NEW YORK (January 11, 2021) – RIMS Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Carol Fox has announced her retirement. Soraya Wright, formerly the Founder and Chief Risk Officer of SMW Risk Management Consulting, LLC, has been hired to the position, effective January 4, 2021, with Fox supporting the transition process.
Reporting to RIMS CEO Mary Roth, the RIMS Vice President of Strategic Initiatives is responsible for helping to identify trends, assessing the viability of new initiatives and evaluating existing ones to ensure growth and sustainability. The position leads the Knowledge and Learning, Program and Content Development, Publications, Strategic and Enterprise Risk Practices and Standards Development. The position also serves as the staff advisor and co-liaison to the Society’s Strategic and Enterprise Risk Management and Standards & Practices Councils.
Quote from RIMS CEO Mary Roth
“2020 has taught us that risk professionals must be prepared and ready to adapt to anything and, as the world’s leading risk management association, RIMS must be prepared to deliver strategic solutions and resources to support those evolving needs,” said RIMS CEO Mary Roth. “Carol Fox has been an unrivaled champion for the risk management profession. Her in-depth understanding and her willingness to share her expertise, has paved the way for this Society to develop countless strategic partnerships, programs and resources. On behalf of the Society’s global risk management community, I thank Carol for her invaluable contributions and her commitment to elevating the profession.
“Risk management also teaches us about the importance of embracing new perspectives to better understand risks and to develop stronger, more aligned capabilities,” Mary continued. “Soraya Wright has had a remarkable risk management career and is a globally respected thought-leader in this field. RIMS is thrilled to welcome her, to learn from her vast and highly-accomplished experience, to benefit from her perspective and to continue to advance the Society’s mission to educate, engage and advocate for the global risk community.”
Quote from Carol Fox
“Throughout my career, and especially with RIMS, I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to work with so many talented risk professionals who encompass diverse perspectives, unique risk programs, goals and challenges. All share a common passion for advancing our profession,” said Carol Fox. “As I retire, I want to acknowledge all the volunteers and staff who contributed to RIMS’ many milestones and accomplishments over the past decade. Overall, I am incredibly proud of RIMS’ direction and know that Soraya will do an exceptional job to keep that momentum going. I look forward to working with her during this transition period and, most importantly, to continuing to contribute and learn from the RIMS community as a retired member.”
Quote from Soraya Wright
“The power of RIMS really is it’s network; an expansive community of motivated risk professionals, from different backgrounds and with different experiences who are unified by their commitment to professional advancement,” said Soraya Wright. “I am beyond proud to join this prestigious institution, to build on the work of Carol Fox and the RIMS team, and to not only help guide RIMS’ strategy, but to also create opportunities for the global risk management community to contribute to its evolution.”
ABOUT CAROL FOX
Carol Fox joined the RIMS staff in 2010 after chairing several committees and serving on the Society’s Board of Directors for numerous years. As a RIMS executive, she spearheaded the Society’s emphasis on applied risk management practices distinguishing its approaches to enterprise and strategic risk management as organizational disciplines, by influencing risk management standards and practices, and by contributing to the advancement of risk management as a profession.
Additionally, she led RIMS content, education, research and publications teams and introduced RIMS global development initiatives. She served as the chair of the U.S. ISO 31000 Technical Advisory Group on risk management standards from 2015 to 2018 on behalf of RIMS and was an invited participant on the COSO ERM Advisory Council for its 2017 revision. Independently, Carol serves on the Advisory Board for the Miami University Isaac and Oxley Center for Business Leadership in the Farmer Business School.
A Miami University graduate, she has held risk management positions in the customer care, telecommunications, manufacturing, defense and insurance industries. Prior to RIMS, Carol was the senior director, risk management and business continuity planning for Convergys Corporation. And, prior to that, she was the director, risk management for Cincinnati Bell.
Carol received RIMS prestigious Harry and Dorothy Goodell Award in 2009. In 2011, Treasury and Risk named her as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Finance.
ABOUT SORAYA WRIGHT
Soraya Wright is a proven global risk management leader with experience enhancing risk management capabilities, protecting reputations and driving down the cost of risks for Fortune 500 companies.
In 2017, Soraya founded SMW Risk Management Consulting LLC serving as the company’s CEO and CRO. The consulting firm focused on supporting the development of integrated risk management strategies, including ERM, to address global and emerging risks.
Prior to SMW, she was the vice president enterprise risk management for Target where her leadership responsibility included building the company’s post-breach risk management capabilities, spearheading the development of an ERM framework and designing governance structures. She also served as its Diversity and Inclusion leader for Risk & Compliance.
From 1981 to 2016, Soraya held numerous risk management positions with The Clorox Company, with her last as vice president, global risk management & crisis management.
Soraya has been an active member of RIMS for more than 30 years. In that time, she has delivered webinars, facilitated RIMS ERM and RIMS-CRMP certification workshops, and contributed to the development other resources, risk management reports and articles. She was a member of RIMS 2017 Diversity and Inclusion Task Force and continues to contribute to the, now, RIMS Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council..
Soraya has gained incredible experience as a Board Director and has sat on the executive boards of approximately 20 public and private entities that range in scope from educational institutions, to insurance company and brokerage firm client advisory boards, to boards focused on mentoring and advancing diversity, inclusion and equity initiatives. She was awarded Business Insurance’s “Woman to Watch” in 2015, the California 20th Assembly District’s 2014 “Woman of the Year” in Business, Clorox Leadership Award – Humility in 2013 and Clorox CEO Award, 2002.
For information about RIMS and to access its wide selection of risk management knowledge, reports, resources and educational programming, visit www.RIMS.org.
About RIMS
RIMS, the risk management society®, is a global not-for-profit committed to advancing the practice of risk management throughout the world. We bring networking, professional development, certification, and education opportunities to our membership of 10,000 risk management professionals in over 60 countries. Founded in 1950, the Society represents more than 3,500 industrial, service, nonprofit, charitable and government entities throughout the world. To access RIMS Risk Knowledge resource library and for additional information about the Society, visit www.RIMS.org.
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