careers KEy ROLe John Magill is manager group insurance claims and property risk at Rolls-Royce PLC how did you enter the world of risk management? Having completed a degree in risk management at Glasgow Caledonian University in 2004, moving to a career in risk management was the natural progression. The diversity and opportunities really appealed to me. I started as a motor claims handler for a large insurance company and then transferred internally to become a trainee risk consultant. I had the necessary risk management theory but had to work on applying the theory to real-life scenarios. While working in this role, I sat many exams that, in hindsight, were well worth it although it didnt feel like that at the time. After three years, I became a risk adviser for a global infrastructure investor, providing strategic and operational risk management advice to the education, healthcare and transportation sectors. I joined Rolls-Royce in January 2011 as manager property risk (the job was advertised on the IRM website). I was promoted in mid-2014 to my current role of manager group insurance claims and property risk. My responsibilities include managing the global insurance claims process for various lines of cover, projectmanaging large, complex claims and providing advice, support and guidance to the businesses. In addition, I manage the global property risk process, which is mandated in order to safeguard the group from significant property damage and business interruption and to maximise the effectiveness of the groups property insurance programme. The process applies to circa 120 key sites globally. What does best practice risk management look like? Looking at it from a global perspective, I think it is paramount that any organisation adopts both a centralised and decentralised approach to all aspects of the risk management process. The centralised element would be to provide guidance, direction and the necessary tools, whereas the decentralised team would be best positioned to respond to situations quickly. For this to happen, there must be clearly delegated authorities and open communication. Both elements are equally as important, because making the wrong decision or no decision can be catastrophic. Describe a typical day Its a diverse role. As I have a global remit, the first part of my day will be catching up on emails that have come in overnight. This normally takes a few hours. After this, I could be involved in discussions around existing property risk recommendations, new construction projects, dealing with new or existing claims, providing general support to other team members, and so on. There are also regular requests for high-level management information, and I could also be presenting to internal and external stakeholders on property risk and claims matters. What are the best and worst aspects of your role? The best aspect is that working within a globalorganisation gives me great exposures tointernational business and the opportunityto work with people at the verytop of their game. The worst is that the business doesnt stop and, as such, claims can ariseat any time and I have to be ready to respond. What has been your greatest achievement? From a risk management perspective successfully applying the property risk process. This has resulted in no major property losses since I started in January 2011. This is one of the key drivers for significantly increasing our risk retention limit under our property damage and business interruption policy. What advice would you give to an aspiring or up-andcoming risk professional? n Continuous professional development and further education are essential. Keeping up to speed with industry developments will help even if not directly, it will in the wider context n Building relationships and trust is a key aspect of any professional career, and these skills are transferable n Whatever you are doing, it must add value; if not, then ask yourself why you are doing it. Time and resources are limited, so use them wisely n Dont try and be an expert in everything. Whats the best piece of advice anyone in the profession has given you? Establish a work-life balance and you will perform much better.