Alexander Mahnke wins European Risk Manager of the Year

He took the leading prize at a gala dinner in Brussels in front of colleagues from the world of risk management and transfer, on a night when winners of the other excellence in risk management categories were announced by Ferma and Commercial Risk Europe. During a ceremony at the Docks Dome, prizes were also handed out for excellence in customer services, as well for Insurer Rising Star, Broker Rising Star, Insurer Leader of the Year and Broker Leader of the Year. Mr Mahnke beat off stiff competition from Russian Mikhail Fedorov, director of risk and internal control at Eurasian Resources Group, and Frenchman Philippe Cotelle, head of Airbus Defence and Space Insurance Risk Management. It is the second year in a row that a GVNW member has scooped Risk Manager of the Year, with Eberhard Faller, senior vice-president of central insurances at BASF, winning in 2017. The impressive Mr Mahnke received his prize from Chris Fischer Hirs, CEO of category and of the awards’ headline sponsor Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS). Mr Mahnke has created what is believed to be a unique insurance structure for his firm, following its recent change to a decentralised corporate structure with independent divisions and a central holding. The radical new system provides each division with individualised insurance cover and market-based premiums, reflecting the conditions they would receive individually from the insurance market. The judges felt that Mr Mahnke demonstrated excellent professionalism in identifying and implementing the new corporate insurance strategy, as well as dedication to his profession through constant commitment to the GVNW. “There is not one risk manager of the year. There is a whole team that works alongside me. This award is for the team, and also for a company that gives me the freedom so we can achieve what we need to,” said Mr Mahnke. Rising Star of the Year was won by Danielle Wishart, senior business assurance manager at ASOS. A member of UK risk and insurance management association Airmic, she was congratulated on stage by Philippe Gouraud, head of strategic client and broker management at category sponsor AXA XL. Ms Wishart was commended for demonstrating a wide range of technical and interpersonal skills, while showing determination to continually improve her risk management repertoire and education. She was chosen from a shortlist that included Gerjan Delhaas, corporate insurance manager at Unilever and member of Netherlands association Narim, and Sevgin Zorlucan Eke, risk and control senior manager at Assan Aluminyum from Turkish association Erma. The depth of talent in this category clearly bodes well for the future of the risk management community in Europe. AMRAE’s Mr Cotelle was also a finalist in the Innovative Insurance Programme of the Year category and took the prize home from Helene Westerlind, global head of international programmes, commercial insurance, at award sponsor Zurich Insurance. Mr Cotelle is regarded as an international expert supporting the risk manager community in France and across Europe, not least on cyber, sharing his unique insights and experiences. The judges felt he consistently demonstrated an innovative approach to key risks, becoming a pioneer and campaigner for improved cross-industry communication and best practice on digital threats. Mr Cotelle pipped George Ong, head of corporate governance and chief risk officer at Northern Ireland Water, to the prize. But the Airmic member was soon on stage to receive the new Emerging Risk Initiative of the Year award. Mr Ong was greeted by award sponsor Thomas Lienert, regional director – business development NORCEE, at MAXIS GBN. The shortlist for this award also consisted of Alex Hindson, chief risk officer at Argo Global and Airmic member, and Erma member Gulsum Erbil, risk manager at Petkim Petrochemical Complex. Mr Ong oversaw the implementation of an integrated risk and resilience framework to manage threats and maximise opportunities from both internal and external factors. As a result, his organisation and employees are now able to work with business partners to build resilience to current and future exposures. The final award in the excellence in risk management category was Risk Manager Lifetime Achievement. The winner was Narim’s Annemarie Schouw, manager of risk and insurance at TATA Steel. She collected her prize from AIG’s head of client engagement Charlie Kitson. The other finalists in this category were Carl Leeman, chief risk officer at Katoen Natie and member of Belgium risk management association Belrim, and Ignacio Martinez de Baroja, risk manager at HISPASAT, from Spanish association Agers. The judges felt this was a particularly difficult category in which to choose a winner, because there were so many worthy candidates. However, it was noted that Ms Schouw’s continuous commitment to the insurance and risk management community, as well as the pioneering achievements during her career and at Dutch risk management association Narim, merited the recognition. The president of Ferma, Jo Willaert, congratulated the winners, saying: “The awards that we are presenting tonight are an acknowledgement of excellence in our own organisations, our community and the wider world, based on learning and communication. For me, the three themes I chose for my term as Ferma president – education, communication and leadership – form the basis for such excellence.” The European Risk Management Awards, now in their third year, aim to promote best practice within the risk management community. This year’s programme – sponsored by AGCS, AIG, Chubb, MAXIS GBN, AXA XL and Zurich – attracted enormous interest. The winners were chosen by our judging panel of prominent members from European risk management associations, and we once again thank them for their time and effort. The awards also aim to reward and promote best practice among those companies that serve the risk and insurance management community. The gala dinner also therefore saw a host of winners announced in customer service categories. Captive Management Solution of the Year was won by AGCS for delivering the first prototype to use blockchain for a captive insurance programme. The company’s Hisa Judice, Scott Beckmeyer, Guglielmo Maggini and Hartmut Mai collected the prize. Swiss Re Corporate Solutions scooped Insurer Innovation of the Year for creating a parametric solution to cover a retailer's revenue losses from earthquakes – whether caused by physical damage or not. Loredana Mazzoleni Neglén, managing director and head of sales at the company, took to the stage to accept the award. Broker Innovation of the Year winner was JLT, with the firm’s Matt Grimwade, senior partner, collecting the prize. JLT won for a revolutionary approach linking supply chain analytics to an innovative insurance solution for the automotive sector. The next winner was AXA XL, for Emerging Risk Solution of the Year. Richard Jinks, head of portfolio solutions, collected the award. The firm won for developing an innovative risk and insurance programme for the trial of autonomous cargo vehicles at London Heathrow Airport. Global Programme of the Year winner was Zurich Insurance, collected by Bonnie Jones, the company’s senior manager, learning and development international programmes. Zurich was rewarded for creating the world’s first training programme that provides a clear, structured, innovative approach to unlocking the key complexities of international insurance programmes. AGCS won Technology Innovation of the Year for developing a tool that combines existing knowhow and expertise to digitalise business interruption risk assessment. AGCS’s Ralf Dumke, Bruno Spicher, Isabelle Güttinger and Mr Mai picked up the prize. The level of entries for this particular category shows us that while the insurance market is regularly criticised for failing to come up with what customers really want or investing in key areas, there are genuine pockets of real progress. The final excellence in customer services award was Claims Innovation of the Year, won by AXA Global Parametrics and collected by the unit’s marketing and development manager Karina Whalley. By leveraging cutting-edge data science technologies and more than 40 different data parameters, the company has enhanced common practices and improved clients’ business processes by simplifying the insurance underwriting process and significantly speeding up claims payment. The final group of awards recognised individual excellence at service providers, and included two new rising star categories. Insurer Rising Star of the Year was Charlie Lawson of Hiscox. Broker Rising Star of the Year was won by Willis Towers Watson’s Emma Green. She collected the award from Ron Verhulsdonck, country president of Benelux at category sponsor Chubb. Insurer Leader of the Year was Brian Duperreault, president and CEO of AIG. The last winner on the hugely successful evening was José Manuel Fonseca for Broker Leader of the Year. The former CEO and soon-to-be chairman of Brokerslink received his prize from Mr Kitson, of category sponsor AIG. For more information about the awards, please go to: www.commercialriskonline.com/awards/awards2018

Alexander Mahnke wins European Risk Manager of the Year

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