Michael D. Horvath's safety management degree led him to risk management
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Safety management is not a phrase one readily associates with exploring new frontiers.
But that is precisely how Michael D. Horvath describes his first steps on the path that led him to his position as senior vice president of risk management at Simon Property Group Inc.
“Safety was just coming into vogue as a profession,” said Mr. Horvath, who earned a bachelor's degree in safety management from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1977. “It was a new frontier, and it sounded interesting and challenging.”
After 10 years in safety management, Mr. Horvath was offered the position of director of corporate insurance at Youngstown, Ohio-based Edward J. DeBartolo Corp., where he remained until Simon Property acquired it in 1996.
Away from work, Mr. Horvath, 57, is an avid golfer and more than a casual student of the game's history. Hardly one to wax poetic, he cannot help but strike a romantic note recalling a recent visit to Augusta National Golf Club.”I call it spiritual,” he said. “You go around "Amen Corner,' and you can hear the voices of decades ringing out.”
Mr. Horvath and his wife, Mary, will celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary in June, and raised two daughters, Tamara and Kristyn. They met in high school on a blind date arranged by a mutual friend.
“Dec. 2, 1972,” Mr. Horvath recalls with no hesitation. “They introduced us, and we never split up.”
Mr. Horvath credits his family for his success. “I have an extremely supportive and tight-knit family, and could not be who I am today without their love and support.”
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