2014 RIMS Canada Conference Explores the “Crossroads” of Risk & Opportunity

                              WINNIPEG, MB  – More than just mitigating risks, risk professionals are now being asked to address increasingly complex risks and leverage them into valuable opportunities for their organizations.  This crossroad – where risk intersects with opportunity – is the focus of the 2014 RIMS Canada Conference scheduled for September 14 – 17, 2014 at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.   The four-day conference, themed Crossroads 2014: Changing Landscapes, offers an engaging educational program, networking opportunities and keynote remarks from five plenary speakers:  

• • Amanda Lang, senior business correspondent, CBC News and host of The Exchange;
  • Eric Noël, initiator of the Canada Towards 2030 Project and senior vice president, North America of Oxford Analytica;
  • Chris Mathers, crime and risk expert;
  • Diane Francis, American-Canadian award-winning columnist, bestselling author, Editor-at-Large at the National Post and Professor at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management;
  • Bob Gray, renowned memory expert.

  In its 40^th year, RIMS Canada Conference attracts more than 1,000 risk and insurance professionals at all experience levels, business executives with risk management interests, brokers, insurers and service providers for the ultimate educational and networking experience. Conference educational offerings will feature more than 25 concurrent sessions on topics ranging from enterprise risk management and cyber risks, to property, business continuity and social media risks.   “We are more than insurance buyers.  The role of the risk professional has expanded and we’re now recognized as trusted business partners whose input contributes to the overall success of the organization,” said Bev Duthoit, Conference Co-Chair and Director, Corporate Insurance & Claims at Manitoba Telecom Services, Inc.  “The country’s most accomplished risk management leaders will gather at the RIMS Canada Conference to share their experiences and empower all attendees to advance their organizations’ risk programs.”   Valerie Barber, Conference Co-Chair and Manager, Agency Claims & Loss Prevention for the Province of Manitoba said, “Many times the greatest risk management lessons we can learn come from outside of the industry.  With that in mind, we have assembled a stellar line-up of plenary speakers that will open eyes to innovative business strategies that could directly impact the way we manage and leverage risk.”   Featured keynoters include:   AMANDA LANG – Monday, September 15^th at 9:30 a.m. As the co-host of CBC TV’s The Exchange, and a senior business correspondent for CBC’s The National, Amanda Lang has a front-row seat to the world’s daily top stories in business, politics, and economics.   Before joining CBC, Lang was part of the team that launched BNN in 1999, and, shortly thereafter, moved to CNN as a reporter and anchor. She returned to Canada in 2002 to rejoin BNN and CTV, before moving to the CBC.   Lang is author of the bestseller, The Power of Why: Simple Questions That Lead to Success, a book that shows readers how to reignite curiosity at any age to become more innovative and productive.   ERIC NOËL – Monday, September 15^th at 11:15 a.m. Eric Noël is Senior Vice President – North America, at Oxford Analytica, a firm he joined in 1993. Eric is also the initiator of the Canada Towards 2030 Project.

At our event, he will present research on trends and risks from the Canada Towards 2030 Project, an apolitical, independent and non-prescriptive initiative dedicated to creating and sharing long term research and thinking about Canada’s future. (www.canada2030.ca)   Oxford Analytica is a leading global analysis and advisory firm which draws on a worldwide network of experts to explain and to anticipate events and trends at the nexus of politics and economics, state and business. The firm publishes the Oxford Analytica Daily Brief and the Global Risks Monitor, as well as delivers customized reports and monitors on emerging risks and opportunities. In January 2014, Oxford Analytica was ranked 6th best private think tank in the “Global Go to Think Tank Index” published by the University of Pennsylvania. (www.oxan.com)    CHRIS MATHERS – Tuesday, September 16^th at 8:30 a.m. In his extraordinary talks, Mathers takes audiences into the underworld that only he can describe, letting people in on the stunning stories and secrets harboured by terrorists and those involved in organized crime.   In 1995, Mathers joined the Forensic division of the interna­tional accounting firm, KPMG. In 1999, he was appointed to the position of President of KPMG Corporate Intelligence Inc. where he was responsible for international due diligence, asset recovery operations, and the investigation and prevention of organized crime and money laundering.   Touching on issues from security, hiring decisions and back­ground checks to money laundering schemes, corporate fraud, bribery, blackmail, extortion and more; Chris offers wise in­sights on human character and organizational culture that can help you to spot and avoid the perils of white collar crime. Chris is a unique, humorous, and fascinating speaker.   He is also the author of the bestselling book, Crime School: Money Laundering.   DIANE FRANCIS – Wednesday, September 17^th at 9:00 a.m. Diane Francis is an American-Canadian award-winning columnist, bestselling author, journalist, broadcaster and entrepreneur. She is the Editor-at-Large at the National Post, a blogger with Huffington Post and a Distinguished Professor at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management. She is an expert on geopolitics, business and white collar crime. Her direct and forceful writing and speaking style make her a sought-after speaker and columnist who can describe the personalities, trends and geopolitics that affect companies, individuals, governments and societies around the world.   Diane has written ten books on white collar crime, politics, immigration, economics and finance, including the bestseller, Who Owns Canada Now: Old Money, New Money and the Future of Canadian Business. Her 10th book, also an e-book in all formats, is Merger of the Century: Why Canada and America Should Become One Country was published worldwide by Harper Collins Canada and Harper 360 on October 1, 2013. Diane has blogged for The Huffington Post since 2007, is a seasoned television and radio guest/commentator and has been a columnist for Maclean’s Magazine, The Toronto Star, New York Sun, the National/Financial Post and Toronto Sun Newspapers. She was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University’s Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy and has been a Media Fellow and participant at the World Economic Forum in Davos for 20 years. In 2013, she was a media advisor at Silicon Valley’s Singularity University in Mountain View, California.   BOB GRAY – Wednesday, September 17 at 10:15 a.m. Traveling and entertaining under the stage name of ‘Backwards Bob the Memory Man,’ Bob Gray demonstrated the unique abilities that have netted him a place in the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ and a recent appearance on ‘Ripley’s Believe It Or Not?’   He has travelled throughout North America, appearing in comedy clubs, colleges and universities, where he demonstrated his unique abilities in front of tens of thousands of people. Soon, however, he decided to take a break from the road and entered the business world. Starting in the fitness industry, he quickly found that by adapting the memory techniques he had been studying and developing over the years, he was able to move ahead in his career faster than he or anyone else had expected. From never losing track of detailed information, to remembering everything about his many clients, including not only their names and occupations, but also the names of their family members, their birthdays, hobbies and fitness goals, he got the job done with confidence and ease. Along with making a lot of new friends, Bob saw the sales retention of his company increase by 13% in the first year alone.   A recognized authority on memory systems, Bob has spent the last twenty years traveling the globe entertaining and training corporations, governments and associations to adapt memory systems for their particular needs. He has developed a series of sales oriented personal development keynotes and workshops, which have been popular on four continents, as well as writing the best-selling book “Right Brain Rapid Recall”.     More information on 2014 RIMS Canada Conference: Crossroads is available online at www.RIMSCanadaConference.ca.                 About RIMS Canada Council The RIMS Canada Council (RCC) is a standing committee of the Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS).  The RCC addresses the strategic initiatives of RIMS and risk management issues in Canada. For more information on RIMS, visit www.RIMSCanada.ca.

 

About RIMS

As the preeminent organization dedicated to advancing the practice of risk management, RIMS, the Risk Management Society™, is a global not-for-profit organization representing more than 3,500 industrial, service, nonprofit, charitable and government entities throughout the world. Founded in 1950, RIMS brings networking, professional development and education opportunities to its membership of more than 11,000 risk management professionals located in more than 60 countries. For more information on RIMS, visit www.RIMS.org.