Broad View

Cyber liability, regulatory risk and directors’ and officers’ liability are among the topics scheduled for discussion at the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) Canada conference this September in Quebec City, the theme of which will be “Panorama – Dare to Go Beyond.”

The Panorama theme follows a Crossroads theme last year in Winnipeg and a Discovery theme in 2013 in Victoria.

Attendees looking to take in the full spectrum of possibilities will have their view further broadened from speakers at the 41st annual RIMS Canada conference, including Canadian geneticist David Suzuki and Maurice (Hank) Greenberg, former chairman and chief executive officer of insurer American International Group (AIG) Inc.

“The focus of our program will be on managing the many challenges that arise from a constantly evolving business landscape, including technological, economic, legal, regulatory and environmental changes,” say Michel Pontbriand, a 27-year veteran of Desjardins General Insurance Group (DGIG), and Julie Chapdelaine, who manages risk for real estate company Ivanhoé Cambridge.

Both Pontbriand and Chapdelaine previously served as president of the RIMS Quebec chapter, both are from Montreal originally and both attended College Maisonneuve.

The RIMS Canada 2015 conference program committee “has confirmed a number of high-profile, plenary and keynote speakers that have taken risks and ‘dared to go beyond,'” says Chapdelaine.

One of those speakers is Canadian cyclist Louis Garneau, founder of cycling clothing and equipment retailer Louis Garneau Sports Inc.

Another is Suzuki, a former zoology and genetics professor, as well as the long-time host of The Nature of Things.

RIMS Canada’s organizing committee chose the Panorama theme for the conference because it “wanted to convey the objective of the conference: to provide a broad and challenging perspective on the issues which are important to risk managers,” Chapdelaine reports. “We are focusing on some emerging areas like cyber liability and on new trends and developments and in traditional areas of interest like (directors’ and officers’) liability,” she says. 

GETTING STARTED

Pontbriand, currently director, expertise in operational risk at DGIG in Levis, Quebec, began his career in 1975 as a commercial underwriter for Belair. DGIG provides home and auto insurance in Ontario, Alberta and Quebec, as well as writes commercial insurance – including property, liability, business interruption and equipment breakdown – in Quebec.

At DGIG, Pontbriand says he deals with operational risks specific to the financial industry, including internal fraud, dissemination of confidential information, software and hardware failure, problems with computers and telecommunications systems, phishing and the cloning of cards. In addition, he notes that he also deals with risks to property such as armed robbery and fire.

Property risk is certainly something that Chapdelaine can relate to as part of her work duties. Since 2006, she has been chief of risk and insurance for Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which owns about $40 billion worth of property.

Ivanhoé Cambridge has stakes in several shopping centres, including the Metropolis and Metrotown near Vancouver, Galeries D’Anjou near Montreal and Vaughan Mills north of Toronto. Office buildings in which Ivanhoé Cambridge has a stake include Place Ville Marie in Montreal, Eighth Avenue Place in Calgary and Bentall Centre in Vancouver, as well as several properties outside of Canada, including 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York City.

“Being in the real estate business, mainly commercial/retail, the main and first risk is still protecting our brick and mortar,” says Chapdelaine, who has been with the company since 2001.

She served as co-ordinator of insurance and risk management from 2001 until assuming her current position in 2006, where her responsibilities include establishing insurance risk transfer tools for the construction and development of real estate projects.

Chapdelaine’s past work experience includes officer, insurance and risk management at Canada Post from 1995 through 2001. At Canada Post, she was responsible for managing all insurance-related claims and liaising with the legal department on non-insured claims. 

VALUE OF EDUCATION

Chapdelaine, who holds the Canadian Risk Management (CRM) and Certified Insurance Professional (CIP) designations, has been a delegate at RIMS conferences in both the United States and in Canada since 1996.

“Almost as soon as I started my career in risk management, my manager was adamant that I join my local chapter” of RIMS, she says.

Chapdelaine has held “almost all the positions” – including president – of Quebec’s RIMS chapter, Association des Gestionnaires de Risques et d’Assurance du Québec (AGRAQ).

Pontbriand, for his part, has a certificate in prevention and protection from Insurers Advisory Organization of Canada and has been involved with RIMS since 2006. He served as AGRAQ’s vice president from 2010-2012 and as president from 2012-2014.

In addition, he has been the Quebec Chapter representative on the RIMS Canada Council since 2010.

By getting involved with RIMS, Pontbriand’s aim was “to be part of a team whose mission is to provide to its members and the community of risk management and insurance, a global environment of training and meetings between different professionals working in the field of risk management.”

After working for Belair from 1975 to 1976, Pontbriand spent a dozen years working for Continental Insurance Company and Phoenix-Continental Insurance Inc. Joining DGIG in 1988, he held various positions in operational and risk management.

“Our colleagues think we are very specialized and know everything about this sad and boring field called ‘insurance,'” Chapdelaine quips. “To the contrary, I see myself as a generalist that needs to be aware of and understand the organization’s overall challenges,” she says of the risk management profession.

“This is the reason why I like it,” she adds.

This September, RIMS Canada promises that its conference will be “diverse and challenging with a pan-Canadian perspective on multiple issues,” she says.

“With Quebec City as the venue, the choice of Panorama was a perfect fit. What better place is there to gain perspective and broaden your horizons than the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage site of Quebec City?”