Effective Leadership Practices in Catastrophe Risk Management

PI/Project Contacts

  • Howard Kunreuther
  • Erwann Michel-Kerjan
  • Michael Useem

Advisory Board Chair:

  • Jay Fishman, CEO, The Travelers Companies, Inc.  (in Memoriam)

Advisory Board:

  • Bank of America
  • IBM
  • Merck & Co. Inc.
  • Tom Ridge, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, 2003-05
  • Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
  • Swiss Reinsurance Company
  • Travelers Companies, Inc.

Research Advisor:

  • Paul Slovic, President, Decision Research

Project Description:

Launched in 2010, the Travelers-Wharton Partnership for Research on Risk Management and Leadership is a research initiative in the areas of risk management and leadership. The project is a joint venture between the Travelers Companies, the Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center and the Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management. The principle study, Effective Practices in Risk Management and Leadership Governance, explores effective practices in organizational leadership and governance. The central focus will be to identify leadership and governance practices that are particularly effective in detecting and preparing for exceptionally adverse events prior to their occurrence. This multi-year project will identify large U.S. companies or international corporations with a large operation in the United States that are considered to have well-developed leadership and successful governance practices for addressing issues of catastrophic risk. It will study the roles that their executives and directors play in building and sustaining those practices. The project’s outcomes will include both basic research analysis and practical policy guidelines for leading and governing large companies facing extreme hazards.   The research project is intended to:

  • Identify and understand effective company governance and executive practices in the private sector for preparing for catastrophic risks and responding to large-scale disasters
  • Develop strategies to enable decision-makers to think strategically and plan for the long term
  • Create protocols for effective preparedness of company leadership
  • Fashion standards for the role of the company’s chief risk officer
  • Identify steps for engaging the board of directors in catastrophic risk preparation
  • Draw out the implications for government policies and regulations of companies

Project Overview: Effective Corporate Leadership and Governance Practices in Catastrophic Risk Management

Mastering Catastrophic Risk: How Companies Are Coping with Disruption

by Howard Kunreuther and Michael Useem

Oxford University Press
Published: 01 June 2018
Hardcover. 248 Pages; 6-1/8 x 9-1/4 inches
ISBN: 9780190499402
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/mastering-catastrophic-risk-9780190499402