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2023 RIMS Awards Celebrate the Past, Present and Future of Risk Management

Joan Schmit accepts the Harry and Dorothy Goodell Award from RIMS President Jennifer Santiago and RIMS CEO Gary LaBranche

ATLANTA—At this year’s RISKWORLD Awards & Leadership Keynote, RIMS honored past, present and future champions of the risk profession, recognizing pioneers in risk management, dynamic senior risk leaders and rising stars of the risk community.

Recognizing a lifetime of outstanding service and achievement in the risk profession, the society’s top honor, the Harry and Dorothy Goodell Award, was presented to Joan Schmit, distinguished chair of risk management and insurance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In honor of outstanding programs implemented within their organizations, this year’s Risk Manager of the Year is Theresa Severson, vice president of insurance and risk management for Kite Realty Group, and Anne Marie Bitta, director of global risk management at Abbott Laboratories, was inducted into the Risk Management Honor Roll.

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Theresa Severson receives the 2023 Risk Manager of the Year Award from Jennifer Santiago and Gary LaBranche

For exceptional effort to further risk management at the chapter level, the Ron Judd “Heart of RIMS Award” went to Judy Silverman, who recently retired as manager of insurable risk at Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., but remains a leader with the RIMS Chicago Chapter.

Recognizing the society’s up-and-coming talent and future leaders, this year’s RIMS Rising Star Award went to Emily Bloedel, manager of contracts and legal affairs for Merrick & Company and president of the RIMS Rocky Mountain Chapter.

Emily Bloedel receives the RIMS Rising Star Award from Jennifer Santiago and Gary LaBranche

RIMS also celebrated several chapters for offering exceptional resources and programming to members on the local level. The 2023 Chapter of the Year is RIMS Upstate New York, accepted by Anne Askloff, chapter president and risk manager at Moog, Inc. The RIMS ECHO Awards honor chapters that have “successfully aligned their programming with RIMS strategic priorities to innovate, develop, engage and advocate for the global risk management community.” This year’s honorees are Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Rocky Mountain and Saskatchewan chapters.

Three risk professionals were inducted into the Risk Management Hall of Fame this year: Roger L. Andrews, Jim Green, and Daniel J. Kugler. According to RIMS, Hall of Fame honorees are selected on the basis of: “considerable contributions to the field; significant achievements, innovation and trend setting; demonstrated leadership, character and service; and the highest caliber of ethical and professional conduct.”

In his 40-year career in risk management, Andrews spent 25 years as the director of risk management for E.D. Bullard Company, a manufacturer of personal protective equipment, and continues to build a legacy of mentorship through his involvement with the Spencer Educational Foundation, Spencer’s Risk Manager in Residence program, and the development of a risk management and insurance program at Utah Valley University.

Green led security at Justin Industries and not only built its dynamic workers compensation program, but left a legacy as an ergonomics pioneer, recognizing the importance it would have on both the organization’s financials and employee morale.

Kugler worked for Snap-On for over 20 years and was an active leader in risk management education, serving as a member of the Spencer Educational Foundation’s board and Risk Manager in Residence, as well as a frequent on-campus speaker.

“Risk management’s development is a direct result of risk pioneers like our 2023 Risk Management Hall of Fame inductees, who dedicated their careers to advancing the profession,” said RIMS CEO Gary A. LaBranche, FASAE, CAE. “As thought-leaders, educators and mentors, Roger, Jim and Dan have demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to empowering the next generation of risk leaders.”

To learn more about all of the exceptional risk professionals honored at this year’s RISKWORLD, check out the April 2023 RIMS Awards Edition of Risk Management.

Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. Offers Great Reset Survival Tips at RISKWORLD 2023

ATLANTA—RISKWORLD 2023 kicked off on Monday with a high-energy keynote delivered by Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Taylor looked back on the last three years as a time characterized by major shifts in the way work and operations are performed, suggesting that it was an opportunity for the risk profession to lean in to change.

Taylor transported the audience back to March 13, 2020, when after nearly a month of rising public health fears, Proclamation 9994 was announced by the White House, declaring a national emergency concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

RISKWORLD 2023 kicked off on Monday with a high-energy keynote delivered by Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Taylor looked back on the last three years as a time characterized by major shifts in the way work and operations are performed, suggesting that it was an opportunity for the risk profession to lean in to change.

“The way we work changed on that day,” Taylor said. He also noted the correlation of the change in the thesis for his book—from The Great Pause to The Great Reset—to reflect the reality of the time more accurately. He said the data compiled changed, and became more qualitative. “The data we collected told the story about employees saw the world.

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Based on data and interviews, along with anecdotes from his own experience leading SHRM, Taylor offered “survival tips” for the audience to use in an effort to navigate patterns in employment and productivity.

One tip was to flip the script on recent employment trends, such as how the “Great Resignation” of 2020 and 2021 has evolved into what he referred to as “The Great Regret” of 2023.

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He referenced the 9.9 million currently open jobs as a negative, but one that risk professionals can help correct through methods that may have seemed counterintuitive just five years ago, such as likening career and hiring patterns to a boomerang for the employee and employer. Taylor leans into this notion by contacting recently departed employees at 30-, 60- and 90-day intervals, to gauge if their new endeavors are gaining traction and whether their return would be suitable.

“The best companies are doing this more and more,” he said. “We know regret is real and employees who felt the grass is greener realize it might not always be the case.

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If someone was a great performer and left on the right terms, you should consider [reaching back to them].”

He also encouraged attendees to look within improve their hiring and employment practices. “You must not only hire for someone’s technical competencies and ability to do the job, but they must be culturally aligned,” he said. “News alert: They can’t be culturally aligned if you don’t have clarity around what your culture is. Do that, and you’ll solve for 90% of the problems in the Great Reset.”

Charting Risk Management’s Future at RISKWORLD 2023


ATLANTA — As RISKWORLD 2023 kicked off on Monday, RIMS 2023 President Jennifer Santiago took the main stage of the Thomas B. Murphy Ballroom in Atlanta’s Georgia World Congrees Center to welcome attendees and help them prepare for three days of risk management education, insight and networking.


“You will leave here ready—ready to lead, to take action, ready for the next step in your career, and ready to help make the world a more sustainable and resilient place,” Santiago said.  

Santiago introduced RIMS CEO Gary LaBranche, who made his RISKWORLD debut after having joined the Society in June 2022. LaBranche quickly established a presence as the new face of RIMS, having appeared at RIMS global, regional and chapter events regularly as well as those hosted by other organizations in the past year. He unveiled a video detailing RIMS’ new 10-year strategic plan and mission statement, which he said, “makes the case that risk management professionals play an indispensable role in making organizations more resilient, in driving strategy and decision-making and generating better outcomes.”

“For this plan to work, it’s going to require contributions from everyone in the risk management community,” LaBranche said. “From C-Suite executives and senior risk leaders to rising risk professionals and those in adjacent fields like HR and IT. Just as important, it will require the perspective and contributions from professionals from all walks of life and from different cultures.”

Santiago and LaBranche also had major news regarding the future of the RIMS-CRMP (Certified Risk Management Professional), announcing a strategic partnership with the Pan-Asia Risk and Insurance Management Association (PARIMA). The goal of the collaboration is to establish a global standard of knowledge and professionalism for risk professionals. Central to this endeavor, PARIMA will market, promote and deliver the RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep Workshop to Pan-Asia’s risk community while RIMS will deliver course materials, case studies, instructors, and manage administrative and certification duties.The expansion, they said, is “critical to the profession’s future.”

Santiago and LaBranche were joined onstage by Franck Baron, a co-founder and chairman of PARIMA and RIMS-CRMP Commission Chair Ward Ching to officially sign a memorandum of understanding and commemorate the historic collaboration.

“Setting a global baseline for risk management skills and knowledge is a critical first step to advancing the profession,” LaBranche said.

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“As a unified force, RIMS and PARIMA are ready to deliver greater opportunities for risk professionals in the Pan-Asia region to earn the RIMS-CRMP, strengthen risk programs, drive organizational resiliency and advance professionally.”

LaBranche closed the general session by beaming up a clip from the original “Star Trek” television series, in which Captain Kirk realizes that he and his crew were in the business of risk. He noted the similarities between the Starship Enterprise and RIMS.

“RIMS has been that vessel for exploration and discovery for the risk management community for 73 years,” he said. “For generations, RIMS has been a source of guidance, education, connections and opportunity. But times change, new challenges emerge, and new journeys call us forth. Soon after I started my voyage with RIMS, the Board of Directors and the management team engaged in a comprehensive analysis and assessment process to plan for the future of RIMS. The result is a new strategic plan that charts a course for where RIMS aims to go in the future. There’s no better place to share that vision than here at RISKWORLD.”

left to right: Gary LaBranche, Franck Baron, Ward Ching and Jennifer Santiago