Cruising with Tony Quinones

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

 

In this episode, Justin interviews Britt Embry, VP of Communications, RIMS Greater Bluegrass Chapter; Nancy Brooks, Executive Director of NAMI Louisville; and Tony Quinones, Director of Risk Strategies and Compliance of Walt Disney World® Resort and Disney Cruise Line. Britt discusses the Greater Bluegrass RIMS Chapter’s Power of Partnership Conference, on October 8th and 9th. Nancy shares an overview of her keynote speech on mental health and risk management for the conference. Then Tony describes his career and how he used continual learning to expand his career from claims to risk strategies and compliance, with a side of mentorship.

Get ready for some excellent tips on partnership, mental health, and risk, and developing your risk management career.

 

Key Takeaways:

[:01] About RIMS.

[:15] About this episode. We have three guests; one from the Greater Bluegrass Chapter of RIMS, one from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and last, but not least, Tony Quinones, Director for Risk Strategies and Compliance at Walt Disney World® Resort and Disney Cruise Line.

[:48] RIMS Events! We are less than a week away from the start of one of my favorite events, the RIMS Canada Conference 2024, which will be from October 6th through the 9th in Vancouver. Register at RIMSCanadaConference.ca.

[1:05] We want you to join us in Boston, Massachusetts on November 18th and 19th for the RIMS ERM Conference 2024. The full agenda is live. It runs the gamut of ERM. Check it out and register. A link is on this page! RIMS.org/ERM2024.

[1:21] All RIMS Regional Conference Information can be found through the Events page of RIMS.org.

[1:26] RIMS Virtual Offerings! The next RIMS-CRMP-FED Exam Course will be hosted along with George Mason University from December 3rd through the 5th. Links to these courses can be found on the Certification Page of RIMS.org and through this episode’s show notes.

[1:44] RIMS Virtual Workshops! On October 9th and 10th, Chris Hansen returns to deliver Fundamentals of Insurance. He’s very popular in the Worker’s Comp space.

[1:59] Elise Farnham of Illumine Consulting recently joined us here on RIMScast. This is the last call for her session on October 3rd and 4th, Fundamentals of Risk Management. Other dates for Fall and Winter are available on the Virtual Workshops calendar of RIMS.org/virtualworkshops.

[2:19] RIMS Webinars! Also, be sure to check out the full schedule of RIMS webinars at RIMS.org/webinars. Remember, registration is free for all RIMS members, one of the many value-adds for a RIMS membership.

[2:36] Interviews! We will kick off this episode of RIMScast with two guests. Britt Embry is the VP of Communications for the RIMS Greater Bluegrass Chapter. They have a two-day event on October 8th and 9th in Louisville, Kentucky, The Power of Partnership.

[2:57] Registration is supposed to close today, October 1st, but as you’ll hear in the interview, you may still be able to register past today, if you play your cards right!

[3:08] We will also be joined by one of the speakers presenting on October 9th, Nancy Brooks, the Executive Director of NAMI Louisville. We’ll get a brief preview of her session on mental health in risk management, and how mental health awareness is evolving in the risk space.

[3:29] Britt Embry and Nancy Brooks, welcome to RIMScast!

[3:38] Britt, let me congratulate you for winning the Chapter of the Year award at RISKWORLD 2024! Britt says the RIMS Greater Louisville Chapter went full steam; it’s a new chapter, the 80th RIMS chapter! They got much excitement from the risk management and insurance community!

[4:21] It paid off! Britt is very appreciative of all the sponsors, vendors, and participants in the Power of Partnership Conference. Britt says it was a lot of hard work but the chapter is very excited to receive the Chapter of the Year Award.

[4:37] The RIMS Greater Louisville Chapter is growing like weeds! They are close to 100 members with the chapter and RIMS nationally. They’re pushing through to make a difference!

[5:04] The chapter is about two-and-a-half years old. They’re excited to support risk management and insurance throughout the state of Kentucky and some of Indiana, as well.

[5:30] This episode comes out on October 1st. That’s one week before the opening of the Power of Partnership. Today is the last day for registration. If you want an exception after today, please email the chapter at GreaterBluegrassofRIMS@gmail.com. The link is on this page.

[6:22] Nancy Brooks is here because she will be one of the marquee speakers at the Power of Partnership event. Nancy says as we assess the risk, including the safety and well-being of an individual, it results in us understanding how mental health impacts everything we do.

[6:56] Nancy will highlight that in her presentation and focus on mental health in risk management and how the potential to reduce insurance rates and provide more benefits for employees impacts their mental well-being as well.

[7:38] One of NAMI’s messages is “You are not alone.” NAMI recognizes that the mental health journey is complicated. It’s not the same as someone who comes down with a diagnosis that’s more “acceptable.” With mental illness, there’s a tendency to hide, so they need a trusted ally.

[8:10] NAMI supports families and individuals who are affected by mental illness.

[8:30] In her keynote, Nancy will include a discussion on general mental well-being and share tools for self-care that everyone can use. She will note some signs and symptoms to help individuals identify in their workplace that someone’s struggling with a mental health condition.

[8:56] These signs and symptoms can also show up in our loved ones and inner circle. It helps to know those signs and symptoms and reduce the stigma, reducing barriers to communication.

[9:18] Nancy will focus on how mental health relates to risk management, employees, and injured workers.

[9:39] Britt says registration is open to all risk professionals. You pay a little extra if you are not a chapter member. They would love to have you as a member and get your insight into the organization, as well. 

[10:04] Greater Bluegrass is connecting all the various types of risk management and insurance that they see in the state of Kentucky, from distilleries to healthcare, to restaurants, and everything in between. To have everyone’s insight and knowledge is amazing!

[10:35] NAMI Louisville is very experienced in doing workplace training through its Stigma-Free Workplace Partnerships. Any business that comes to the event can ask to have NAMI Louisville send someone to their workplace for different types of training, including suicide prevention.

[11:04] The Power of Partnership will be on October 8th and 9th in Louisville, Kentucky. Britt and Nancy will be there. There are links in this episode’s show notes for anyone who wants to and should attend. Britt and Nancy, I want to thank you both. It sounds like it will be fabulous!

[11:24] Marquee Interview! I am joined by Tony Quinones, the Director for Risk Strategies and Compliance at Walt Disney World® Resort and Disney Cruise Line. Tony, welcome to RIMScast!

[12:01] At Walt Disney World® Resort and Disney Cruise Line, it’s always booking season and vacation season. Now it’s the beginning of the holiday season.

[12:17] Out of college and for most of his career, Tony worked in claims. He started in liability with State Farm Insurance. He hadn’t studied insurance in college but he was attracted by a job posting. He meant to work for a time, then go back to school to be a history teacher.

[12:50] Twenty-two years later, here he is, talking to Justin about his career and his current role in risk management. Tony says he’s had a good time and the profession has been good to him.

[13:20] His claims background knowledge helps him handle challenges in his risk management role. He worked in claims until three years ago when he formally transitioned to risk strategies and compliance. He always took opportunities to expand his knowledge of risk management.

[14:17] Disney Cruise Line feels like a floating resort. Tony has a set of responsibilities around compliance training and data analytics. The analytics teams support safety, operations, and claims partners.

[14:54] The environmental, safety, and operations teams address the risks inherent to the Maritime laws, and regulations in the U.S. and internationally. Tony’s analytics teams work with them in every aspect to support them with the best information possible to do their roles.

[15:43] A cruise ship is a floating city. Tony doesn’t oversee the waste management but he says the machinery is amazing. They are conscientious to do the best they can for the environment. 

[16:08] Tony has a staff of approximately 70 cast members under his supervision. Any that have responsibilities strictly on the ships are crew members. The Risk Management Division has about 150 members in partnership with the areas of safety, environmental, and operations.

[17:14] It’s a well-oiled machine of information and partnership back and forth, with some of the strongest protocols and audits to help make sure it’s one of the safest environments for crew, cast, and guests.

[17:33] The Walt Disney World® Resort and Disney Cruise Line ERM program is overseen at the corporate level. Tony’s team supports the ERM initiatives with their day-to-day operations.

[18:01] Tony thinks it’s important to work in unison with the corporate side. There is risk management alignment across the company.

[18:37] About dealing with catastrophes, Tony says having a contingency plan is great but make sure that it’s flexible for the situation at hand. Have robust communication systems. Know which partners you need to reach out to for certain situations and communications.

[19:02] You need to have the right roles in the room and at the table so that decisions can be made and communication can be spread out effectively and efficiently. There aren’t catastrophes happening all the time but have continuous training and be aware of the what-ifs.

[19:26] You might not be ready for a specific incident but the memory of going through the action plan and reacting will apply to most incidents and having those three things puts you into a situation where you are ready for the unexpected and to respond effectively and efficiently.

[20:01] How do storms affect Disney Cruise Line? Everyone goes through practices and knows what they are doing. They walk through the contingency plans and action plans to solidify them in muscle memory.

[20:57] Tony recounts the rebound after the pandemic. Having key partnerships with the operations partners across the company was key. As Walt Disney World® Resort and Disney Cruise Lines re-opened slowly and surely, they saw their guests come back to resume normalcy.

[21:59] Tony says risk management was impacted by the pandemic but they still had work to do. At that time, he was still on the claims side. While the resort and cruise line were closed, they built for what they knew would come back. Claims built up slowly with attendance.

[22:38] Once the hiccup of the pandemic was over, Tony says they were in a good place to be there for their guests and cast members, for worker’s comp.

[23:10] Tony recalls how the resorts reopened, a park or a resort at a time. Some services weren’t available right at the time of the park opening. Some new experiences were added, like mobile check-in and self-check-in. They explored technology during the interruption.

[24:35] Tony takes opportunities to walk the parks and the ships to see the conditions of the properties in case something comes up in a report. He wants to make sure that what he is offering his partners is what they need.

[25:44] Whenever Disney gets in the news, Tony checks to see what is the context. He is confident in what Disney does and why they do it.

[26:14] Quick Break! The Spencer Educational Foundation’s goal is to help build a talent pipeline of risk management and insurance professionals. That is achieved, in part, by a collaboration with risk management and insurance educators across the U.S. and Canada.

[26:31] Whether you want to apply for a grant, participate in the Risk Manager on Campus program, or just learn more about Spencer, visit SpencerEd.org.

[25:42] On that note, applications are being accepted for internship grants. The application deadline is October 15th, 2024. Awardees are typically notified at the beginning of December. A link to the Internship Grants page is in this episode’s show notes.

[27:02] We Conclude My Interview with Tony Quinones of Disney! 

[27:15] Through October 15th, we are in National Hispanic Heritage Month. At Disney, there are cast-run burgs. Tony belongs to the Latin American Burg. He also does anything he can within the RISKWORLD diversity platforms and to be part of the Hispanic heritage within the industry.

[28:23] Latin American professionals need to take advantage of the opportunities in risk management in general, and insurance. There are not a lot of Hispanic or Latino Americans in the industry but there are a lot of opportunities, maybe more than when he started.

[28:47] There’s still a way to go. There are so many specialties within risk management. It’s not just a risk manager. There’s insurance and so many different areas of risk. Tony wants Latinos to find a niche where their talents can grow. Maybe risk management is meant for you.

[29:29] Many colleges are offering a risk management program. If you’re a young Latino going into college, Tony invites you to consider risk management as an avenue for your education.

[29:49] Tony is bilingual and that has served him in his career. He needed it almost daily when he was handling claims. Tony suggests that whatever other language you speak, double down on it and use it to your advantage.

[30:30] Tony is on the RISKWORLD ACPC, the Annual Conference Planning Committee. They are planning RISKWORLD 2025 in Chicago. He recalls the great program and breakout sessions of RISKWORLD 2024 in San Diego. Put RISKWORLD on your bucket list! It’s a great opportunity!

[32:06] Tony relates the RISKWORLD DE&I Studio to the evolution of the risk profession overall. It speaks to the younger generation in risk management, just entering the workforce. The DE&I Studio was exciting and attracted many people who wanted to know more about DE&I.

[33:03] The DE&I Studio is a place where different communities are immediately acknowledged and included. Tony hopes it continues to grow as they continue to put the RISKWORLD conferences together.

[33:36] Any chance Tony gets, not just with the Latin American community, but in general, with the younger workforce coming into risk management, to mentor, he does it. He is involved with mentorship at Disney, called Mano a Mano, which is focused on mentoring the Latin community.

[34:02] Tony is also part of Rise Professional, a mentorship program helping those just coming into the risk management profession. Anytime he can share his knowledge and experience to contribute the most, such as being on a platform like RIMScast, he will do it.

[34:34] Tony thinks the most important thing for anyone who has been in the industry is to give mentorship. That’s the way to give back, one-on-one with professionals entering the industry. It’s the most value for your time.

[35:16] Tony’s advice to people entering or considering entering the risk profession is that it can provide a consistent and stable platform, similar to other traditional professions. If you’re a professional looking to transition, this is a great industry.

[35:46] If you’re in college trying to figure out your future, take a couple of risk management courses. Look at the programs colleges have for it. Tony’s great 20-plus-year career started in one little avenue of risk management. He’s learned something new every year.

[36:13] It’s an industry that can take you to so many different places and you’ll never be bored.

[36:39] Tony is a big Disney fan. He has been on a couple of Disney cruises on vacation, and he loves it. Once in a while, he just wants to go to a beach somewhere and take a little different vacation so he doesn’t have to worry about work. The brand is still there on a Disney Cruise.

[37:19] Tony, it has been a real pleasure to meet you. Thank you for being a member of our RIMS RISKWORLD ACPC. We hope to connect at RISKWORLD 2025 in Chicago Illinois, celebrating RIMS’s 75th Anniversary! We appreciate your leadership there. Thanks for joining us!

[37:45] Special thanks to Tony Quinones for all of his time and insight! Special thanks to Nancy Brooks of NAMI Louisville and Britt Embry of the Greater Bluegrass Chapter of RIMS!

[37:59] This is the last call for registration for the Power of Partnership Event on October 8th and 9th in Lousiville, Kentucky, hosted by the Greater Louisville Chapter of RIMS!

[38:09] Email GreaterBluegrassofRIMS@gmail.com to register and be sure to tell them that you heard about the opportunity here, on RIMScast! More links about the event are in this episode’s show notes.

[38:24] It’s RIMS Plug Time! The RIMS App is available to RIMS members exclusively. Go to the App Store and download the RIMS App with all sorts of RIMS resources and coverage. It’s different from the RIMS Events App. Everyone loves the RIMS App!

[38:57] You can sponsor a RIMScast episode for this, our weekly show, or a dedicated episode. Links to sponsored episodes are in our show notes. RIMScast has a global audience of risk and insurance professionals, legal professionals, students, business leaders, C-Suite executives, and more. Let’s collaborate and help you reach them! Contact pd@rims.org for more information.

[39:40] Become a RIMS member and get access to the tools, thought leadership, and network you need to succeed. Visit RIMS.org/membership or email membershipdept@RIMS.org for more information.

[39:57] Risk Knowledge is the RIMS searchable content library that provides relevant information for today’s risk professionals. Materials include RIMS executive reports, survey findings, contributed articles, industry research, benchmarking data, and more.

[40:13] For the best reporting on the profession of risk management, read Risk Management Magazine at RMMagazine.com. It is written and published by the best minds in risk management.

[40:27] Justin Smulison is the Business Content Manager at RIMS. You can email Justin at Content@RIMS.org.

[40:34] Thank you for your continued support and engagement on social media channels! We appreciate all your kind words. Listen every week! Stay safe!

 

Mentioned in this Episode:

RIMS Greater Bluegrass Chapter Annual Meeting & Conference — Oct 8‒9 | Last call for Registration | Also email here: GreaterBluegrassofRIMS@gmail.com

RIMS ERM Conference 2024 will be in Boston, MA Nov. 18‒19 | Register Now

RIMS Canada Conference 2024 — Oct. 6‒9 | Last call for Registration!

RIMS DEI Council

RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP)

RIMS Strategic & Enterprise Risk Center

NEW FOR MEMBERS! RIMS Mobile App

Spencer Internship Grants — Deadline Oct. 15

The Strategic and Enterprise Risk Center

RIMS-CRMP Stories — New interviews featuring DFW RIMS President Emily Casso Ford!

NAMI Louisville

National Hispanic American Heritage Month

 

RIMS Webinars:

Mastering ERM: Leveraging Internal and External Risk Factors for Strategic Advantage | Sponsored by Diligent | Oct. 3, 2024

Long-Term Property Strategies for a Resilient Future | Sponsored by Zurich | Oct. 10, 2024

From AI to the SEC: The Future of D&O Litigation and Regulatory Exposures | Sponsored by Hub International | Oct. 24, 2024

Lessons from Veterans on Strategic Risk Leadership | Presented by RIMS | Nov. 4, 2024

Risk Perception and Management: Insights for a Changing Landscape | Sponsored by Marsh | Nov. 14, 2024
RIMS.org/Webinars

 

Upcoming Virtual Workshops:

Fundamentals of Risk Management | Oct 3‒4, 2024

Fundamentals of Insurance | Oct 9‒10, 2024

Applying and Integrating ERM | Dec 4‒5

See the full calendar of RIMS Virtual Workshops

RIMS-CRMP Prep Workshops

 

Related RIMScast Episodes:

Applying ERM Theory with Elise Farnham

Maintaining an Award-Winning ERM Program with Michael Zuraw

LAAIA Atlanta Chapter President Jose Aponte

 

Sponsored RIMScast Episodes:

“Navigating Commercial Property Risks with Captives” | Sponsored by Zurich (New!)

“Breaking Down Silos: AXA XL’s New Approach to Casualty Insurance” | (New!)

“Weathering Today’s Property C