Back at Eastman Chemical, Ryder, whose job is to hedge against both currency and commodity exposure, is quick to downplay the natural approach, emphasizing the challenges facing risk professionals. "I'm tired of all these once-in-a-decade and once-in-a-lifetime things happening all the time," he says. "The markets are getting fatigued." The bottom line: "The more volatility in the currency market you get a higher discount to your stock. If you do nothing you're going to get hammered."

"Whether we locate a facility in the foreign country, the currency risk has no place in the decision," he says. "We don't locate the facility as a primary means to hedge on the currency front, although these is some natural offset."

"My food chain basically goes to the treasurer and the CFO," he says. "People don't invest in Eastman to invest in currencies," he adds, defining his responsibility as giving "cover to the CFO so he doesn't have to talk about this stuff."