Author note: I had the pleasure of meeting Kristen Drobnis during this past summer.  She was gracious with her time and passionate about risk.  This combination intrigued me so much I immediately asked her if she would be on our podcast.  This podcast and blog are taken from our interview in August 2021.

As the Chief Risk and Privacy Officer for Commonwealth Financial Network, one of the largest privately-held broker dealers in the United States, Kristen Drobnis understands risk as well as anybody. 

And while the word ‘risk’ itself conjures up images of theft, fraud and other treacherous topics, Kristen brings a calm and measured approach to this fascinating industry.

PaymentWorks sat down with Kristen to discuss many topics, including why she loves her job, how to deal with fraudsters intent on playing the long game, and what element of dealing with risk keeps her up at night.

You can listen to the entire podcast here.

Hopefully, you have already read the highlights from the first part of our absorbing interview with Dave Birch. (You can listen to the podcast here.)

And if you have then by now you know that as one of the industry's top money experts he writes books and advises companies, among his many endeavors. Birch's name and reputation is well established in the field of identity. 

But that doesn't mean he is any different from anyone else who has to go through the exhaustive efforts of proving their identity. As an executive officer of a company that was entitled to some pandemic assistance last year, Birch needed to provide proof of his address in order to facilitate what he referred to as "this ridiculous process."

Our most recent podcast guest, David Birch, had so many insights into the world of identity that we’ve created a two part blog of his highlights. Our conversation was wide-ranging and fascinating, but don’t just take our word for it, you can hear the entire interview here.

Yakut Akman has 40 years of experience in financial services, covering a wide range of functions globally, including Operations & Technology, Risk Management, Audit, and Regulatory Compliance.   ​

She recently joined us for our Risky Business Podcast.  Excerpts from that conversation are below.  You can listen to the entire interview here.

Ms. Akman started her career at Citibank Istanbul as an Executive Trainee and then worked in multiple locations gaining extensive global experience. Over time, she excelled in Operations Management as a thought leader and a change agent as the financial markets, and in response, the regulatory expectations grew more complex. Ms. Akman focused on process efficiency and effectiveness while balancing operational risks and controls. She sharpened these skills in Internal Audit overseeing new emerging risks. As a Risk Manager of key businesses, Ms. Akman actively interacted with government agencies around the world. She successfully addressed high-profile, enterprise-wide issues by setting standards, building trust and achieving sustainable results.

Wendy Grayauskie, Assistant Director for Procurement at Villanova University, and Miguel Silva, Procurement Assistant for CSU Monterey Bay, joined us for the 4th installment of our podcast: PaymentWorks Presents Risky Business. 

Below is an edited excerpt from that conversation where they discuss how the title of this blog is what keeps them up at night. You can listen to the full podcast here.

Matt Klein, National Fidelity Product Leader at Willis Towers Watson, joined us for the 3rd installment of our podcast: PaymentWorks Presents Risky Business.  Below is an edited excerpt from that conversation.  You can listen to the full podcast here. 

Ed note: if you have even a passing interest in protecting your organization from payments fraud, we highly recommend you give this podcast a listen.  

We recently spent time with Valarie Van Vlack, the Treasurer at Texas State University, discussing the role of Treasury in supporting the university’s mission, as well as the ubiquity- and creativity- of fraudsters attempting to scam higher education institutions.  Excerpts are below.  You can listen to the full interview here.