Georgia State University’s Risk Management Foundation celebrated industry excellence and generosity at the eighth annual Risk Science & Insurance Leadership Awards (“The Riskies”) on March 29 at Georgia State's Center Parc Stadium. Nine individuals were recognized for achievements in risk-related industries and the event raised $193,810 for the foundation.

Icon Leadership Award–Guy Millner
The Icon Leadership Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a career of high achievement in and service to the risk management and insurance industry. Awardees are concurrently inducted into the Georgia State University Risk Management & Insurance Hall of Fame.

Guy Millner founded AssuranceAmerica and guided the company to become an auto insurance leader. He now serves as executive chairman, chairs the board of directors, and works with the executive team on the strategic direction of the company. Millner also champions AssuranceAmerica’s philanthropic endeavors. In 2021, he endowed the Guy Millner Scholars program, which grants scholarships, internships, and seasonal employment to qualifying students.

Hall of Fame Award–Susan Willey
The Hall of Fame Award recognizes individuals within industry or academia whose legacy has an ongoing impact in the risk sciences (insurance, actuarial science, legal studies, risk management, and analytics).

Susan L. Willey is director of the legal studies program in the Department of Risk Management & Insurance. She is an active member of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business and its Southeastern chapter. Willey has presented nearly 100 academic papers at national and regional conferences, earning several best paper awards. She has received awards for teaching and service from Robinson, Georgia State, and the University System of Georgia.

Innovator Award–Brian Casey
The Innovator Award recognizes individuals who are changing and influencing the risk management and insurance industry in dynamic ways.

Brian T. Casey is a partner at Locke Lord, LLP. He co-leads the firm’s regulatory and transactional insurance practice group and is a member of the firm's corporate, capital markets, and health care practice groups. Casey focuses on corporate, merger and acquisition, corporate and structured finance, and other transactional, and regulatory matters for corporate clients in the insurance, financial services, and health care industries.

Rising Champion Award–Nora Hattauer and Alexander Yu
The Rising Champion Award recognizes graduates of Georgia State’s Risk Management & Insurance program who have made notable and public impacts in their companies or profession.

Nora Hattauer (MBA ’08) is head of management liability for national accounts at AIG. She joined AIG Financial Lines in 2006 and has 20 years of experience in directors and officers liability. Prior to her current position, Hattauer was chief underwriting officer for public company management liability in North America.

Alexander Yu (M.S.-M.R.M. ’17) is an assistant vice president at Synchrony Financial where he
leads synthetic fraud strategy on the acquisitions side. He works with specialized client managers to develop individual (and generalized) strategies for different clients/portfolios. Yu enjoys working on fraud due to its ever-changing nature and the demand for creativity and proactiveness.

Student of the Year Award–Michael Copeland, Hyunshik Shin, Matthew Wessler, and Anthony Bi
Student of the Year awardees are high achieving students who perform well in the classroom and demonstrate leadership in the department’s professional clubs. Each receives a $2,500 scholarship sponsored by AssuranceAmerica.

Student of the Year Award, Master of Actuarial Science (M.A.S.)
Hyunshik Shin, M.A.S. ’22

Student of the Year Award, M.S. in Quantitative Risk Analysis & Management (MS-QRAM)
Michael Copeland, M.S.-QRAM ’23 / M.A.S. ’23

Student of the Year Award, Undergraduate Actuarial Science
Matthew Wessler, B.B.A.-A.S. ’22

Student of the Year Award, Undergraduate Risk Management & Insurance (RMI)
Anthony Bi, B.B.A.-RMI ’22