Tennessee Treasury Director Named Risk Management All Star
Treasury is proud to announce that Rodney Escobar has been named a 2019 Risk All Star by Risk & Insurance magazine.
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Treasury Department is proud to announce that Rodney Escobar, Director of the Division of Claims and Risk Management, has been named a 2019 Risk All Star by Risk & Insurance magazine for his work in revamping the State’s workers’ compensation program. Of the nine people named on the Risk All Star list, Escobar is the only government employee recognized this year.
Treasury’s Division of Claims and Risk Management is responsible for identifying the State’s exposure to property and casualty risks and determining the appropriate risk control methods to protect against monetary loss due to unforeseen events. The division administers the State’s workers’ compensation, tort liability, risk management and loss prevention, and property and insurance programs for 41 state government agencies, 49 institutions of higher learning and more.
The 2019 Risk All Star list was announced on Sept. 1st, highlighting Escobar for his work in developing a strategic plan to improve the State workers’ compensation program. This included a risk assessment that re-allocated resources to reduce the program’s total incurred costs by more than 38% since 2013.
“Rodney is an All Star in the Tennessee Treasury,” said State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr., “This recognition shows the leadership and dedication he has to constantly improving the risk management functions of our state.”
Escobar’s work also includes the development of a statewide return-to-work program. This began with a successful pilot program with the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) in 2014 and expansion across the state in 2015, helping position Tennessee as a leader in saving taxpayer dollars, and making health care professional service more readily available for injured workers.
Since he was hired in 2013, Director Escobar has made customer service to the State and its citizens a priority. He has worked with agencies and institutions across the state to assess risk and protect resources. He has worked to implement and improve programs within the division, including the state insurance program, which covers 7,000 state buildings, various works of art, machinery, cyber liabilities and more.
Escobar has been the recipient of risk management awards in the past, including the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA)’s Public Risk Manager of the Year Award in 2017.
Escobar is also Secretary of the Tennessee Board of Claims, serves on the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency Committee and the State Cyber Committee and was named Risk Manager of the Year as a member of the Tennessee PRIMA Chapter.
Read the full profile of Escobar in the 2019 Risk All Star list here: Why Every State Workers’ Compensation Program Should Follow Tennessee’s Example
For more information about the Division of Claims and Risk Management, visit treasury.tn.gov/Services/Claims-and-Risk-Management.
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