NextGen Risk: Team Profile | University of Calgary

Anne Kleffner (Advisor)

Anne Kleffner says her path into insurance was “a long and twisted road.”

After her undergraduate studies, she worked as a consulting actuary in Seattle for a number of years. “And then I decided I liked getting questions and problems that had no answers”

That realization led her back to graduate school and academia, she says, including stints at a number of different universities based in the U.S. Ten years ago, she had a chance to come to the University of Calgary, and took advantage of it. She’s been at the university ever since.

Anne notes the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business hosts a premier Risk Management and Insurance (RMI) program, recognized as a Global Centre of Insurance Excellence (GCIE) by the International Insurance Society in 2017.

“I believe we are still the only university to have a dedicated concentration in risk management and insurance,” she says, as opposed to, say, a finance department that might teach some insurance-related classes.

Nadia Emily Seggewiss

Nadia has a background in chemical engineering and business analytics, and she says this has led her to do some risk analysis within the world of property and casualty insurance, particularly when it comes to process hazard analysis.

“I’m looking into this kind of [analysis] and then comparing it to what I’m reading in the pre-competition materials, and that helps me make connections, she says. “And hopefully it will help me down the road as well when it comes to design and operation; to help mitigate the risk down the road.”

Olisaemeka Franklin Ibelo

Franklin is in his fourth year of risk management and insurance and finance at the University of Calgary, as well as a minor in mathematics. And he also dabbles in a bit of team-building, he tells CU.

“I guess you could say I was the talent acquisition specialist for our case competition,” he adds. And lest there be any doubts about his competitive chops, Franklin affirms he’s in it to win it.

He says one of his professors first drew attention to the case competition.

“For some reason, it was the right place at the right time,” he says of the opportunity to participate in the NextGen case competition. “I was looking at my emails, and I saw this amazing opportunity to compete against people from 14 other different schools. And I thought, “Hey, if this ever comes around again, I might not be around to partake in this, so it’s a chance for me to try to prove that we’re the better team.”

Franklin’s favourite aspect of insurance is underwriting, he says. “What I love about underwriting is the people you meet. It’s more of a personal side of the industry. You are getting people coming to you with their needs, and you’re basically like Santa Claus, for a premium.”

Madison Elizabeth Jordan

Madison is in her fourth and final year at the University of Calgary’s risk management and insurance program. “I started out as an accounting major, and then I took a couple introductory risk courses in my third year, and I just found a real knack for it,” she says.

She says the academic program offers many opportunities in the property and casualty industry, thanks to supportive professors. She cites, an example, her chance to go to Bermuda [and?] London on an international insurance markets trip last spring.

“It gave me a lot of really good global exposure to what I was kind of walking into,” she says. “I find the industry really interesting because of all the creative and innovative solutions you have to provide people, and just help businesses operate on a day-to-day basis.”

Her travels, including to Toronto, have given her access to all kinds of roles in the P&C insurance industry, including risk management, broking, and underwriting.

Having seen them all, “I would say I would want to start out in broking,” she says. “I believe I find that relationship-building really interesting. But I think down the line, risk analysis would be my end game, because I just find approaching the companies as a whole would be super-interesting.”

Benjamin Mykietiak

Benjamin transferred to University of Calgary from Red Deer Polytechnic, where he was taking general business for a year and with a major in finance.

Once in Calgary, he had a friend in the risk management club at the University of Calgary. “He said, ‘You should do this, it will be easy work.’ And then I joined the next year, and it was not easy work.”

But he enjoyed being part of the events team, which opened up opportunities in his second year. After joining the club, he connected with risk management professionals, and ultimately changed his major to risk management and insurance, with a minor in finance.

He joined Madison (above) on the trips to Toronto [Days of Discovery] and Bermuda, and that offered “more opportunities to get out into the world and do a lot more networking, which I found very valuable.”

Benjamin says he thinks there may be more to gain by learning more about the insurance side of the business before narrowing down into a risk management focus.

“I would want to try a little more on the insurance side, to get a feel for what I like,” he says. “If I just jump straight to the risk management side, I would feel that I’m missing out a little bit. Understanding the insurance side could help you on the risk management side, and vice versa.”