The RIMS 2013 Annual Conference & Exhibition was held in Los Angeles last week and, once again, RIMS did a great job delivering a well-balanced program complete with educational sessions, networking opportunities, thought leadership and entertainment. Sedgwick has been a major sponsor of RIMS both locally and nationally for most of its existence. Even I was surprised to hear how passionate Sedgwick’s president and CEO Dave North spoke about the importance of this organization and particularly this annual forum.
As a former president of RIMS and a member for over 25 years, this organization has held a special place throughout my career. Its contribution to the risk management discipline is hard to quantify, but it is clearly the leading global organization supporting our customers and their programs. What better place for Sedgwick to contribute and play an important role in helping RIMS address its members’ needs?
On Saturday and Sunday, I taught the RIMS workshop “Harnessing ERM to Risk Appetite,” which included two key leaders from our client Kaiser Permanente. Another early highlight was seeing our own Catherine Bennett recognized for managing 100 RIMS sessions over 20 years. This is a great accomplishment and a well-deserved recognition for Catherine. By the time of our closing party on Wednesday night, RIMS had delivered over 130 educational sessions, and numerous alternative opportunities to learn and share industry intelligence.
During the conference, the Sedgwick team held many productive meetings and enjoyed talking with all of the people who visited our booth. We had the opportunity to listen to the needs, views, expectations and concerns of the individuals who make RIMS and Sedgwick a success. We are pleased to partner with RIMS and its members to support the risk management discipline, and to help ensure it is a key part of every company’s business strategy.
I would like to hear your thoughts about this year’s RIMS conference. What are the most important takeaways you are going to put into action this year?
Chris Mandel, SVP, Strategic Solutions