Kristen Peed
Director of corporate risk management
CBIZ Inc.
Cleveland
Age: 41

As a believer in lifelong education, Kristen Peed loves that the insurance industry constantly gives her the opportunity to learn.

“It’s so dynamic. There is always something new to learn. This is an evolving industry. Risk managers … have taken on a more dynamic and important role at our companies, and now we are able to participate in strategic risk rather than being just a person who purchases insurance,” she said.

As director of corporate risk management for Cleveland-based CBIZ Inc., Ms. Peed is responsible for the placement and negotiation of the brokerage’s corporate insurance policies. She is in the company’s legal department and works with CBIZ’s corporate account attorneys on claims management.

Since joining CBIZ in 2015, moving from another risk management position, she has restructured all of CBIZ’s insurance programs and reorganized the company’s claims management system.

Ms. Peed also spearheads the development of CBIZ’s business continuity plans and enterprise risk management program.

Mike Gleespen, general counsel and corporate secretary at CBIZ, describes Ms. Peed as “a force of nature” for her ability to be involved in so many projects and her work as a mentor.

“She is committed both to the success of the company and the success of the community.

If I look at what she has done with our insurance program, basically she has saved us 15% on our renewals by actively working with our internal brokerage team to interface with carriers and gather data that’s significant enough to get us a reduction in that size,” Mr. Gleespen said.

Ms. Peed is involved in leading several of CBIZ’s various fundraising programs for charities such as Dress for Success.

“You have to make sure you’re giving back to your communities, to others. That’s so critical. One of my favorite things about the insurance industry is that we really are a community-focused industry. The whole purpose of the industry is to protect people and their assets, so it plays into volunteering with nonprofits or giving your time to mentor students,” Ms. Peed said.

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