Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.

In this episode, Justin interviews RIMS 2026 Rising Risk Professional, Tyler Vaughan. Tyler explains the pizza-and-bonus-points incentive that got him to attend the risk management and insurance informational session in college, which launched his risk management career. Tyler shares what it was like beginning in the industry as COVID was shutting down offices. He encourages students not to seek a remote position, but a hybrid or office position, at least for the first couple of years of their careers, to grow knowledge and build a network. Tyler shares his feelings about winning the RIMS 2026 Rising Risk Professional Award and his hopes for the future of the risk industry. Listen for insight on building a risk management career, mentoring, and networking.

Key Takeaways:

[:01] About RIMS and RIMScast.

[:14] Public registration is open for RISKWORLD 2026, which will be held from May 3rd through 6th in Philadelphia. Visit RIMS.org/RISKWORLD to register.

[:27] About this episode of RIMScast. Our guest today is the RIMS 2026 Rising Risk Professional, Tyler Vaughan. I'm looking forward to discussing with him about how he is setting a high bar for the next generation of risk professionals. But first…

[:58] RIMS Virtual Workshops. The next RIMS-CRMP-FED Exam Prep Course will be on May 13th and 14th. The popular CBCP and RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep Bootcamp will be held from May 18th through the 21st. The next RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep Course will be held on June 9th and 10th.

[1:18] Links to registration are in this episode's notes.

[1:21] Webinars. On May 14th, Origami Risk will return with a new session, "Future-Proofing Your Risk Program: Keeping Pace with Scale, Complexity, and Visibility."

[1:32] On May 28th, Zurich returns with "From Underwriting To Risk Management: What To Expect From The Growing Demand For Data Center Construction." Register for webinars at RIMS.org/Webinars or through the links in this episode's show notes.

[1:47] Folks, RIMS is back on YouTube. Our handle is @RIMSOfficialChannel. We've got plenty of videos there, including RIMScast, RIMScast Canada video podcasts, and other informative and entertaining content from RIMS. Subscribe to the channel today!

[2:05] This is a last call for registration for RISKWORLD 2026, from May 3rd through the 6th in Philadelphia! Our opening keynote is thought leader Adam Grant. Our closing keynote is NFL Hall-of-Famer and Emmy-award-winning broadcaster, Michael Strahan.

[2:22] Visit RIMS.org/RISKWORLD to register. Connect, Cultivate, and Collaborate with 10,000 of your risk management peers.

[2:32] RIMS has also released its RISKWORLD Playlist, available through Apple Music and Spotify. Whether you want to get in the zone before RISKWORLD or relive the energy after it, these official RISKWORLD Playlists are available to keep the energy going.

[2:48] Links are in this episode's show notes.

[2:52] On with the Show! Our guest today is the Global Risk Manager for Cook Group in Indiana. He is the RIMS Rising Risk Professional for 2026. We will be seeing him onstage receiving his award at RISKWORLD. It's Tyler Vaughan.

[3:11] Tyler has already made an impact on the risk profession and RIMS. We're going to learn about what it took to lead the Northeast Ohio Chapter to greatness, mentors who have lifted him, and how his RIMS participation has made him a more confident risk leader. Let's get to it!

[3:31] Interview! 2026 RIMS Rising Risk Professional Tyler Vaughan, welcome to RIMScast!

[3:48] Tyler says he appreciates being named the RIMS 2026 Rising Risk Professional. It's humbling and a bit surreal.

[3:64] Tyer looks back to when he joined the industry in 2018 as an intern. He joined the Northeast Ohio RIMS Chapter. He didn't think risk management was a profession where you expect public recognition; most of it happens behind the scenes.

[4:12] Tyler says in risk management, success often looks like nothing bad happened. Within different corporations, you're protecting against bad things happening. To have RIMS recognize Tyler as the RIMS 2026 Rising Risk Professional means a lot to him. He's very thankful for it.

[4:37] Justin says there are several professions where the idea is that no news is good news. If you don't get any feedback, that means you're doing everything fine. Justin says an award like this, and all the RIMS awards, are nice and well-deserved.

[5:19] Tyler tells how he became involved in risk management. He was studying corporate financial management at the University of Akron College of Business. The professor of a challenging course held an informational session on risk management and insurance.

[5:58] Tyler wasn't interested until the professor announced pizza and bonus points. Tyler couldn't turn that down. The professor, Dr. Jill Bisco, comes from the industry. She had been on the carrier side for many years. She was one of Tyler's first mentors. He still talks to her.

[6:17] At that informational session, Tyler learned of how much opportunity the risk management and insurance industry has. He signed up for more information that day.

[6:26] Dr. Bisco talked about Gamma Iota Sigma, the collegiate actuarial science risk management business fraternity. Tyler signed up to be an officer.

[6:39] Tyler went through the chartering ceremony the next semester, and then the University of Akron officially adopted a risk management insurance program, and Tyler was one of the first students to sign up for that path.

[6:50] Pizza and bonus points are still relevant to college students. Tyler says, take advantage of those opportunities. You never know what might come from it. Tyler later organized sessions with food. He used Chick-fil-A when pizza didn't bring a good crowd.

[7:24] The Risk Management and Insurance Program at the University of Akron had an event called Risky Business, where they brought in different industry professionals.

[7:33] One of those industry professionals was Kristen Peed. Tyler was looking for an internship. Kristen was looking for her umbrella after the event, and Tyler took it to her and asked her name. Tyler says pizza, bonus points, and an umbrella got him where he is today.

[8:08] Kristen had just come off the board of the Northeast Ohio Chapter. Justin says Kristen was on the RIMS board for years and is the RIMS Immediate Past President.

[8:36] Kristen taught Tyler that risk management is about people. She balances technical expertise with emotional intelligence. Tyler learned from her that the best professionals are the ones who can translate complexity into clarity and build trust across the organization.

[8:56] Tyler says, across the industry, it's all about relationships. Kristen taught him that early on. Kristen has had many interns, and they share a community, and she connects with each of them, so they have a network within a network.

[9:13] Kristen taught Tyler that we're only as successful as those that we bring up in the industry as well. It's full-circle for Tyler, now being seven years out of college, and giving back to whom he gives now. Any time someone reaches out to Kristen, Kristen loops Tyler in. They talk weekly.

[9:44] Throughout the steps Tyler has taken in his career, Kristen has been there. It means something to find that mentor with whom you really connect, whether it be through RIMS Mentor Match or local university mentors.

[9:59] You may go through some that aren't an exact fit, and that's OK. Mentorship can't be forced. Look for that person that you want to learn from, build from, and find success from.

[10:25] Tyler says he is far more comfortable in public speaking now because of his experiences with Kristen and his experiences in risk management than when he joined the profession. Tyler avoided taking a public speaking class that was offered in high school. He was not extroverted.

[10:56] Tyler was somewhat shy going into college. In going to the risk management and insurance pizza and bonus points session, he was nervous to meet people. But it was the push to get out of his comfort zone.

[11:14] Dr. Jill Bisco, Kristen Peed, and other mentors taught Tyler that pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone is where you grow as a professional and personally. Tyler has made not only industry connections but also some of his best friends by putting himself out there.

[11:38] Public speaking still makes Tyler a little nervous. He says it's cool to look back and see how much he has grown as a professional by putting himself out there.

[12:24] Tyler went to the University of Akron and then started on the carrier/underwriting side as an underwriter. He went through a graduate development program at Westfield Insurance, close to home.

[12:43] Tyler learned small business underwriting at Westfield and moved to Zurich for middle market underwriting. Fr...