The RIMS 2014 Annual Conference andExhibition, held in Los Angeles on April 21-24, brought togetherthe world's top risk management professionals. Keynote speakerSimon Sinek, author and leadership expert, addressed the GeneralSession with a speech in which he utilized aspects of human biologyto illustrate what motivates people to do great work. Additionally,he emphasized the importance of promoting work-life balance andbuilding quality professional relationships, noting that “Yourbusiness is not like a family. It is a family.”

Mario Vitale, CEO of Aspen Insurance:

“Six weeks ago, it seemed to me there wasn't a lot of support”in Washington for renewal of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. Now,he adds, the Boston Marathon bombings “have brought the TRIA debateback to the forefront. We want to discuss [its renewal] now, notwhen we're getting close to the deadline.”

Joe Vasquez, Division President, ACE USA Accident &Health:

“The nature of travel risk is changing becausethe world is changing. Everyone used to think war was clearlydefined: there were certain borders and fighting happened withinthem. Now, because of roadside bombs and other extremist actions, awar zone could appear in an area that was considered safe two daysbefore.”

Al Gorski, Chief Risk Officer, Orange CountyTransportation Authority: “Risk management can be an artform. It's about expertly using the professional tools that you'velearned and developed to achieve a vision of what an organizationcan be, and to keep it safe. You have to put your own creativestamp on it.”

John Q. Doyle, Executive Vice President, AIG/CEO ofGlobal Commercial Insurance, AIG Property Casualty: “Ifully expect prices to increase” on catastrophe-exposed property,particularly on the East Coast, post-Sandy. “But there's anopportunity there to get smarter about terms and conditions, and toinvest in better risk-selection tools.”

Shawn Ram, Managing Director, National TechnologyPractice Leader, Aon Risk Solutions: “There have beenvirtually no good studies of cyber attacks besides those publishedby the Ponemon Institute and by Verizon. There are opportunitiesfor us to decide from experience, however, whether the governmentcan or can't be a neutral party when it comes to preventing cyberattacks on companies, or if it's purely a Risk Manager's role tomitigate that.”