Live From Vancouver! with Maryam Salmasi, Fred H. Bossons Award Winner 2024

Oct 15, 2024

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Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.

In this episode, Justin interviews Maryam Salmasi, the Fred H. Bossons Award Winner for 2024. They discuss Maryam's passion for ERM, her professional training in Iran, and her tips on studying for the CRM exam. She tells how being multilingual helps her in risk management. She reveals what winning the Fred H. Bossons Award 2024 meant to her. Maryam concludes with her hopes and next steps for her risk management career in Canada.

Key Takeaways:

[:01] About RIMS.

[:15] About this episode. We are coming to you live from Vancouver at the RIMS Canada Conference 2024 and are featuring our very special guest, the Fred H. Bossons Award Winner for 2024, Maryam Salmasi.

[:43] The RIMS ERM Conference will be held on November 18th and 19th. Keynote John Hagel recently appeared here on RIMScast. The full agenda is live.

[:53] We will talk about everything from RMIS and AI to D&O, ESG, the SEC, and various other acronyms, in addition to future casting and risk quantification. Register at RIMS.org/ERM2024.

[1:05] RIMS-CRMP holders can earn recertification points by attending the RIMS ERM Conference 2024! For those interested in studying for the exam, a pre-conference workshop will be held on-site on November 16th and 17th. Register now; a link is on this page!

[1:28] The next RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep will be held with Purima virtually on November 14th and 15th.

[1:36] The next RIMS-CRMP-FED Exam Course will be hosted along with George Mason University from December 3rd through the 5th. Links to these courses can be found on the Certifications page of RIMS.org and through this episode's show notes.

[1:51] RIMS Virtual Workshops! Elise Farnham of Illumine Consulting recently joined us here on RIMScast. On December 4th and 5th, she will host Applying and Integrating ERM. Other dates for the Fall and Winter are available on the Virtual Workshops calendar, RIMS.org/virtualworkshops.

[2:16] Interview! This episode is recorded live on-site at the RIMS Canada Conference 2024 in Vancouver. It's a beautiful city and everyone is having a fantastic time!

[2:29] The RIMS Canada Council and Planning Committee outdoes themselves every year with the networking opportunities and educational offerings! One of the highlights of the RIMS Canada Conference was the Fred H. Bossons Award.

[2:42] The Fred H. Bossons Award honors the risk management professional who earns the highest average mark on the three examinations required to attain the Canadian Risk Management designation (CRM). This year's winner is ERM consultant Maryam Salmasi.

[2:56] Maryam has such a fantastic story and unique background. I wanted to capture her perspective and share it all with the RIMScast audience!

[3:03] We're going to learn about what it was like for her to be an emerging risk professional in Iran, what her experience has been here in Vancouver, and what it took for her to study for, pass, and eventually make the grade!

[3:18] Maryam Salmasi, this year's winner of the Fred H. Bossons Award, welcome to RIMScast!

[3:58] Maryam is an enterprise risk management consultant at Stage Meta in Canada. She is also working with the Burnaby Board of Trade in Vancouver, with incredible people.

[4:20] Maryam has been in ERM for about eight years. Risk management helps control uncertainty. Maryam is passionate about helping businesses to grow and make the best of themselves.

[4:39] Maryam chose to concentrate on risk management to help businesses understand their risks and address them, mitigate them, and have better paths for growth.

[5:06] Maryam started her career in Iran. She is a newcomer to Canada. In Iran, she worked as a risk manager for an insurance company, insurance agencies, and a brokerage.

[5:31] Maryam worked in the insurance industry for about 19 years, in underwriting, claims, and customer-facing roles for about three years. She worked in organizational development, ERM, organizational excellence, quality, and process management, as a manager and specialist.

[6:13] Maryam was also involved in designing new insurance products and executing actuarial calculations, package design, and insurance acquisitions.

[6:43] Maryam says that organizations share similarities in all the world. They each have structure, risk strategies, and financial, operational, and hazard risks. The environments are different but the concepts are the same.

[7:19] Maryam says that in Iran, more than 50% of insurance industry employees are women who work hard and thrive in different positions but not many of them are managers or directors.

[8:16] Maryam was part of a supportive risk management networking group that was mostly women.

[8:48] Plug Time! RIMS Webinars! On October 17th, Resolver will discuss The Future of Risk & Compliance: 5 Key Insights for the Modern Leader.

[9:00] On October 24th, Hub International returns for the fourth installment of their Ready for Tomorrow series, From AI to the SEC: The Future of D&O Litigation and Regulatory Exposures.

[9:13] On October 31st, TÜV SÜD GRC discusses Mastering Property Renewals: Strategies for Success in 2025 with Risk Engineering. On November 4th, I will be hosting a special RIMS Webinar presentation, Lessons from Veterans on Strategic Risk Leadership.

[9:43] On November 14th, Marsh will present Risk Perception and Management: Insights for a Changing Landscape. More webinars will be announced soon and added to the RIMS.org/webinars page. Go there to register. Registration is complimentary for RIMS members.

[10:02] There is another webinar you should know about. On October 22, 2024 at 1:00 p.m.ET. I will be moderating for my friends at ex judicata If I Leave the Law — A Webcast Series: Landing a Nonlegal Job in Insurance Industry: Risk Management, Brokerage, Claims, & Advisory.

[10:28] Other panelists include leaders from Lockton, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, and our friend from the RIMS Public Policy Committee and the RIMS Detroit Chapter, Lynn Haley Pilarski, who works at GM. [10:45] This is a complimentary webinar and it is a chance for you to invite your friends who are in the legal profession, looking to transition to another role, to check out risk management and see what it's all about. The link is in this episode's notes.

[11:05] Back to My Interview with the 2024 Fred H. Bossons Award Winner, Maryam Salmasi! Maryam studied for the CRM exam online at the Insurance Institute at her own pace while she was searching for a full-time job as she worked as a risk management consultant.

[12:21] Maryam's study method is to take detailed notes and create summaries and summaries of summaries, to review and compare the points. She says there are similar concepts across CRM and risk management materials and her notes help her locate and review concepts.

[12:55] That review gave her a better understanding of the concepts than trying to memorize them. Her notes were very helpful for her.

[13:13] Maryam finished the risk management courses and the examinations in two semesters. In the first semester, she took two exams. In the second semester, she studied for and took the third exam.

[13:53] Maryam was not taking the examinations to win an award but to acquire the CRM certification. When she found out she had won the 2024 Fred H. Bossons Award, at first she was surprised. It's great that someone recognized her passion as she did what she truly enjoyed.

[14:38] Maryam is grateful to be recognized for her passion for risk management and the insurance industry. She enjoyed being on stage and receiving the trophy for the award. It's precious to her.

[15:01] Maryam speaks Persian, English, and some Italian. Knowing English helped Maryam in her risk management career. She also found a few risk books translated into Persian from English. She follows some Italian insurance companies' social media accounts in Italian.

[15:44] Maryam feels that knowing other languages and cultures is like having two or three souls. It's wonderful to know them, but for insurance and risk management, she says that English is the best language.

[16:24] Maryam has found great opportunities to network and meet incredible people with great backgrounds and knowledge of risk management, most of them in the insurance industry, at the RIMS Canada Conference 2024. Maryam is grateful to be there.

[16:52] Maryam's tip for studying for the CRM examinations is to make notes and summaries. You have to pass both Institute courses and exams separately. That's a total of six exams. Once you achieve passing grades in both courses and the exams, you will receive the designation.

[17:29] Maryam scheduled two exams on the same day, which kept her fresh and focused on the material, which she thought was good, although she was tired at the end of the day.

[17:58] Maryam's next step is to learn more and to get the CRMP certification. She is still in search of her ideal long-term position. She hopes this certification will help her to gain more success! Justin believes the Fred H. Bossons Award will elevate Maryam's professional profile.

[18:49] I want to thank you so much! It was such a pleasure to meet you and I feel fortunate to sit down with you the day after you won an award. Congratulations again and I wish you continued success!

[19:07] Special thanks again to 2024 Fred H. Bossons Award winner Maryam Salmasi for joining me here on RIMScast live, in person! We had a great time here at the RIMS Canada Conference 2024 in Vancouver.

[19:20] I look forward to seeing you all at the RIMS Canada Conference 2025 in Calgary, September 14th through the 17th.

[19:27] And special thanks and congratulations to all the members of the RIMS Canada Council, the RIMS Canada Conference Planning Committee, and the RIMS Events staff for producing one of the most memorable RIMS Canada Conferences I've attended. I hope you get some sleep!

[19:46] Register today for the RIMS ERM Conference 2024, to be held November 18th and 19th in Boston, Massachusetts! Visit RIMS.org/ERM2024 to register.

[20:04] More RIMS Plugs! The RIMS App is available to RIMS members exclusively. Go to the App Store and download the RIMS App with all sorts of RIMS resources and coverage. It's different from the RIMS Events App. Everyone loves the RIMS App!

[20:37] You can sponsor a RIMScast episode for this, our weekly show, or a dedicated episode. Links to sponsored episodes are in our show notes. RIMScast has a global audience of risk and insurance professionals, legal professionals, students, business leaders, C-Suite executives, and more. Let's collaborate and help you reach them! Contact pd@rims.org for more information.

[21:19] Become a RIMS member and get access to the tools, thought leadership, and network you need to succeed. Visit RIMS.org/membership or email membershipdept@RIMS.org for more information.

[21:36] Risk Knowledge is the RIMS searchable content library that provides relevant information for today's risk professionals. Materials include RIMS executive reports, survey findings, contributed articles, industry research, benchmarking data, and more.

[21:51] For the best reporting on the profession of risk management, read Risk Management Magazine at RMMagazine.com. It is written and published by the best minds in risk management.

[22:05] Justin Smulison is the Business Content Manager at RIMS. You can email Justin at Content@RIMS.org.

[22:12] Thank you all for your continued support and engagement on social media channels! We appreciate all your kind words. Listen every week! Stay safe!

Mentioned in this Episode:

RIMS ERM Conference 2024 will be in Boston, MA Nov. 18–19 | Register Now

RIMS DEI Council

RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP)

RIMS Strategic & Enterprise Risk Center

NEW FOR MEMBERS! RIMS Mobile App

RIMS Canada News Release: RIMS Ontario Chapter Honours Valerie Fox with the 2024 Donald M. Stuart Award

Follow RIMS Canada on LinkedIn

The Strategic and Enterprise Risk Center

RIMS-CRMP Stories — New interviews featuring Dan Elliott!

The CRM designation provides risk professionals with a foundation of knowledge and skills needed to identify, assess, monitor, and limit risks. The award is recognized by RIMS and awarded by GRMI.

RIMS Webinars:

The Future of Risk & Compliance: 5 Key Insights for the Modern Leader | Sponsored by Resolver | Oct. 17, 2024

"If I Leave the Law – A Webcast Series: Landing a Nonlegal Job in Insurance Industry: Risk Management, Brokerage, Claims, & Advisory" \ Presented by ex judicata | Oct. 22, 2024

From AI to the SEC: The Future of D&O Litigation and Regulatory Exposures | Sponsored by Hub International | Oct. 24, 2024

Mastering Property Renewals: Strategies for Success in 2025 with Risk Engineering | Sponsored by Global Risk Consultants, a TÜV SÜD Company | Oct. 31, 2024

Lessons from Veterans on Strategic Risk Leadership | Presented by RIMS | Nov. 4, 2024

Risk Perception and Management: Insights for a Changing Landscape | Sponsored by Marsh | Nov. 14, 2024 RIMS.org/Webinars

Upcoming Virtual Workshops

RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep with PARIMA (Virtual) November 14–15, 2024 | 9:00 am–4:00 pm SGT — Register by Nov. 7

Applying and Integrating ERM | Dec 4‒5

See the full calendar of RIMS Virtual Workshops

RIMS-CRMP Prep Workshops

Related RIMScast Episodes:

"Big Shifts with John Hagel, ERM Conference Keynote"

"Applying ERM Theory with Elise Farnham"

"Maintaining an Award-Winning ERM Program with Michael Zuraw"