Energy Awareness and Future-Proofing Risk Programs with Roy Hock

Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.   In this episode, Justin interviews Roy Hock about "Future-proofing" a risk program and what it means. They discuss energy awareness and its importance, especially for an energy company. Roy tells of the insurance career journey that led him to Valero. He explains some of the products Valero provides. Roy tells how his Risk team mitigates risk for Valero. He explains how he manages Valero's captive insurance company. More than ever, there are regulatory risks that need to be mitigated where possible.   Roy speaks of the South Texas RIMS Chapter and its engagement programs, including a shooting event and golf events. Listen for Roy's advice for young risk professionals who want to become strategic risk leaders over the next 10 years.   Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:16] About this episode of RIMScast. Our topics are energy awareness and future-proofing a risk program. Our guest is Roy Hock, Director of Risk Finance & Casualty Insurance at Valero. But first… [:45] RIMS-CRMP: RIMS Certification Week will be held from September 21st through the 25th. The week is a global celebration of the RIMS Certified Risk Management Professional certification. [:57] It is a virtual event for you to learn about the certification, how it can strengthen your career and organization, and to understand how the RIMS-CRMP is shaping the future of risk management. [1:07] A link to Certification Week is in this episode's show notes. You can also find it at RIMS.org/Webinars. [1:14] Webinars: There are lots more RIMS Webinars coming up. On October 1st, Brown and Brown make their RIMS Webinars debut by discussing "The Future of Captives: What Risk Managers Should Think about Now." [1:27] Global Risk Consultants will return on October 8th to present "The 2027 Risk Agenda: 10 Engineering Priorities Risk Leaders Should Act on Now". [1:37] On Oct. 15, Verisk Maplecroft will lead the session "Beyond the Horizon: Turning External Risk Into Decision-Ready Insight". [1:46] On Oct. 22, Zurich returns to tell us all about "Cybercrime, Fraud and AI: Real-World Threats and Practical Defenses for Business Leaders". [1:57] Origami Risk returns on October 29th to present "Managing Insurance Programs at Scale: What Complex Portfolios Require". [2:06] On Nov. 5th, Riskonnect returns to deliver the session "Signal Over Noise: Smarter Risk Analytics". Visit RIMS.org/Webinars to register. [2:17] RIMS is back on YouTube. Our handle is @RIMSOfficialChannel. We've got plenty of videos there, including RIMScast, RIMScast Canada video podcasts, and other informative and entertaining content from RIMS. Subscribe to the channel today! [2:36] On with the Show! Our guest today is Roy Hock, the Director of Risk Finance & Casualty Insurance at Valero, one of the world's largest oil refineries. We will discuss what it takes to future-proof Valero's risk program, and we will discuss Energy Awareness Month in October. [3:08] You may know Roy from his presence in the RIMS Houston Chapter. He is a former president of that chapter, and you probably saw him at the RIMS Texas Regional in 2026. [3:23] Announcement: The speaker's views are his own, and not necessarily the views of Valero. [3:29] I'm looking forward to hearing how he manages risk for Valero, so let's get to it! [3:34] Interview! Roy Hock, welcome to RIMScast! [3:48] Roy started working for an insurance company right out of school. Most of his career has been in Houston. For the last six years, he has been in San Antonio at Valero. [4:03] Roy shares his early career path: underwriting, reinsurance, broker. Then he got his ARM. One of his friends was looking for a risk manager for a startup in Houston. Roy took the opportunity. He loved it until it was sold. [4:55] Roy moved on to another job. After a couple of years, Valero approached him, looking for a risk manager with experience in the oil and gas industry, for a job in San Antonio. Roy said yes. It's a wonderful city. He was very excited to be given the opportunity. [5:21] Roy says, six years later, he's Director of Risk Finance & Casualty Insurance, and loving every minute of it. [5:52] Roy says his work days are varied. Every day is an exci