Risk management sits at the heart of the global insurance market, and an understanding of the essential role that risk managers play in risk assessment and mitigation has always been part of the Brokerslink vision. And the network has not just paid lip-service to the risk management community but through working in partnership, has been, and remains, a facilitator, and catalyst, for change.

Whilst a philosophical appreciation of the value of risk management has always been part of Brokerslink’s DNA, a key appointment in 2013 helped set the foundations for a fundamental shift in its approach. That moment was the recruitment of the now sadly departed Jorge Luzzi to the MDS Group to head up its risk management consultancy, now known as RCG.

As Javier Mirabal, director, North America, Risk Consulting Group explains: “Whilst José Manuel Fonseca was a connoisseur of risk management, Jorge Luzzi was a risk manager, an insider, and part of the worldwide risk management community, and his presence ushered in a new, closer, and more ambitious, relationship between Brokerslink and the risk management world.”

Brokerslink is not just another broking body looking to build relationships with risk managers – who are in effect, clients or potential clients for its partners & affiliates – but is a true partner for risk management, the profession, with shared goals, and a shared vision.

A risk manager by profession, Jorge brought an unparalleled insight into the challenges, and opportunities, facing risk managers. He also, as is the Brokerslink way, brought new, stronger relationships with risk managers from around the world with him – helping both MDS and Brokerslink cement, and deepen, their existing relationships within the risk management community, with the US Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS), with the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) and with the International Federation of Risk and Insurance Management Associations (IFRIMA).

It is no coincidence therefore that some of the world’s most influential and powerful risk management practitioners regularly attend and present at Brokerslink’s Global Conferences, the network having forged a unique role that differentiates it from the market. Brokerslink is not just another broking body looking to build relationships with risk managers – who are in effect, clients or potential clients for its partners & affiliates – but is a true partner for risk management, the profession, with shared goals, and a shared vision.

Formalising relationships

In 2019, Brokerslink adopted a new strategy, putting in place a new structure that propelled it from being a friend and supporter of the risk management world, to one of an enabler and facilitator of change. The vision was to formalise the connection between Brokerslink and the risk management community and put something back into the market. It was never, and will never be, about currying favour with risk managers to help Brokerslink’s partners & affiliates do more business but about helping the risk management sector become more professional, more recognised, and more valued.

A year on from a meeting called by Jorge Luzzi with Maurizio Castelli, CEO of Augustas Risk Services, and Duane Lohn and Corey Gooch of B. Riley at the Brokerslink Conference in Hong Kong in 2018, to discuss the idea, the Brokerslink Risk Management Practice (BRMP) was born. It was officially announced at the 2019 Brokerslink Global Conference in Bordeaux, France, with Jorge Luzzi its first coordinator and leader.

As Jorge explained at the time: “One of the key foundations of Brokerslink is co-operation, a philosophy that underlines our shared purpose and creates new opportunities. Our new Risk Management Practice reflects this philosophy; three consultancies working together as one to provide their services across a range of risk management disciplines, including ERM, business continuity, insurance risk
management, risk engineering, logistics & supply chain and cybersecurity.
Only five months later, with the world plunged into the Covid-19 pandemic, the value that the BRMP could bring to the wider risk management community was clearly demonstrated. With typical foresight, Jorge Luzzi suggested the practice provide technical advice on the impact that the pandemic would have on risk management in the future. The result was the publication in the FULLCOVER magazine (issue No. 13, May 2020) of a very informative article “Risk Management after Covid-19”. Penned by representatives of all the member firms of the practice (Jorge Luzzi, Maurizio Castelli, Corey Gooch & Javier Mirabal), its publication can in many ways be seen as marking the beginning of the BRMP’s important and influential work.

Following its launch, Jorge Luzzi then turned his attention to transforming the existing Risk Managers Forum – a long-standing part of the Brokerslink Conference – into a more formal space exclusive to risk managers. The success of the Risk Managers Forum, where risk managers can privately share, discuss and debate the issues of the day, amongst themselves, as guests of Brokerslink, but without any attendance by brokers, cannot be underestimated.