Andrea Keenan Enjoys Challenge of Assessing Country Risk
When Andrea Keenan talks about the global economy, her perspective is more than that of an economist and researcher. Over the last decade she has had a front-row seat to watch dramatic changes in an increasingly global business environment.
Those changes have radically changed her job at A.M.Best Company, the 110-year-old credit rating company based in Oldwick, N.J. In fact, when she joined the company in 2000, Keenan was the sole economist in what was then the International Ratings Division.
Now, as managing senior financial analyst of the Best’s Country Risk Division, she heads a three-person staff that is a critical support group for the company’s analysts, who evaluate firms in the insurance and finance industries.
Assessing Risk Factors in More Than 100 Countries
“I never knew of the discipline of `country risk’ prior to working here,” Keenan said in an April 10 telephone interview. In the last few years, increasingly widespread awareness of country risk factors and the global connections that affect all insurance companies has made the work of her group an integral part of Best’s credit rating services.
Keenan is responsible for developing and maintaining the company’s country risk model, which is integrated into insurer ratings. She and her staff conduct research and track trends in more than 100 countries.
“I really enjoy being within a corporate environment. I get to be part of the daily business of an important company in a large industry, while still practicing economics. It really drives home the practical use of the field,” she wrote in an e-mail exchange that was part of the interview in early April.
Emphasizing that her division is distinct from the credit ratings operation at Best, Keenan said federal oversight, through the Securities and Exchange Commission, requires that clear lines are drawn as to the access to public and private information. “In the Country Risk Group, all of the data we use is in the public domain,” she said, while the private information about corporations for credit ratings remains confidential within the realm of the credit ratings part of the firm.
As she monitors geopolitical events in different countries, Keenan said she sends out “weekly alerts on countries where there are developments that could be destabilizing to the economy or insurance industry environment. Additionally, I’m called on to work on other ratings criteria issues or market developments within the company.” In a basic sense, the health of a nation’s economy “is empirical evidence of good political, legal, and regulatory systems,” she pointed out.
When heads of state and other officials gathered for the G-20 meetings in early April, Keenan paid particular attention to how nations proposed to change policies on tax havens in reaction to problems that have surfaced during the worldwide financial crisis. “These new policies are among the issues that our analysts need to know about,” she said.
Opportunities To Inform During Crisis
Challenging as the current economic environment is for policymakers and forecasters, “as economists we can take advantage of the crisis” to better inform clients and the public about how the economy works and how business cycles typically run their course, Keenan said. She thinks that the crisis has “reinforced a belief in the profession” and she has observed a resurgence of interest in economic analysis.
Her interest in international economics led Keenan to earn a Masters of Arts in international economic policy from American University in Washington, D.C., in 1998. It was a logical next step for her after earning a Bachelor’s in political science and international studies from York College in Pennsylvania.
Immediately after earning her Masters, she worked as an analyst for International Technology and Trade Associates in Washington, D.C. Then she moved to New York City and worked as a U.S. economic analyst for Toyota Motor North America.
Joining NABE Helped Her Stayed Informed on Economy
It was during her time with Toyota that Keenan joined NABE, initially as a member of the New York chapter. That association, which she valued for the contacts she made and timely information provided through programs, launched her into active membership in NABE. She currently serves as vice chair of NABE’s International Roundtable board and, in that capacity, helps to arrange speakers for conference sessions and teleconference calls on timely topics.
Keenan traces her interest in economics to “a great economics course in high school, which left a lasting impression.” The Pennsylvania native attended Bishop Kenrick High School in Norristown, near Philadelphia. In college she choose to major in political science and international studies. “My focus shifted more and more to economics—as its importance, in my opinion, trumped that of politics.”
Eventually she found international economics “more challenging, incredibly interesting, and still evolving.” So she switched her concentration from U.S. regional studies toward international economics.
What advice would she offer students of economics and those in early stages of their careers? “Take advantage of your flexibility as a student or junior professional: ask questions and try different aspects of the field,” she replied.
“When you’re just starting out, you don’t know what field you want to get into,” she said. Early in her career, Keenan kept an open mind on what she would pursue as the main focus of her professional activities. And she asked lots of questions—using her status as a newcomer to a job to her advantage as she learned from more senior analysts.
“There’s no need to pin yourself down early in your career,” she said. “You can wait until something clicks.”
