plan to install bullet-proof glass for the receptionist desk and conference room.
- Created and implemented a safety scorecard that resulted in adding its content to Steritech's Workplace Safety Audit permanently.
- Developed content and trained Operations leadership on Positive Employee Relations and Safety Training that cascaded to store management to recognize and prevent behaviors for recurring injuries.
Senior Director, Risk Management - Zaxby's Franchising LLC
(2014-07 - 2021-01)
Managed risks, people, and processes for a private, nationally recognized, quick service enterprise with over 900 locations in 18 states and 500+ employees generating over $1.8B in annual revenue.
- Developed and implemented strategic risk mitigation plans to reduce risk, minimize injuries, and assure adequate post-incident documentation. (From 2013 to 2017, WC Loss rate decreased by 50% even though the number of company-owned stores increased by 44%.)
- Lead annual insurance strategy sessions and negotiations, developed the most comprehensive, but cost-effective approach for insurance, deductible options, and captive insurance programs.
- From the ground up, designed and executed a franchise insurance, risk control, and human resource programs with preferred Cyber and Property & Casualty insurance partners for Zaxby's licensees.
- Lead and directly supervised the team responsible for Zaxby's Crisis Management and Brand Reputation while leading cross-departmental working teams to ensure known risks were communicated and prioritized for successful issue and crisis management.
- Developed and managed a strategic focused, topflight Risk Management team of six professionals, responding to business challenges through education, daily engagement, and establishment of interdepartmental trust.
- Foster the advancement of the risk management profession through relationships with the University of Georgia School of Risk Management and School of Law. Hired interns to have an opportunity for firsthand experience and a real-world view of the operations of a risk management department.
- Structured the General Liability program from Deductible to SIR to allow Zaxby's to bring the handling of most GL claims in-house, resulting in lower claim costs overall (settlement and claim handling). In the first year, claims handling charges from the TPA decreased by 32%. Overall claims were closed quicker, and the total cost incurred was reduced by approximately 10%.
- Coached the Sr. Manager of Reputation responsible for day-to-day functions of crisis management, corporate social responsibility, philanthropy, and reputation management to include ranking outcomes from quarterly meetings with every department representative involved in Zaxby's Franchising or Zaxby's licensee risks.
- Led and directly supervised the risk team responsible for DOT compliance for the food truck, aviation and aircraft hangar operations, restaurant operations and team member safety, workers compensation, general liability, and property losses.
- Assessed and advised the conventions manager on all domestic or international travel, safety, and site operations for two conferences per year where all franchisees and vendors attended.
- Responsible for Third Party Risk Management and worked closely with the Vice President of Purchasing and the Chief Strategy Officer to ensure contract language, pricing and rebates were allocated appropriately.
- Innovatively applied diverse tools and risk management strategies by selecting and implementing Riskonnect, Risk Management Information System.
Director of Risk Management - Zaxby's Franchising LLC
(2004-04 - 2014-07)
