Laura Hamilton + Nicole Bacon (5/3/21)
Laura Hamilton and Nicole Bacon of the Hartford help CSUN students expand their horizons about the risk and insurance profession (May 3, 2021).
Laura shared with students her underwriting experiences with big firms/organizations, including the Getty Museum.
As a Matador, Nicole brought in her stories of how she advanced herself from an entry-level claims specialist to a managing director in charge of the west territory.
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These two beautiful minds ended up their presentations by encouraging CSUN students to be bold and raise their hands to ask questions/seek support, so they can stand out from the crowd.
Allen Kwan, Nick Theule, Jimmishea O'Lee, Jared Hanner, Raul Canales, and Leslie Garay (4/7/2021) - Virtual
CSUN students learn about different sides of the risk and insurance profession from Allen Kwan and five CSUN graduates working in the field (April 7, 2021).
With his coordinated panel, he addressed students’ questions from how to land an entry-level position to what lifestyle looks like for risk professionals at different career stages.
Below is the list of panelists.
- Allen Kwan, Head of Customer Management NA, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions
- Nick Theule ’04 (Finance), ARM, ASLI, CIC, CISR, Area SVP, Gallagher
- Jimmishea O'Lee '03 (Financial Services), Property Client Advisor, Marsh
- Jared Hanner '03 (Finance), CPCU, ARM, Area SVP & Western Regional Director, Gallagher
- Raul Canales ’01 (Finance), Area AVP, Real Estate & Hospitality Practice, Gallagher
- Leslie Garay ’05 (Finance/Real Estate), Area VP, Gallagher
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Steve Eilers (4/15/20)
Steve Eilers, Vice President of Gen Re, engaged CSUN students with distance learning on reinsurance via Zoom (Apr. 15, 20).
He broadened the horizon for their understanding of insurance and reinsurance with more than two decades of his career with Gen Re - a division of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
His goodwill is further indicated in the CSUN Today article "Remote Guest Speakers Enrich CSUN’s Virtual Classes," published on May 8, 2020.
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As a regional executive on the West Coast, Steve Eilers also shared with these Matadors not just his career advice for the insurance industry but also his operating principles from Warren Buffett.
Learn from Warren Buffett's ownership of Gen Re.
Cristian Iglesias (4/8/20)
Cristian Iglesias, Manager of Risk Services at The Cheesecake Factory Inc., met with CSUN students virtually via Zoom for an in-depth dialogue on risk management in practice (April 8, 2020).
He further addressed how he performed his duties as a risk manager, how his company differentiated itself with a safety culture, as well as how his team handled risks amid the pandemic crisis.
The Cheesecake Factory Inc. is one of the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work for seven years in the row.
His goodwill is further indicated in the CSUN Today article "Remote Guest Speakers Enrich CSUN’s Virtual Classes," published on May 8, 2020.
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Scott Carpinteri (2/20/20)
CSUN RMI Program was so fortunate to host Scott Carpinteri, SVP of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, who brought expertise in large and complex risks but make them seem so simple (Feb. 20, 2020).
After his presentation, our Risk Management and Insurance students know more about today's marketplace for sophisticated risk transfer products because he delivers this content in a way that appeals to the RMI professionals of tomorrow.
Marshann Varley + Bill Blake (10/22/19)
Marshann G. Varley of Aon and William Blake of Zurich visited CSUN for the MBA Program Series "Dialogues with Industry Leaders about Careers in Risk Management and Insurance" (Oct. 22, 2019).
They engaged participating students with the prospect of the industry and a wide variety of career opportunities in this field.
Scott Ritto (10/4/19)
Scott Ritto, ARM RIMS-CRMP, Vice President of Risk Management at Kilroy Realty Corporation, visited CSUN for two presentations on his career experiences in risk management and insurance (Oct. 4, 2019).
His authentic fascination with the risk management profession enlightened several CSUN students about the jungle of career opportunities in the RMI field.
He further encourages students to keep their drive, focus, and determination.
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As Scott Ritto indicated, "the demand for enterprise risk management professionals is continuously on the rise, particularly after the financial crisis in 2008."
He also shared with students his career passion for risk management.
As a senior risk professional, Scott also states, "I really do learn something new every day, and I would say that I am never bored." Risk Management has been a rewarding career choice for him.
CSUN students made a hand sign of the "heart" to appreciate Scott Ritto's presentation (Oct. 4, 2019).
Scott also emphasized the importance of making decisions in a career choice.
He is a firm believer in being happy at what you do, so it will not feel like work.
CSUN students made a hand gesture of "thumb up" to thank Scott Ritto for his talk on the risk management profession (Oct. 4, 2019).
From Scott's presentations, Matadors can feel that Risk Management and Insurance is a very enjoyable career.
John Barrett (4/18/19)
CSUN RMI students enjoyed hosting John Barrett, Chairman at AON Risk Insurance Services West (Apr. 18, 2019).
John described the immense opportunity for students entering the industry as well as advice on how to be both ethical and successful.
Tyrone Spears (4/18/19)
Tyrone Spears, the Workers’ Compensation Administrator at the City of Los Angeles Personnel department, lighted up CSUN students' interest in workers' compensation (Apr. 18, 2019)
He explained that workers compensation is always exciting because of changes in the labor codes and regulations. His presentation made a career in the field of workers compensation attractive.
CSUN students gestured a hand sign of "LA" to appreciate his visit.
Robb Greenspan (4/2/19)
Mr. Robb Greenspan inspired CSUN students about his career as an independent claim adjuster who put policyholders' interest first when it comes to insured policy losses (Apr. 2, 2019).
CSUN students posed a hand sign of excellence to thank Robb for his presentation.
Courtney Claflin + Paul Owens (3/14/19)
Courtney W. Claflin, Executive Director – Captive Programs at the University of California, inspired CSUN students by his stories of finding his passion toward captive insurance on March 14, 2019.
His expertise is currently guiding the CSU system to create its first-ever captive insurance company.
His visit was joined by Paul A. Owens, Managing Director of Global Captive Practice at Willis Towers Watson, who enriched the dialogues about captives with lots of global perspectives. 
Courtney W. Claflin, Executive Director – Captive Programs at the University of California
Paul A. Owens, Managing Director of Global Captive Practice at Willis Towers Watson
Matadors showed hand signs of excellence to appreciate their visit.
Matadors made thumb up gestures to appreciate their visit.
Vanessa Poma + Rick Sforza (4/14/18)
Vanessa Poma and Rick Sforza (both CSUN alumni) of NAS Insurance speak in Risk Management (Apr. 17, 2018)
Thomas Petersen (10/25/17)
Mr. Thomas Petersen, a specialist in disability insurance, returned to his alma mater for a talk on how disability insurance helps people deal with lost income due to disability (Oct. 25, 2017).
He emphasized one important concept to CSUN students that life is just a cash flow.
Thomas Petersen (10/28/15)
Mr. Thomas Petersen from Petersen International Underwriters (Lloyd’s Coverholder) talked to Nazarian College students about the importance of disability insurance (Oct. 28, 2015).
