Navin Sharma

Navin Sharma is an experienced risk management senior officer with deep experience in enterprise risk management spanning investment and operational risks within the asset management and insurance industries. His breadth and depth of experience also includes expertise in strategic, technology, compliance and other risks functioning as a Chief Risk Officer and other senior risk roles over 27 years in risk management.

Navin’s perspective as a risk manager over the years has been to inculcate a “collaborative yet independent” risk management approach with a firm’s investment area and other lines-of-businesses.  This leads to symbiotic relationships between the risk and the oversight groups, ensuring smooth communications towards the successful achievement of the firm’s objectives.

He has started and established fixed income risk management groups and functions throughout his career and led risk groups over the past 24 years. Most recently, as the Chief Risk Officer at HIMCO (The Hartford’s investment subsidiary) and as Head of Credit and Market Risk of The Hartford, he developed the investment risk group overseeing market and credit risks for public and private markets as well as expanding the insurance counterparty risk function across the lines of business. At BlackRock he strengthened and expanded the risk functions of various investment businesses and was the risk department’s (RQA) liaison to BlackRock’s mutual funds boards including as a participant on the boards’ performance committees and involved in new product design. Earlier, he was head of investment risk for OppenheimerFunds. He has regularly presented to funds boards, clients, prospects and regulators on portfolios’ risk and related strategic risk issues.

Navin has been deeply engaged in the growth and refinement of the risk profession, functioning as a thought leader via volunteer efforts as the head of The Professional Risk Managers’ Association’s (PRMIA) New York Chapter and a member of its global committee; an initial member of the Investment Company Institute’s Risk Advisory Committee; and, as a speaker on risk management at numerous conferences over the years. he has also presented on the topic of risk management to the New York Chapter of the Independent Director’s Council and to the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Additionally, he has been a mentor to younger risk professionals over the years via regular one-to-one meetings as well as educating professionals in class settings. Another, especially meaningful mentoring responsibility has been to mentor, advise and assist United States Armed Forces veterans who wish to join the civilian, financial industry workforce.