As David G. Cammarata observes his son about to choose his career path, he remembers entering college himself and deciding what to do in his life.

“When I was choosing what I was going to do in college, I was kind of like my son in a way, who's choosing his career right now,” Mr. Cammarata said. “I really didn't know in which direction I was going to head. I took a look at what my father did — he was an accountant. I was good with numbers and liked math, and so I decided I was going to go into the business world and study accounting.”

The decision led him to his current position as assistant treasurer for risk management and insurance for Verizon Communications Inc. and to being named to Business Insurance's 2015 Risk Management Honor Roll® for his achievements there.

After graduating summa cum laude in 1981 from Rider College in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, with a bachelor's degree in accounting, he joined the New Jersey Casino Control Commission as a financial analyst and rose to the position of supervising financial analyst.

He was then contacted by a former colleague from the commission now working for Bell of Pennsylvania, who told Mr. Cammarata that Bell was hiring accountants.

The company was hiring accountants to help them move to an accounting environment that was more focused on generally accepted accounting principles , Mr. Cammarata said.

“That was 28 years ago, when I joined the company that would eventually be Verizon,” he said.

Mr. Cammarata worked his way through different finance areas within Verizon, spending eight years in internal audit and five more in corporate finance before being promoted to risk management in January 2004, his first post in charge of property risk management.

He was then promoted to head property and casualty risk management in November 2007 before being named to his current position in January 2012.

Having chosen to be an accountant, the move into risk management was a bit of a surprise for Mr. Cammarata, who said he had really never considered it when originally choosing a career.

“This is the way a lot of people enter risk management. It's just something that happens at a certain point in time in their career. They enter into it and are surprised, and I think people make really good careers in risk management,” he said.

The move ultimately proved most fortuitous.

“It wasn't what I would have picked for my career initially, but once I got in and saw what it was about — I love it. It's a great career.”

Mr. Cammarata balances his strong analytical nature with a love for sports that he shares with his son and daughter, including fishing and attending as many Philadelphia Eagles, Phillies and New York Yankees games as possible while also following Syracuse University basketball.

Mr. Cammarata is also about to begin a new chapter in life with his upcoming marriage later this year.

“I tend to be more on the serious side. She helps me see the beauty and joy in the little things that make a difference in life,” he said.