Value Of Education Underscores Spencer Gala

NU Online News Service, Sept. 14, 3:53 p.m. EDT

NEW YORK--Speakers remembered industry legend, Robert Clements, and discussed the value education brings to a business world constantly challenged by change during last night's Spencer Educational Foundation Gala.

Two executives were honored during the annual education fund raiser--Stephen P. McGill, chairman and chief executive officer of Aon Risk Solutions, and Shivan S. Subramaniam, chairman and CEO of FM Global.

Mr. McGill spoke about the profound changes the industry has gone through within the last 10 years, from 9/11 and the loss of over 500 insurance colleagues through the prosecutions by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. He said Mr. Spitzer "sought to discredit an industry" but failed, only to proceed to discredit himself "and succeeded."

Alluding to the recent economic crisis, he said: "When you look at how we have come through as an industry, it has been incredible. And we look out to the future, and for us, a bright future."

Leadership, education, and innovation are central to continuing success, he noted, and a leader in innovation was Robert Clements--the founder of Arch Capital, Integro, and Ironshore, who recently passed away.

"The impact he made was profound," Mr. McGill said of Mr. Clements, who helped to lead the formation of the Bermuda insurance market.

Mr. Subramaniam underscored the importance of education, noting that he comes from a culture that puts a high value on education. While many things can be taken away from you, education is the one thing that can not be taken from you, he said.

With the complexity and changes that are taking place today, it is essential that those coming into the industry today have the educational background to meet future challenges, he said.

He said future graduates will come "head to head with much greater professional hurdles than many of us in this room had to deal with when we started our careers."

He joked that today, if he and Mr. McGill were starting out again today, they probably would not be hired.

The complexity of risk management today demands an educated workforce, he noted, adding that without able executives, the industry could not be the tool that lubricates the economic growth of today.

He said the only way companies can grow today is with effective risk management within their organizations. However, there is a gap, and that is how well the industry manages risk.

"It is no longer possible to focus on one piece of the risk management pie," said Mr. Subramaniam.

The Spencer Foundation, founded in 1979 in honor of Robert S. Spencer, former Risk and Insurance Management Society president and vice president for Fuqua Industries, Inc., provides scholarships and educational support to college and graduate students in the risk management field.