Peter den Dekker, President of FERMA

A record number of 1521 risk professionals, including 436 individual risk managers, are taking part in the 2011 Risk Management Forum of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) in Stockholm, which opened this morning (Mon) and will continue through Wednesday. This is the first time FERMA, which is the largest European organisation of risk and insurance managers, has hosted an event in Scandinavia.

Formally launching the Forum, the President of FERMA, Peter den Dekker, said that the large number of risk managers and service providers taking part in the event was an acknowledgement of FERMA’s increasing strength as the voice for risk managers throughout Europe. With the acceptance of Malta and Slovenia into membership just before the Forum, FERMA now has members in 19 European countries and represents over 4,000 individual risk and insurance managers.

He said: “We have a record attendance of risk managers and of other risk professionals here in Stockholm. What is more each of the national association meetings I’ve attended this year has also had record or very high attendance. I think the financial crisis and the spotlight it put on risk management have heightened our members’ awareness of the value of working together and letting other people know more about what we do.”

Julia Graham Vice-President of FERMA

FERMA Vice President Julia Graham commented: “Some of the best solutions I’ve implemented have come from connections I’ve made and knowledge I’ve gained from attending the FERMA Forum and events like it. Our business lives are so busy these days that having the space to look and listen in one location at a European level is precious.”

Over the two years since the last Forum, FERMA has been very active in representing the interests of its members, and it is increasingly working with other European and international organisations, such as the European Confederation of Institutes of Internal Auditing (ECIIA).

Said den Dekker: “We can draw two lessons from this:
• One is that by working with these organisations we increase the influence that FERMA has in representing its members with the European Commission and other bodies, and
• Two, it demonstrates that FERMA had increased its standing as the voice of European risk managers, and this will grow as we accept new members.”