Sompo Spotlight Series: Meet Kim Davis, AVP, Risk Control Specialty Leader

Meet Kim Davis, AVP, Risk Control Specialty Leader

Tell us about your career journey and your path to Sompo. What attracted you to Sompo?

My career in Risk Control began as a default while I was trying to decide “what I wanted to be”. I had graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering Technology and really thought I would be working in process improvement in a textile or apparel manufacturing environment. At the time I was ready to enter the workforce, the manufacturing sector was moving outside the U.S., and I was unsure of how this would affect my long-term job opportunities. A major insurance carrier was on campus interviewing engineering graduates for trainee positions in loss prevention, and after learning more about this field, I thought it would be a great way to see a wide variety of industries to determine where I wanted to spend my working hours. Fast forward nearly 36 years and I never left the risk control field.

I was initially attracted to Sompo when we were known as “Yasuda Fire and Marine”. The internal Risk Control Department was being formed and I had an opportunity to become part of the initial team that provided risk control services to our clients. At the time, Yasuda was insuring almost exclusively Japan-related businesses, and I thought it offered a great way to experience a different business culture and to be involved in the ground up development of a business unit. It’s been a fascinating and rewarding 30 years with Sompo.

What advice do you have for prospective Sompo candidates? 

This is a place of opportunity if you keep an open mind and don’t panic when there are changes. During my time with Sompo, we have been through several mergers and changes in our business model. Each time that happened, it offered opportunities to do something a little different, even when I didn’t immediately recognize it as such. I’ve had some great client experiences due to these business changes and it has certainly broadened my horizons. And when clients offer you a chance to experience their business operations up close and personal, take them up on it.

If you weren’t working in the position you are in, what would you be doing? / If you could have a career in anything, what would it be? 

It would probably be something completely different, like being a park ranger. Being paid to spend time in a forest sounds awesome.

Tell us something about you that might surprise us. Do you have any hidden talents/hobbies?

No real “hidden talents” but I’m always game for a new adventure. I love the outdoors, so anything that gets me outside could easily be a hobby, even if I’m not particularly skilled at it. Golf certainly falls into this category.

Outside of work, what are you passionate about?

Opportunities to help others. We are all much more connected than we realize, and we have the ability to help each other nearly every day. The opportunities to positively impact someone at a pivotal time are all around us. There is nothing more rewarding than that. I’ve enjoyed many years of volunteering at a cancer treatment facility and being involved in advocacy for patients and families during their treatment journey.

What is your idea of a perfect day outside of the office? 

Just that – being outside! And finding a great view at the end of a long hike or mountain bike ride. You can do the same hike or ride and never see the same thing twice.