European risk managers gather in London to celebrate industry success

European Risk Manager of the Year
Winner: Arnout J van der Veer, Reed Elsevier

Key achievements:
• Pre-decision risk assessment of all major business initiatives

• Navigating the organisation through major outsourcing and of-shoring programmes, supported by the development of a company framework (toolkit) for the identification of O&O opportunities and best practices for execution

• Bringing organisational awareness, the development and implementation of a compliance framework, embedding information security into product development and system development and the implementation

• An implemented approach whereby risk management is primarily a business unit responsibility and not a central function responsibility supported by a network of ‘risk-champions’ in the business.

Risk Management Team of the Year
Winner: United Utilities

The team’s key achievements:

• Developing and training a network of facilitators to support their work by providing leadership, support and advice in establishing and maintaining the framework across the business

• Reviewing and updating existing policies to provide clear direction allowing the business to assess risk in relation to the achievement of business objectives

• Transforming the annual business unit risk assessment process from a risk scoring exercise to a management style review of existing risks and departmental/corporate risk profiles whilst also allowing senior management the opportunity to debate new and emerging risks

• Integration and increased profile throughout the organisation by hosting more frequent focus meetings whilst also increasing the frequency of reporting

• Upgrading a bespoke risk software system to incorporate new risk analysis tools including gross, net and target risk assessment to establish a greater understanding of inherent risks and inform the business continuity programme, development of a corporate risk appetite and enhancing reporting tools.

Enterprise-wide Risk Programme of the Year
Winner: AstraZeneca

The programme’s aims in 2009 were to improve strategic, tactical and operational performance using risk management and Lean Sigma approaches.

Key strategies:

• Integrated business cycle and winning hearts/minds – achieving strategic benefit through using meetings, tools and data already available

• Consistent tools and processes – getting the risk register tool as user friendly and consistent as possible across selected teams to allow portfolio aggregation.

• Lean: Pull and flow – relating risks to project work to manage threats or exploit new opportunities.

 

BEST ENVIRONMENTAL RISK CONTROL
Winner: Sonae Sierra

Key strategies:

• Reviewing long-term sustainability goals and committing to reducing GHG emissions by 25% by 2020

• Commissioning a detailed study into the potential financial impacts of climate change on Portuguese assets

• Obtaining ISO 14001 certifications for the construction works of two new projects and two more operational shopping centres

• Investing in a new environmental data portal to compile site and corporate level data and information required to meet the Global Reporting Initiatives’ and IS0 14001 standards

• Installing the first electric charging station in Berlin at Alexa shopping centre, enabling electric vehicles to be charged in the centre’s car park

• Producing renewable energy from 720 photovoltaic panels on the roof of El Rosal in Spain, which avert 48 tonnes of GHG emissions per year and generate around €58,000 in revenue from electricity sold to the grid

• Increasing waste recycling at River Plaza Mall, Romania by 80% since 2008 and developing a recycling awareness campaign.

 

BEST RISK COMMUNICATION OF THE YEAR
Winner: Milton Keynes Council

Key strategies:

• A new dedicated quarterly in-house “Risk & Reward” newsletter, distributed to all staff and partners.

• Articles in the Council’s magazine

• “What is Risk Management” practical guidance for new starters and existing staff, promoted through the risk workshop programme

• “What is Business Continuity” booklet, currently in production

• “My Role in Risk” – an e-learning corporate induction module currently in production

• “What is Project Risk Management” booklet

• A drop-in session to answer staff questions and allay fears about the pending pandemic

• “Exercise Oink!” – raised resilience needs awareness in schools and child-care settings.

• Guidance and support for local organisations.

MOST INNOVATIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY
Winner: ACCOR

ACCOR’s solution was to implement efficient technology to maintain all data centrally and share information between all the risk and insurance management stakeholders worldwide.

Key features:

• EFFISOFT Extract Transfer Load system allows upload of massive data from various databases

• Compliance with existing databases – financial, legal, commercial, natural hazards, brokers’

• Customisation to meet the needs of risk management, crisis management, brokers, captive and internal audit

• One tool to meet the needs of

- Hospitality business to manage hotels

- Risk management function to analyse data

- Brokers’ services, to calculate and invoice premium for more than 2,000 entities

- Complying with ACCOR’s data safety policy.

 

BEST BUSINESS CONTINUITY APPROACH OF THE YEAR
Winner: Blackpool Council

Key features:

• Enhancing central support resource, using a seconded manager from the business who empathises with the problems managers face fitting business continuity in with other competing demands

• Drop in sessions enabling departments to raise issues in a constructive and non-challenging environment

• A programme of directorate workshops to identify service priorities

• A comprehensive programme of exercising to ensure plans which look sound on paper are actually deliverable in practice

• Comprehensive guidance published on the Council’s intranet to enable ‘self help’ to be undertaken between face to face contact with services

• Joined up multi-agency working on property business continuity issues through a property risk management group

• Agreement of priority services by the civil contingencies team and the Council’s strategic management team

• Extensive work to promote BC resilience in the wider business community.

 

BEST RISK TRAINING PROGRAMME
Winner: RusRisk

The winning modular training programme ‘Corporate Risk Management’ has the following themes:

• Theoretical bases of risk management

• Modern tools of analysis and estimation of risks

• Practical methods of risk management

• Creating an effective insurance programme

• Business continuity planning

• Modern concepts of the integrated risk management system (FERMA, ERM COSO, etc)

• Creating the risk management system in the company

• Creating a system of internal audit and practice for loss settlement

• Management of operational risks

• Management of project risks.

 

BEST RISK MANAGEMENT APPROACH IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
Winner: Transport for London (TfL)

Key strategies in committing to an ERM framework:

• A rsk governance framework designed to interface with the corporate governance framework, and risk architecture

• Integrated business continuity and resilience systems

• Group–wide risk systems and processes

• Control risk self assurance (CRSA) processes and systems

• Key risk indicators

• Benchmarking against external risk maturity models

• Improved risk communication systems

• Risk management policies aligned to external best practice, legislative requirements and industry standards

• A scalable framework which can quickly include new acquisitions, partners or third parties, and new requirements or changing standards

• Risk embedded into the Project Gateway control structures

• Executive team risk workshops

• An external risk training & awareness programme incorporating integrated classroom training with e-learning delivery.

 

RISK MANAGEMENT YOUNG ACHIEVER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Tom Smith, Derbyshire County Council

Key achievements:

• Leading the strategic risk review; ensuring that risk management is integrated fully into service planning and budget setting process

• Presenting key risks for consideration at budget workshops with members

• Adopting a risk based approach to financial reserves planning

• Undertaking an assessment of the organisation using the HM Treasury RMAF framework

• Researching if successful risk management outcomes can be better quantified and measured, as part of his MSc risk management dissertation

• Re-writing the risk management strategy to reflect best practice

• Embedding risk management responsibilities into job profiles (37,000 posts)

• Delivering targeted training to directors, senior managers and project teams and promoting other opportunities to transfer skills and knowledge across the organisation, including the use of toolkits.

LIFETIME ACHIEVERS
Alec van den Abeele, GDF Suez

Since joining Belgian utility company INTERCOM in 1986, as insurance director, Alec has retained a key role throughout a number of industry mergers, culminating in his current post as director of insurance department, GDF Suez.

Key achievements include:

• Rationalising and opening competition in the suppliers’ markets by stopping the brokers’ cartel contract for Belgian nuclear power plants in 1987

• making ELECTRABEL (owner of 7 nuclear power units) in 1999 the first non US member of NEIL (Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited) and the first member of Overseas NEIL, generating significant nuclear property insurance expenditure.

• 15 years before the Spitzer affair, introducing service level agreements for insurance brokers with the objectives to have all broker’s remuneration on negotiated fees and to obtain full transparency of remuneration

• Implementing significant self-retention programmes for motor fleet, hospitalisation, medical costs and excess worker’s compensation risks

• In 1991, initiating the creation of the reinsurance captive Insutrel and managing the rationalisation of the use of captive reinsurance vehicles in the group

Alec is a board member of ELINI (European Liability Insurer of the Nuclear Industry), and a longstanding member and active participant of BELRIM (Belgian Risk and Insurance Managers Association) for more than 20 years and of AMRAE (Assocation pour le Management des Risques et des Assurances de l’Entreprise – France) since 2003.

Hanspeter Frei, Zurich Risk Engineering

Hanspeter joined Zurich in 1990 as risk engineer and specialist for on- and offshore upstream business at corporate centre. In 1992 he began building up environmental risk engineering and in 1995 was appointed Head of Zurich Risk Engineering & Loss Control operations worldwide.

Today, Hanspeter heads up the GI Risk Engineering function, providing leadership and management direction for the risk engineering global network.

Prior to joining Zurich, he worked for 12 years as a petroleum engineer, operations manager and petroleum economist for the Royal Dutch/Shell Group with assignments in the Netherlands, Argentina, Qatar and the UK.

RISK SERVICE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Pound Gates Vehicle Management Services

Pound Gates’risk management and damage control services focus exclusively on finished vehicle logistics for vehicle manufacturers, their insurers and logistics providers. Key features are:

• Issue identification, risk analysis, design of risk solutions and delivery of continuously improving treatment

• Management of day-to-day operational exposures through in-transit condition surveys, quality auditing and claims handling when damages arise.

The company has teams of multilingual claims handlers and on location surveyors. It currently handles in excess of 40,000 claims and 1,000,000 unit inspections annually. Its services reduce catastrophe risks, levels of damage and costs, and improve reliability of vehicle supply. The service is relevant across the whole of Europe.

 

RISK MANAGEMENT PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
Winner: Maplecroft

In 2009 Maplecroft undertook a wholesale redesign of its online subscription service, the Global Risks Portfolio (GRP), which includes an interactive mapping application, developed over several years, which includes more than 100+ global risk indices. Enhancements in 2009 included :

• an entire rebuild of navigation

• interactive risk indices

• html country scorecards featuring sub-national GIS-derived (Geographic Information System) maps

• country search functions

• a personal “dashboard” function listing user resources.

 

MOST CLIENT RESPONSIVE INSURER OF THE YEAR*
Winner: Chartis (AIG Europe)

MOST CLIENT RESPONSIVE BROKER OF THE YEAR*
Winner: Aon

*Selected by the presidents of the risk management associations that belong to the Federation of European Risk Management Associations