Sept. 25: Business lecture explores strategy of risk in insurance industry

By Sue McMurray, Carson College of Business

Greg Ness, StanCorp CEO
Ness

PULLMAN, Wash. – “Applied Risk: The Science and Strategy of Risk Mitigation in the Insurance Industry” will be presented 5-6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25, in the Carson College of Business, Todd 216, Washington State University.

The 25th annual Walton Lecture, free to the public, will be presented by Greg Ness, chairman, president and chief executive officer of StanCorp Financial Group and its largest subsidiary, Standard Insurance Company (The Standard). He has nearly 40 years of insurance industry experience, including employee benefits, retirement planning and investments, and has held various leadership and executive positions. He graduated from WSU with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and earned his master of business administration from Portland State University. He also holds the Leadership Institute Fellow designation from the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association.

Founded in 1906 in Portland, Oregon, The Standard is a leading provider of financial products and services, including group and individual disability insurance, group life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance, group dental and vision insurance, absence management services, retirement plans products and services and individual annuities. Revenues in 2017 totaled more than $3 billlion. StanCorp Financial Group, Inc., was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange from 1999 until 2016 when it joined the Meiji Yasuda family of businesses. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company is a Japanese life insurance company, headquartered in Tokyo. The company is one of the oldest and largest insurers in Japan, with subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide.

Each fall, the Walton Lecture brings a distinguished leader in the insurance and risk management field to campus to share professional perspectives. The lecture is hosted by the WSU Carson College of Business’ Department of Finance and Management Science and made possible through an endowment from the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Washington. The endowment honors Max Walton, the group’s past president.

 

Contacts:

  • Michael McNamara, finance professor, Carson College of Business, 509-335-5632, mjmcnam@wsu.edu
  • Sue McMurray, assistant director of communications, Carson College of Business, 509-335-7578, sue.mcmurray@wsu.edu