“Paul is truly a thought leader” – Airmic says thank you to Hopkin

Paul Hopkin, Airmic’s technical director, will be leaving the association on 8 April. During his nine years in the role, Hopkin has driven an ever-more demanding technical programme and played a central role in Airmic’s growing reputation for thought leadership. Known for his sense of humour, mistrust of captives and his dedication to the risk profession, he will be very much missed. Airmic’s chief executive and the chairs of the risk and insurance steering groups pay tribute to his work at Airmic.

John Hurrell, Airmic CEO

“I shall be very sorry to see Paul leaving Airmic – he has played a critical role in helping us to develop the market-leading research and technical programme over the last few years.

“When Paul joined Airmic in 2007, he was initially appointed on a temporary basis to help Airmic assess the viability of a full-time technical resource. He proved the case very quickly and we now have a technical agenda of around 25 projects run by a team of three outstanding professionals. 

“Paul has many successes under his Airmic belt, but he will perhaps be best remembered for the delivery of our ground-breaking ‘Roads’ research: Roads to Ruin and Roads to Resilience. These are highly-influential studies which are used throughout the risk community.

“Over recent years, other key milestones included the global compliance database developed with Axco, the Insurance Efficacy Guide, the Claims Best Practice Guide and a wide range of member guides and research studies. 

“Paul is truly a thought leader in our business and I’m very pleased that he will be continuing to play a role in our profession beyond Airmic.”

Chris McGloin, chair of Airmic’s insurance steering group and former chair of Airmic

"I first met Paul when he and I were working at Sedgwick in the 1980s. In those days he was part of a risk management consulting team and brought a strong considered professional approach to everything he did. Fast forward a few years and he has added a wealth of additional experiences as risk manager for major businesses.

“He was ideally suited by skills, experience and temperament to be the man to shape and execute the role of inaugural technical director for Airmic.

“I have worked closely with Paul for the last eight years and have seen first-hand how he has been instrumental in raising the bar for Airmic, for risk managers, for risk management and for insurers.  

“His suspicion about captives is offset by his delight in forging daring acronyms! Crucially Paul is undaunted by any issue and has tackled FRC reporting, ERM practices, Insurance Efficacy, Supply Chain, Cyber Risk and Claims Practices with equal vigour.

“Paul leaves Airmic as a strong, vibrant organisation and we are indebted to the role he has played in achieving this."

John Ludlow, chair of Airmic’s risk management steering group, and junior deputy chair of Airmic

“Paul has given so very much to Airmic over the years in terms of professionalism, experience and technical knowledge. 

“A whole generation of risk managers have and will continue to benefit from his legacy for years to come. 

“He has also contributed greatly to making Airmic such a very friendly, hospitable and approachable association, making working with the team easy, fun and rewarding. 

“Thank you Paul!”

Paul Hopkin