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

In this episode, Justin interviews Kristen Peed, RIMS Ex Officio, and RIMS Board Member, John Kline, about the results of the 2025 RIMS Risk Professional Compensation Survey, covering Risk Professionals in North America. They discuss the growth trend in base salaries for risk professionals in the U.S. and Canada and what this growth represents. They also dig into the median salary of Chief Risk Officers in both nations and how that reflects on the perceived value of the risk profession today. They discuss the worth of experience and certifications for a risk career. They cover the variety of assignments attached to the roles of risk professionals, and the value of expanding the responsibilities of your role over your career. They discuss the rising generation of risk professionals and the need to ensure the transfer of knowledge as the more experienced risk managers retire.

Listen for thoughts on incentives for contributing to the long-term stability and growth of your organization.

Key Takeaways:

[:01] About RIMS and RIMScast.

[:16] About this episode of RIMScast. We will review the results of the RIMS 2025 Compensation Survey with Kristen Peed and John Kline. But first…

[:40] RIMS Virtual Workshops. On March 17th and 18th, RIMS will align with AFERM for a two-day RIMS-CRMP-FED Exam Prep Course.

[:51] The next RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep Course will be on April 21st and 22nd, and then again on June 9th and 10th. Registration links are in this episode's notes.

[1:00] On April 15th, we have a virtual workshop covering "Emerging Risks", led by Joseph Mayo.

[1:12] Register today and strengthen your risk knowledge. RIMS members always enjoy deep discounts on the virtual workshops.

[1:19] Webinars. On March 12th, Global Risk Consultants returns with "Don't Waste the Soft Market: Where to Reinvest Insurance Savings Before the Window Closes".

[1:34] We had to reschedule the "Hard Hats & High Stakes: Women Leaders Shaping Construction Risk Management" Webinar that was scheduled for March 6th. Registrants should have received an email about the rescheduling. We will soon confirm the new date.

[1:51] Register for these and other webinars by visiting RIMS.org/webinars and the links in this episode's show notes.

[2:01] On with the Show! We are delighted to be joined by RIMS Ex Officio, Kristen Peed, and RIMS Board Chair, John Kline, to discuss the findings of the RIMS 2025 Compensation Survey.

[2:15] This biannual survey provides detailed compensation analysis for virtually all risk management positions, as well as the impact that education, experience, and other demographic data have on salaries.

[2:27] The report also provides data about risk management reporting structures, team size, benefits, and additional cash compensation programs. It's a North American study. There are some positive trends that we're going to explore with Kristen and John, so let's get to it!

[2:42] Interview! Kristen Peed, John Kline, welcome to RIMScast!

[3:01] As Ex Officio, Kristen hasn't seen the inside of airports as often. Last year, Kristen was on 98 flights.

[3:54] John has been on the RIMS Board for five years. He says the Board is a great team of people. It's a privilege to serve.

[4:31] As Kristen and John both have a vested interest in RIMS and the future success of the profession, Justin wanted them together on the show to review some of the high-level points of the Compensation Survey. The survey is available through a link in this episode's show notes.

[4:51] Justin states that the median salary for U.S.-based risk professionals is now $160,000; it's $140,000 in Canada. Both figures are up over the last decade and since the last survey, in 2023.

[5:20] Kristen sees the sustained salary growth as a clear signal that risk management has moved from a support function to a strategic function. Organizations aren't just paying us for insurance placement or procurement but for our insight, foresight, and decision support.

[5:42] Kristen says that over the last decade, risk professionals have been pulled into conversations around cyberresilience, operational continuity, regulatory exposure, capital strategy, and reputation. Those are board-level issues.

[6:00] When compensation grows steadily and not in spikes, it reflects the recognition that good risk management is necessary to protect enterprise value and enable smarter growth.

[6:16] Kristen is seeing that the market is saying risk leaders are not cost managers anymore; they are people protecting the value of their organization and creating that value, as well.

[6:29] John agrees with Kristen. He adds that he thinks, as an industry, we have gotten to be more professional. RIMS has worked on this for years: How do we get the people in this profession to be treated as professionals, like an attorney or an accountant, not procurement?

[6:58] John thinks the practitioners have upped their game, becoming much more technically competent, participating in professional development, and becoming more involved at an executive level at corporations.

[7:27] John also sees practitioners becoming more involved in the industry. Taking roles on advisory groups at insurance companies and brokers. They're getting to be active participants. Management recognizes that these individuals do a good job of representing the company.

[7:48] John thinks it's a combination of better technical skills and greater recognition, which allows them to have that seat at the table. It's a host of things.

[8:03] Justin recently had Cynthia Garcia as a guest on RIMScast. Cynthia is the Chief Risk Officer for Bernards Construction Company in California. Justin is seeing more folks like her, who have the CRO role, as RIMScast guests.

[8:24] With more Chief Risk Officers and VPs of Risk Management in the U.S. now reporting a median salary of $245,000, which is up dramatically from 2023, it seems like the market is catching up with the importance of risk professionals, especially senior-level risk professionals.

[8:52] Kristen thinks part of it is market catch-up. When she moved into her role at Sequoia, she upped her game. Leadership came to her and tapped her for things she never thought she would get to experience. Those things increased her responsibilities and shifted her into the CRO role.

[9:28] Kristen says the CRO role has matured. The risk leaders are expected to really look at enterprise risk, insurance strategy, capital efficiency, governance, and how they can help their business be more resilient.

[9:46] Kristen reports directly to the CEO and works directly with the CFO and CISO. She's not just managing programs; she's being integrated into the decision-making process.

[10:04] That level of influence requires judgment, credibility, and the ability to lead cross-functionally. That's what the compensation reflects. Kristen doesn't see it reverting. She sees it stabilizing at higher levels as those expectations remain elevated.

[10:27] There are 21 people on the two teams that report to Kristen.

[10:42] John says, having been in the industry for several years, people who sit in our chairs probably understand the company as well as anybody else.

[10:56] John says part of our job is to look at all the nooks and crannies and understand everything, whether it's property exposure, premises, product, reputation, or Directors and Officers liability. We get engaged in Errors & Omissions. We get engaged in cyber.

[11:18] We have become part of the team that understands holistically. John's job is a holding company. He works holistically. He thinks the compensation and the responsibility continue to catch up with each other.

[11:50] One area John sees that needs work is corporate risk. We probably need to carve out operational, enterprise, and insurable. If you work at a bank, you have credit risk and capital risk; there are a lot of other risks where we don't have the skillsets.

[12:15] John says that in different industries, the CRO or Risk Manager will encompass different things. We probably need to focus on the operational, enterprise, and insurable risk, and carve out the credit risk, the capital risk, and the liquidity risk.

[12:48] John is a team of one. Anybody in his position has to have good communication skills and a lot of support. John can't do what he does by himself. He networks within the organization. He has contacts throughout the organization. He has outside business partners.

[13:37] John wants to walk together, shoulder-to-shoulder with his business partners. He sees them as more than collaborators. If you want to go far, you go together.

[14:22] Kristen says that leadership without direct authority is a critical skill. When you're a team of one, you learn how to direct people when you don't have actual authority over them. Collaborating with them and communicating well are critical to that skillset.

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