Introducing Mike Morgan, a new face on the Cal Poly campus. Morgan and his wife Tracy always loved visiting family in the San Luis Obispo area and hoped to retire here one day. Fast forward to June 2021 and Morgan is now the new Risk Manager at Cal Poly, giving him the opportunity to work and live in one of his favorite areas.
As Risk Manager, Morgan’s job consists of three components: risk assessment, risk control and risk financing. These thorough risk assessments and effective mitigation controls that Morgan oversees are necessary to reduce risk and loss history trends, which could lead to improved insurance terms and pricing.
So far, Morgan has been enjoying his time here and appreciates how diverse the risk profile of the university is and how supportive the campus community is of risk management overall. Morgan often works on campus where he has quickly become acclimated to the community but now it’s time for the community to become acclimated with him! Lucky for you, Morgan took some time out of his busy day to talk about his love for music and aspirations for the future.
If you had to delete all but 3 apps from your smartphone, which ones would you keep?
The number one app I would keep is the music app as I listen to music daily. I have over 100 gigs of music on my iPhone, so there is plenty to choose from. I would also keep the camera app, which I have already made ample use of in my role at Cal Poly. Finally, I would keep Safari (if a web browser can be considered an app) to stay connected.
If you won the lottery, what’s the first thing you would buy?
A Stratocaster guitar that was previously played by and autographed by Jeff Beck. A bonus would be a private lesson from Jeff. The guitar is my favorite instrument and Jeff is my favorite guitarist.
What is your best recipe?
I have to admit, my culinary skills are very limited, and my wife does the majority of the cooking. I can make some decent tacos and BBQ but that is about the scope of my expertise. I certainly do not have a recipe that is going to impress anyone.
What do you hope to be doing 10 years from now?
Managing a successful Enterprise Risk Management program at Cal Poly and reflecting back on 10 years of effective process improvements and risk control techniques to protect the university, faculty, staff and students.
What advice would you give someone who wants to work in Risk Management?
Be intellectually curious, have strong communication skills (especially listening), utilize critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and be a team player in all situations. Risk management is everyone’s job and risk professionals need to be trusted advisors and leaders who develop strong alliances with all areas of the business they operate within. These are the keys to a successful foundation for Enterprise Risk Management.
Thank you, Mike! We appreciate all that you do!