Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.

 

In this episode, Justin interviews Ondrea Matthews, Sr. Director, Risk Management & Benefits at CoorsTek. Ondrea is also on the board of RIMS. She will be presenting at the RIMS Western Regional on October 2, “Gone But Not Forgotten: Mastering Absence, Disability, and Risk Without Losing Your Sanity!” Justin and Ondrea cover her risk career, the history of CoorsTek, her risk philosophy, and her experiences on the RIMS Rocky Mountain Chapter Board and the RIMS Global Board. She suggests how risk managers can work with HR to bring value to the organization.

 

Listen to learn about Ondrea’s upcoming presentation at the RIMS Western Regional Conference.

 

Key Takeaways:

[:01] About RIMS and RIMScast.

[:14] The call for educational content submissions for RISKWORLD 2026 is open through September 4th! A link is in this episode’s show notes.

[:28] About this episode of RIMScast. We will discuss HR risks with Ondrea Matthews, the Senior Director of Risk Management and Benefits at Coorstek. She is also a RIMS Board Director. She will share her risk perspective.

[:55] RIMS-CRMP Workshops! The next Virtual RIMS-CRMP exam prep, co-hosted by Parima, will be held on September 2nd and 3rd.

[1:06 ] The next RIMS-CRMP-FED virtual workshop will be held on November 11th and 12th, and led by Joseph Mayo. Links to these courses can be found on the Certification Page of RIMS.org and through this episode’s show notes.

[1:22 ] RIMS Virtual Workshops! RIMS has launched a new course, “Intro to ERM for Senior Leaders.” It will be held again on November 4th and 5th and will be led by Elise Farnham. RIMS members enjoy deep discounts!

[1:39 ] The full schedule of virtual workshops can be found on the RIMS.org/education and RIMS.org/education/online-learning pages. A link is also in this episode’s notes.

[1:50 ] The next RIMS Webinar will be held on September 4th and will be led by AXA XL. It is titled “Lockdown & Level Up: Turn Up Your Cyber Security Game Against Creative Cyber Criminals”.

[2:03 ] On September 18th, Origami Risk will present “Driving Better Incident and Claims Management with Data, Technology & Strategic Collaboration”.

[2:12 ] On October 30th, Swiss Re will present “Parametric Insurance: Providing Financial Certainty in Uncertain Times”.

[2:20 ] On November 6th, Hub will present “Geopolitical Whiplash — Building Resilient Global Risk Programs in an Unstable World”. Register at RIMS.org/Webinars.

[2:32 ] Mark your calendars for November 17th and 18th for the RIMS ERM Conference 2025 in Seattle, Washington. The agenda is jam-packed with educational sessions that will resonate with risk practitioners in all stages of their careers.

[2:53 ] See the full agenda at RIMS.org/ERM2025.

[2:59 ] RISKWORLD 2026 will be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 3rd through May 6th. RIMS members can now lock in the 2025 rate for a full conference pass to RISKWORLD 2026 when registering by September 30th.

[3:14 ] This also lets you enjoy earlier access to the RISKWORLD hotel block. Register by September 30th, and you will also be entered to win a $500 raffle. Don’t miss out on this chance to plan and score some extra perks.

[3:26 ] The members-only registration link is in this episode’s show notes. If you are not yet a member, this is the time to join us. Visit RIMS.org/membership and build your risk network with us here at RIMS.

[3:41 ] On with the show! Our guest today is Ondrea Matthews. She is the Senior Director for Risk Management at CoorsTek. She is also a RIMS Board Director. On October 2nd, she will have a key role at the RIMS Western Regional Conference at the Santa Clara Marriott in California.

[4:02 ] On the afternoon of October 2nd, she will be co-leading the session “Gone But Not Forgotten: Mastering Absence, Disability, and Risk Without Losing Your Sanity!” We’re going to get a preview of that session, and she’ll be speaking to us from experience. Let’s get to it!

[4:19 ] Interview! Ondrea Matthews, welcome to RIMScast!

[4:25 ] As of January 2025, Ondrea is on the RIMS Board of Directors. Ondrea will be a presenter at the RIMS Western Regional Conference on October 2nd, partnering with ESIS, talking about Gone But Not Forgotten, touching on absence management.

[5:04 ] Ondrea started as an engineering major. With an engineering degree, Ondrea moved from Michigan to Colorado and landed in claims. She was a Workers’ Compensation claims adjuster and manager for about 11 years. She decided that claims was not where she wanted to be.

[5:29 ] Eighteen years ago, Ondrea moved to CoorsTek as their Risk Manager. It’s been great at CoorsTek with a lot of opportunities, from Risk Manager to her current role, Senior Director of Risk Management and Benefits. She oversees insurance.

[5:59 ] CoorsTek has nothing to do with beer. Adolph Coors founded CoorsTek in 1910. He is also the Founder of Coors Brewing. He branched out into ceramics. CoorsTek is the leading global manufacturer of technical ceramics in the world. It’s headquartered in Golden, Colorado.

[5:36 ] Justin and Ondrea comment on the beauty of Golden, Colorado. Justin likes the Coors Brewery and recommends the tour. He says Coors Ceramics (CoorsTek) is a close second. Both Coors Brewing and CoorsTek are owned and managed by the Coors family.

[7:08 ] CoorsTek has 30 facilities across 10 countries. Ondrea has visited the majority of the CoorsTek facilities and has built relationships with the local leadership teams in Finance, Human Resources, and Health and Safety.

[7:34 ] CorsTek manufactures thousands of parts, but the processes and materials are fairly consistent. They have a very low claim volume. That allows the risk team to focus on streamlining renewals, process improvements, and communication flow.

[7:48 ] They prioritize larger strategic initiatives in alignment wth their corporate vision. It’s not challenging when they all come together for the same common purpose.

[8:13 ] Ondrea’s team includes Ondrea, with a full-time Risk Manager and a part-time Workers’ Compensation Manager. It’s a department of 2.5. The work ebbs and flows. Between renewals and with low claim volume, there is some downtime to work on projects and other initiatives.

[8:36 ] CoorsTek is looking at further developing its fleet management and maintaining alignment with global partners. The size of the risk team is good for CoorsTek.

[8:51 ] Ondrea prioritizes risks by the largest exposure. CoorsTek pays attention to what is most impactful and prioritizes the health and safety of its employees. That’s through Workers’ Compensation, Health and Safety Partnerships with the global EHS staff.

[9:12 ] CoorsTek looks at its property exposures. Its property insurer has a robust Risk Engineering department. CoorsTek has a dedicated Property Protection Engineer. CoorsTek prioritizes people first, and then the balance sheet and the financials.

[9:31 ] CoorsTek is a very innovative company. The teams are always bringing a new product or process to the table. They look for ways to protect the company’s financials while still enabling growth; for ways to say yes to the business while making them aware of the risks and costs.

[10:17 ] Ondrea explains how she oversees benefits. Benefits represent a large strategic risk and opportunity, as well as increased fiduciary responsibility.

[10:39 ] Ondrea explains that changing a health care provider requires not just a detailed financial analysis but also assessing the risk related to employee engagement, comprehensive communication, access to care, and employees’ emotional well-being.

[11:00 ] It’s a framework of risk identification, assessment, and response.

[11:05 ] Ondrea monitors risks like medical inflation, pharmacy management shifts, compliance, and vendor performance, to continually reduce financial exposure to the company and employees, related to large losses, changes in prescription coverage, deductibles, and more.

[11:24 ] CoorsTek works with partners, consultants, and local human resource teams on responses to support and clarify for its employees.

[11:44 ] At CoorsTek, risk doesn’t just belong to Ondrea and her team. Risk is addressed by every function, every day. CoorsTek has a wide expanse of expertise, and they’ve brought everyone together to support the company.

[12:01 ] They have a global trade department, a supply chain, and a government affairs position, and they’ve kept on top of the tariffs