The University of Connecticut School of Business and Law School will co-host the third annual Connecticut Risk Management Conference on March 20 at the UConn Stamford campus. 

The event has been designed to focus on Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and its very diverse challenges. The conference will bring together professionals engaged in risk management, senior managers and regulators, legal experts, as well as faculty members and students in UConn’s master’s degree program in financial risk management.

“We have chosen enterprise risk management as the theme mainly because of the new types of threats corporations, public and private, are facing every day,’’ said Chinmoy Ghosh, UConn’s finance department head. “The days of focusing on financial, operational, or market risks, in isolation, are over. The new risks, such as cyber risk, are so severe and complicated that they threaten the entire organization and the impact can be devastating. It will be a day of discussion on the emerging, cutting-edge issues and research in risk management.’’

The program runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes both breakfast, lunch and complimentary parking. UConn’s Stamford campus is at 1 University Place. For additional information or to register, visit http://uconn.biz/risk2015 or call (860)486-5498.

Highlights of the program include:

• “ERM: The Big Picture,’’ a panel discussion that covers risk culture and appetite, creating an ERM framework and the importance of financial risk management. Panelists will include chief risk officers from prominent companies.
• “Operational Risks: from Cyber to Systemic,’’ a panel discussion that will cover cyber risks and the impact of cyber attack.
• The UConn School of Law will lead a panel discussion on “Regulations & Governance,’’ which will focus on regulations and their cost, management, and incorporating legal guidance.
• Another session will address Non-Ethical Behavior versus Enforcement, including the need for “model regulators,’’ instilling ethics in the workplace, compliance, fraud and more.

The luncheon keynote speaker is Thomas Sullivan, associate director at the Federal Reserve Board where his responsibilities include oversight of big insurance firms. Sullivan earned his MBA from UConn in 2000 and later served as Connecticut Insurance Commissioner from 2007 to 2010. He has also been a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and is a former executive at the Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., where he worked for more than 20 years.

Jud Saviskas, executive director of the university’s risk management program and one of the conference organizers, said this specialty is increasingly important to corporations.

UConn’s master’s degree in financial risk management was started due to an unmet need for a degree program that balanced theoretical risk management learning with the practical application of theory, Saviskas said. The program has grown from fewer than 20 students in 2011 to a current class of more than 125, making it one of the largest programs in the country, Saviskas noted. Courses are offered in both Hartford and Stamford.