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What are some of the general responsibilities of your new position?

I head up the enterprise risk management area. It sort of integrates all of the risk functions within the organization. So we’re over credit risk, operational risk and market risk. So what we are trying to do is build up and integrate all the risk areas into one, to give risk, and risk management the prominence that it’s sort of gaining, especially as a result of the financial crisis.

What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced in your new job?

As a result of the ongoing financial crisis, the big challenge is the market environment, in which you can’t assess your risk statistically. You cannot assess the risks of the organization just by looking in the past, and generate the next potential risk from that. You have to be very anticipatory and forward looking to try to see around the curve, which is very difficult.

What would you say is your big challenge brought on by the economic struggles?

It’s the challenge of trying to balance the two roles. Trying to serve our customers, provide our benefits to our member banks (approximately 1,250 in the region), by giving them access to relatively low-cost funding, while on the other hand trying to keep the institution itself healthy. Because by doing that, and engaging in the activities that provide value to our members, we are actually taking risk ourselves, so trying to balance the two and trying to find that sweet spot.

What are your feelings on some of the predictions and signs that might indicate that the economy is bouncing back?

I think everything is very shaky and uncertain and everybody is looking for some, they call them green shoots, in the economy, and I think we should be very cautious about predictions, and looking for that indicator or combination of indicators that are telling us we have turned a corner. I think government is so involved with the economy with all of their programs, and that is not a steady state. In other words, at some point government will have to pull out and drain all that liquidity from the economy and all that money that is pumped in, and then we will see whether the economy can sustain itself.

What was life like growing up in Serbia?

I had a pretty good growing-up experience. Serbia, which was part of Yugoslavia at the time, was sort of straddling the East and the West. It was a relatively easy life at the time, which was in the ’70s and early ’80s. When I left in 1987 is when the big trouble started with the wars and everything.

Do you remember when and how you made your first dollar?

Actually it would be my first dinar, back in Serbia. As a teenager I spent a whole summer sort of loading and unloading trucks, then used all of the savings for a 10-day camping trip to the seaside.

What one accomplishment during your life are you most proud of?

Probably what I am most proud of is taking time out of my career here, to go to Serbia (to take a job as the vice governor for banking supervision at the National Bank of Serbia) and sort of use my banking supervision experience to help them in their transition to the market economy. It was kind of a big decision, I was kind of in the middle of my career here, but I thought that I should do that.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I never thought I would be an economist… I knew I was always sort of fascinated by space, so I wanted to be an astronaut, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen.

What are some ways that you try to escape from work?

My wife and I enjoy a lot of the cultural activities. We are anticipating the opening of the Des Moines Symphony season, and we love going to the (Des Moines) Art Center, and we love to travel.

You are a risk adviser, so in general, are you a risky person, or conservative person?

It depends, but I would say overall, I am relatively cautious, and risk averse.