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Apr 02, 2012

Timesaver's guide to RIMS conference

RIMS Conference takes place April 15–18 in Philadelphia.

The Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) will hold its 50th Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia on April 15–18, and the 10,000 risk and insurance professionals expected to attend should prepare themselves for presentations, special events and business opportunities worthy of a once-in-a-lifetime ‘golden anniversary’ event.

Business and educational sessions are designed to satisfy all attendees, from beginners to seasoned veterans, and the jam-packed exhibition hall offers opportunities to network with like-minded individuals and cut deals with industry leaders.

The venue

The Pennsylvania Convention Center is located at 1101 Arch Street in Philadelphia. The massive facility has an exhibition hall with enough space to comfortably hold over 400 exhibitors and meeting space to handle the more than 120 educational sessions that will take place over the four-day event.

There are three headquarter hotels for the RIMS Conference: the Loews Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown and the Sheraton Philadelphia (formerly City Center). There will be a complimentary shuttle bus service from the host hotels to the Convention Center.

Who’s who

Insurance professionals of all types, business executives with risk management interests, brokers, insurers and risk management service providers attend the RIMS conference for educational value and networking opportunities.

Oakland A’s general manager, Billy Beane, will be the General Session keynote speaker on April 16. Beane’s unorthodox strategic methodology has opened the eyes of many sports executives and CEOs; they are now looking at ways to adapt his ‘Moneyball’ strategy, which has become the subject of a bestselling book and a major motion picture.

Walter Issacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, will be the keynote speaker for the Leadership Luncheon on April 18. Issacson recently published the authorized biography of the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs, and will share important lessons from Jobs’ contributions to the world.

Hot topics

A huge range of interesting and controversial topics will be discussed at the conference. Sure to be among the most-attended sessions will be ‘Backward and forward: legal issues and cases to watch from 2011 that will impact the future’, on April 16; ‘Outsourcing business processes without insourcing unexpected risk’, on April 17; and ‘Managing social media risk’, on April 18.

When it comes to events, the opening reception, ‘50 years of making connections’, on April 15 at Philadelphia’s Please Touch Museum, is a can’t-miss celebration.

The RIMS Awards Luncheon on April 16 will recognize the achievements of professionals who have dedicated themselves to the future of risk management. And be sure to attend the Networking Pub Crawl on April 17 and the Battle of the Bands on April 18, where networking, food and drinks can be had by all.

Expert connections

In addition to the skills development aspects of the conference, professionals should attend for the opportunity to establish career-enhancing contacts. At the Former Presidents’ Roundtable on April 17, five former RIMS presidents will debate some of the biggest risk management challenges of today. Gaining their perspectives on rising insurance rates and the impact of risk management in the current poor economic climate will be invaluable.