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RIMS and AIG Announce 2013 Risk Management Hall of Fame Inductees

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Robert Nighan (second from left) accepted the honor for Hall of Fame inductee David Sterling while the late Robert Spencer’s honor was accepted by his wife Charlotte (third from right) and daughter Libby (second from right). (Photo: Joe Zwielich)

David C. Sterling and Robert S. Spencer are the newest members of the Risk Management Hall of Fame, RIMS and AIG announced today. The Risk Management Hall of Fame serves as a means to maintain the history of the field of risk management and recognizes risk practitioners who have made significant contributions to advancing the discipline. Both honorees were officially inducted at RIMS 2013 Annual Conference & Exhibition in Los Angeles.

In order to be selected, the Risk Management Hall of Fame considers the following criteria: 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.

So with this in mind, here are some of the accomplishments of the 2013 inductees:

DAVID C. STERLING

David C. Sterling joined The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. in 1964 after serving two years with the U.S. Army at Fort Kobbe, Panama Canal Zone.  He retired from The Hartford after 42 years as assistant vice president and senior risk manager, where he managed The Hartford’s worldwide risk programs and exposures to accidental loss including the placement of all insurance and non-insurance programs designed to protect the organization.

David is a risk and insurance pioneer. He purchased and implemented one of the first EPLI (employment practices liability insurance) programs in the insurance industry; purchased and implemented one of the first cyber risk liability, property and crime insurance programs; and implemented one of the industry’s first blended multi-year program for a financial institution and rolled the program over several times to achieve significant savings.

Throughout his career, he shared his professional experiences and expertise with students and risk professionals who expressed interest in advancing their careers.

At the West Hartford Branch of the University of Connecticut, he taught the Insurance Institute of America’s Risk Assessment program, one of three courses required for The Institute’s Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation.

Additionally, he was a reviewer of The American Institute for CPCU (now called “The Institutes”) texts for the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation program which focuses on risk management and insurance, as well as a reviewer of other texts published by them. For more than 30 years, he served The Institutes on its CPCU Exam Review Committee. He also authored a CPCU monograph entitled “Environmental Liability: An Insurance Perspective.”

David is currently a member of RIMS Connecticut Valley Chapter, the CPCU Society and the Society of CIC. He holds 28 professional risk management and insurance designations, as well as a State of Connecticut’s producer’s license and a State of Connecticut’s certified insurance consultant license.

ROBERT SPENCER

During his 17-year career, Robert S. Spencer held numerous risk management positions including vice president of insurance for Fuqua Industries Inc.

At Fuqua, he was responsible for the development and implementation of the organization’s risk management program that included a very diverse portfolio that includes everything from the manufacturing of lawnmowers and sporting good to being the eighth-largest trucking company in the United States. In 1976, he co-founded Fuqua’s Bermuda-based captive, Fuqua Insurance Company Ltd.

Robert is credited with setting standards on the dealings of captives with reinsurance markets, both domestic and international. He was also responsible for a workers compensation self-retention program that was adopted by 31 U.S. states in the Fuqua program.

Robert served the Atlanta Chapter of RIMS in all officer positions including president in 1973. He also served as a vice president of RIMS from 1974 – 1977 and RIMS president from 1977 – 1978. He was a founding member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Most importantly, Robert was quick to share the knowledge he gained with others so that the principles of “good” risk management could be passed on without reinvention. He fostered numerous programs at both the Atlanta Chapter and international levels of RIMS to support students, and expose them to the risk management profession.

Thirty-four years after his death in 1979, his legacy continues to provide educational opportunities for young men and women seeking to advance their education in business, insurance, actuarial sciences, and the risk management fields through the Spencer Educational Foundation.  Established in 1979 in his memory, the Foundation funds the education of tomorrow’s risk management and insurance industry leaders.  Since 1999, the charitable organization has awarded $4.7 million in student scholarships and $2.2 million in educational grants.

Additionally, Robert was responsible for establishing RIMS’ Anita Benedetti Student Involvement Program in 1978.

Spencer Educational Foundation Raises Money for Risk Management Scholarships

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A few weeks ago, the Spencer Educational Foundation held its annual gala fundraising dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. This is the flagship event for the nonprofit organization, which since 1979 has been subsidizing the education of those trying to make risk and insurance their life’s work.

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All together, Spencer has handed out nearly $7 million in scholarships and grants, including more than $400,000 awarded in 2011. (More on risk management education here.)

I was unable to attend this year, but have been to the past few events and they always make for an inspiring evening. With a program that honors both aging industry legends who have built the foundations of risk management and vibrant students who hope to further it in the future, the night gives a cradle-to-grave depiction of just how ambitious and fulfilling a career in risk can be. (For some anyway — I mainly just enjoy the prime rib and desserts.)

This year was no different, and the event helped raise some $720,000 in donations. Among the speakers were John Amore, former CEO of general insurance at Zurich; Peggy Accordino, chairwoman of Spencer; Drew Carey, a student studying risk management and insurance at St.

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John’s University in Manhattan; Gisselle Escotto, a risk management grad student at New York University; Seraina Maag, chief executive of North American property and casualty at XL; and David Zuercher, former head of insurance at Wells Fargo.

For those of you who weren’t able to attend, the video above features some of the evening’s highlights. And you can read more about the 2011 dinner here.

2012 Spencer Educational Foundation honoree Seraina Maag, chief executive of North American property and casualty at XL.

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Napco Spencer Cup Hockey Tournament Raises Money for Risk Management Education at RIMS 2012

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On Saturday night, some 60 RIMS 2012 attendees gathered to skate around an ice rink carrying sticks and shoot rock-hard pucks of vulcanized rubber at one another. Not exactly the type of behavior you would expect of risk managers: even with helmets, gloves and pads, ice hockey is dangerous.

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But there are no rewards without risks, and for all involved, the upside of the Napco Spencer Cup hocket tournament — fun and raising money for risk education — far outweighed any safety concerns. After all, the four-team round robin tournament raised $12,000 for the Spencer Educational Foundation, a nonprofit that grants scholarships to college students pursuing degrees in risk and insurance.

According to Napco CEO David Pagoumian, who played in the game along with RIMS Director of IT Mike Peters (pictured above), his company has been sponsoring the event since 1997, when it took over from the retiring executives who founded the Spencer Cup in the 1970s to “keep the spirit going.

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The Spencer Eductional Foundation Turns 30

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Last week, nearly 600 guests gathered at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Spencer Educational Foundation, the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the education of tomorrow’s risk managers.

Spencer Educational Foundation Gala

Collegial excitement filled the Waldorf as professionals from across the risk management profession united on a night filled with networking, rememberance and celebration of the foundation’s rich history as an organization that has made possible the educational dreams of many aspiring risk managers.

Throughout the evening, a number of presenters took to the stage to draw attention to the foundation’s many ongoing activites. Current Foundation scholars as well as past scholars and foundation president Roger Andrews and chairwoman Donna Galer.

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The highlight of the evening, however, was the keynote speech given by gala honoree J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., chairman, president and CEO of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Noting his own company’s long-standing commitment to internships and industry education, Gallagher reiterated not only the importance of supporting education into the risk profession, but the importance of the risk profession itself. To underscore this commitment to excellence, Gallagher announced that his firm would donate  $100,000 to fund the creation of the Robert E. Gallagher and John P. Gallagher Scholarship to provide funding for students of risk management disciplines.

“We are grateful for the tremendous generosity of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., and know that its contribution will be instrumental in cultivating a dynamic next generation of risk and insurance talent,” said Donna Galer, chairwoman of Spencer Educational Foundation, Inc. “This scholarship will be a continuous reminder of the long history of support Arthur J. Gallagher & Co has given Spencer Educational Foundation. We thank Pat Gallagher and his team.”

Since its formation in 1979, the Spencer Educational Foundation has awarded 454 student scholarships totaling $3.6 million and university grants totaling $1.3 million in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. The Foundation will begin accepting scholarship applications for the 2010-2011 academic year in November 2009.

“My father, John Gallagher, and my uncle, Bob Gallagher, were lifelong proponents of bringing talented young people into the insurance and risk management industries,” said J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., who was honored at the gala for his support of the Foundation. “They were committed to giving college students an opportunity to learn about our business, the many career paths it offers and how it impacts society as a whole. Through the Robert E. Gallagher and John P. Gallagher Scholarship program, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is helping to ensure that their legacy lives on.

For more photos and coverage of the Spencer gala, be sure to read the RIMS Society page of the November issue of Risk Management.