FERMA Names New Leaders

Marie-Gemma Dequae, president of the Belgian risk management association BELRIM from June 1994 until June 2005, has been named as the next president of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA). She will begin a two-year term at the head of the growing organization at its biennial conference, the FERMA Forum, in October.

Lars Henrik Andersen, president of the Danish risk management association DARIM, will become vice-president.

Dequae will take over as president of FERMA from Thierry van Santen who has held the post for four years. Unanimously approving the new appointments, the board of FERMA expressed its gratitude for the leadership of van Santen who had agreed to extend his original two year mandate in 2003.

Dequae commented: “To succeed Thierry van Santen after his four years of presidency is not easy. He built the extension of FERMA members and contacted the new European countries and Russia, and he was successful in increasing contacts with the European Commission, the Comité Européen des Assurances (CEA) and other European associations.

“It remains important to further explore and build this European platform, so that one of my goals is to further extend risk management and communication into all the countries, including the eastern members of the European Community, together with building partnerships with the European authorities. Most of all, I will first listen to what the local associations expect from FERMA.”

Van Santen leaves on an upbeat note. The organization, which is somewhat like a RIMS for countries, expanded from 8 to its current 12 members under his leadership. “I think that we must be proud of FERMA and proud to what has been accomplished thanks to the support and dedication from the number of volunteers who have dedicated time and efforts, taking their professional but more often family time, to promote risk management and FERMA throughout Europe and the world,” Van Santen stated.

“FERMA’s visibility has increased, and we have developed contacts with other European associations who are considering membership applications. We have also received various requests from individuals in European countries where there is no risk management association and elsewhere who are interested in becoming members of FERMA. This shows clearly that risk management is becoming truly international and that FERMA is the place to be for professional risk managers,” he concluded.