Risk Management
The Profession
In 2014, Risk & Insurance® will be featuring Q&As with risk management professionals. Our first installment is with Kurt Leisure, who serves as the vice president of risk services with The Cheesecake Factory Inc.
R&I: What was your first job?
I sold life and disability insurance as my first job. It was financially lucrative but the cold call sales were a challenge for me and I wanted to be on a different side of the business.
R&I: How did you come to work in risk management?
I was working in the benefits department of a large restaurant company (not The Cheesecake Factory) and was asked if I wanted to make sense out of the company’s workers’ compensation and liability claims. At the time, the company viewed these claims as an unmanageable cost of the business. I jumped into the claims to better understand what was driving them, then initiated safety programs to prevent the claims. There was an immediate impact and the company added risk management to my title. As the business grew, I eventually dropped my benefits responsibilities and focused on the risk side of the business.
R&I: What about the profession of risk management do you find the most fulfilling or rewarding?
This industry brings new daily challenges and I am exposed to almost every part of our business because there is a certain level of risk in everything. With the push to technology, and the speed at which technology is advancing, it is a constant challenge to keep up with the new risks that are emerging in this area. I love the challenge and am very motivated by my desire to identify and mitigate risk.
R&I: What is the risk management community doing right?
I have been in the risk management profession for 26 years and am excited to see this profession emerge as a recognized profession that companies value.
R&I: What could the risk management community be doing a better job of?
There are not enough universities that offer risk management programs. This makes it difficult for the industry to recruit from colleges and universities because students have not been exposed to the profession as part of their curriculum.
R&I: What emerging commercial risk most concerns you?
Cyber risk and the ability of businesses to protect the public’s confidential information.
R&I: Who is your mentor and why?
Matt Clark, senior vice president of Strategic Planning for The Cheesecake Factory Inc. He understands enterprise risk management and allows me the flexibility to apply innovation to my risk programs. This support and Matt’s strategic vision has allowed us to drive our results in a positive way.
R&I: What have you accomplished that you are proudest of?
I love to drive innovation and constantly push my staff to develop new programs and “pioneer” a solution that no one has thought of. I am also very passionate about risk management and am very visible in the Los Angeles RIMS chapter as well as other industry risk management forums.
R&I: What do your friends and family think you do?
I have a 5- and 3-year-old that consistently ask me what flavor of cheesecake I baked. The rest of my family and friends love having me over so they can hear about the latest crazy claim I have been working on. Most people who know me have a general understanding of what I do, but have no idea how many different pieces of the job there are.
R&I: What is your favorite book or movie?
My current favorite book is called “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek. I love reading about great companies and leaders and what allows these companies to survive over time. The Cheesecake Factory falls into this category and our leadership team consistently understands why we exist and what place we have in the restaurant industry.
R&I: What is the most unusual/interesting place you have ever visited?
The Crater Lake area in Southern Oregon is fascinating to me. It is the deepest lake in Oregon and not a spot that a lot of people have visited.
R&I: What is the riskiest activity you ever engaged in?
On my 40th birthday I rode a mountain bike down Mammoth Mountain (in the summer) with absolutely no safety gear at all — it was a spontaneous adventure. I ended up hitting a non-visible tree stump and cracked some ribs. I don’t always practice what I preach.
R&I: If the world has a modern hero, who is it and why?
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. He launched e-commerce and has truly changed the way consumers shop.