Vice President of Risk Management 乐高 leads Sempra’s risk management, 保险, 物理安全, and pension and trust investments functions while serving as a champion for women across our family of companies.
自2002年加入森普拉以来, Gao has served in various roles of increasing responsibility across multiple functions. She also currently serves as an executive sponsor for Sempra’s employee resource group for women, a group committed to helping cultivate a sense of belonging while providing networking and career advancement 机会 for women.
了解更多关于 乐高 在这个Q中&A:
Tell us more about your current role and the responsibilities of your team at Sempra.
在一个总体层面上, my team oversees the company’s enterprise risk management, 包括评价企业, 信用和交易/市场风险. 在保险方面, we procure and manage approximately 40 保险 programs across our enterprise, 哪些代表了我们的多样性 业务平台我们所服务的社区的资产和功能.
My team also manages the company’s pension and trust investments, and 物理安全. 整体, my team helps the company face climate-related weather 事件, 地缘政治挑战和其他不确定因素, with a view to helping the company to remain on strong financial footing while maintaining reliable and resilient energy networks for our customers.
How does your team help enable the global 能源过渡?
我的团队致力于帮助实现 能源过渡 and mitigating climate risks for the nearly 40 million consumers we serve. Our department helps support important boots-on-the-ground work happening in the communities in North America in which we operate, 如 圣地亚哥天然气 & 电力公司的 (西班牙&E) 野火缓解计划.
例如, 关于信用风险, we are front and center when vetting potential commercial counterparts for the company’s new initiatives and investment projects. 关于企业风险管理, we also work with the strategy group to help make sure that any emerging risks are properly incorporated in the company’s strategies.
在保险方面 we are trying to make sure that when taking on new initiatives, we transfer residual risk to insurers to the extent possible, in an effort to allow us to maintain a strong balance sheet to take on more sustainability-related 机会.
You are one of the executive sponsors for the women’s employee resource group here at Sempra. Why are groups like this important in creating Sempra’s 高性能的文化?
We always say that championing people is at the core of 我们的价值观. I think this employee resource group is incredibly beneficial because it gives us leaders the opportunity to really hear employee questions and concerns. 通过在这个层面上进行建设性的对话, we are working to make our workplace an even more trusting community where people can feel good about coming to work each day.
As I advanced my own career, I was lucky that my jobs allowed me to expand my professional network. If you look at other employees who either are just starting their careers or haven’t had a lot of in-person networking 机会 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, 他们可能没有同样的机会. 我希望能有所贡献, sponsor and share the contacts I have with our employee resource group for women. Not only do I hope to guide these employees in this way, but I also hope I’m helping Sempra maintain its strong ability to retain employees while 提升归属感.
三月是妇女历史月. What memories or thoughts come to mind as you reflect on the month?
在女权主义和妇女权利方面, 我看到中国的变化如此突然, 我出生的地方. When thinking about the generation I grew up in compared to my grandmother’s generation, there was a massive societal shift in a short amount of time. 当我祖母还是个小女孩的时候，她把脚裹起来. In my generation, feminism and women’s rights were key parts of everyday life. 例如, in school in China, we would often recite the slogan, “women hold up half of the sky.” Students were evaluated based on their academic achievements, not their gender. 作为这种教养的结果, my three sisters and I have very strong personalities and I am personally passionate about women’s equality.
At Sempra we talk a lot about innovation, and I believe 多样性和包容性 is a vital part of maintaining our innovative and high-performance employee culture. Every day I am committed to building a safe environment and advancing D&I so our employees can feel that they can bring their full selves to work each day. 当员工觉得他们可以做自己的时候, 他们会分享新的想法, 改善流程, and innovate — and that’s what will keep pushing our company forward.
我们不能只相信女权主义, we need to take action to demonstrate the belief and be an active member of a feminist community. 我们可以彼此 做一个领导者 在这个领域，不管我们的头衔是什么. 通过这样做，我们可以促进平等.
