Airmic Excellence Awards – winners announced!

Eight outstanding individuals and teams were celebrated at the Airmic Excellence Awards in Park Lane this month.

Rounding off the year in style, 800 people from the risk and insurance profession came together at the Hilton Hotel for an evening of networking and celebration – and the chance to recognise the depth and breadth of talent in the industry.

The Dinner and Awards were hosted by Airmic chair, Richard Hoult, with special guest comedian Rory Bremner bringing delight and laughter to the evening with his much-loved impressions and political satire.

The award categories and winners were:

Managing Insurance Claims as a Strategic Enabler:

This award celebrates outstanding performance in loss and claims management through taking claims from an operational practice to a strategic asset.

WINNER: Tesco Insurable Risk Claims Team

Risk Management Fundamentals (RMF) Course Achievement:

This double award goes to individuals whose performance in this ground-breaking Airmic course recflects their commitment to professional development with a strong grasp of risk management concepts and their practical application.

WINNER (Partner): Emma Kitson, Client Management, Graduate Trainee, Sompo

WINNER (Member): Shelene Baker-Lee, Manager, Insurable Risk, Centrica 

Navigating Uncertainty Through Excellence in Resilience:

This award recognises exceptional performance in applying the principles of resilience in support of organisational competitiveness and sustainability.

WINNER: Vodafone Global Crisis & Business Continuity Team

Risk Management Leader:

This award honours a professional who has the attention of their board and exhibited outstanding leadership at a strategic level. They practise dynamic risk management, supporting real-time informed decision making, and demonstrating commitment to continuous improvement.

WINNER: Scott Whaley, Senior Risk and Insurance Manager, Convatec 

Emerging Talent:

This award goes to a professional who has been working in the profession for less than 10 years. In that time, they have demonstrated exceptional potential through their excellence in professional performance with a commitment to shaping the future of the profession.

WINNER: Kym Smith, Head of Risk, Governance and Assurance, Macmillan Cancer Support 

Honorary Awards

The first honorary award of the night went to Airmic’s captive ambassador, Richard Cutcher, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the insurance industry and in particular his dedication to the advancement of captive insurance.

There were two Honorary Vice President awards, in recognition of outstanding service to Airmic. These went to:

Andrew Cornish: Past Airmic board member and Airmic chair. Cornish was chair in 2005-06 and was a true visionary. He played a key role in building Airmic’s relationships with the wider market including its official partnership structure with brokers and insurers – a major milestone in Airmic’s history. What he said then was remarkably consistent with what Airmic stands for today.

John Ludlow: Past Airmic board member and Airmic CEO. Ludlow was personally responsible for much of Airmic’s thought leadership on the subject of resilience, including the highly regarded Roads to Resilience. He became CEO in 2017, positioning Airmic for the future while leading it successfully through the early response and recovery of the Covid pandemic.  

Hoult said the Awards were the perfect way to round off a remarkable year: “My congratulations to all our very worthy winners. It’s been a year of change and variety – the world looks very different in December than it did in January, just a few months ago. But it’s also been a year in which our risk community has never been more important or visible at the decision-making table.”

“I’m therefore delighted we are ending the year on a high – recognising the individuals and teams that play a vital role in building the resilience and strength of UK businesses.”