Meet the recipients of the 2021 RIMS awards

RIMS LIVE 2021 kicks off in just a few days on April 19 as an all-virtual experience. Like every year, the event will include a virtual awards ceremony where the organization recognizes exceptional industry professionals for their innovation and dedication to the risk management profession in the past year.

Keep reading to discover the individuals being honored with RIMS awards this year.

RIMS Risk Manager of the Year: Michael Harrington, Lockheed Martin Corporation

As vice president of risk management and assistant secretary at Lockheed Martin, Michael Harrington manages the risk program for the world’s largest defense contractor, with over 114,000 employees worldwide.

Harrington’s leadership has transformed the company’s risk management department into one that manages threats across the enterprise. His team integrated a Risk Management Information System that has modernized data management, such as creating a library that catalogs, indexes and digitizes current and historical insurance policies to improve benchmarking and forecasting.

Harrington also formed a coalition of risk professionals and other leaders across the Defense Industrial Base as part of a joint insurance effort between industry, NASA and the U.S. government to reinvigorate the national space program.

Risk Management Honor Roll: Cheryl Lloyd, The University of California

Cheryl Lloyd is associate vice president, chief risk officer and vice president of systemwide human resources at the University of California (UC), where she oversees the university’s risk management department that protects the institution’s 10 campuses, five academic medical centers, 230,000-plus employees and more than 280,000 students.

Lloyd’s responsibilities also include serving as president of the Fiat Lux Captive Insurance (FLCI), the reinsurance company of UC that is the largest captive of its kind in the state.

After the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted higher education to its core, Lloyd and her team developed a robust Emergency Management Structure to advise on a plan to keep students safe while continuing classes as well as advising on matters such as on-campus housing for the UC’s remote workforce and frontline workers in the university’s hospitals.

Harry and Dorothy Goodell Lifetime Achievement Award

Dubbed as the society’s “most prestigious honor,” the Harry and Dorothy Goodell Award, named after RIMS’ first president, celebrates an individual who has furthered the goals of the association and risk management discipline through outstanding service and achievement.

This year, the award honor goes to Pamela Popp, executive vice president and chief risk officer at GB Specialty, a Gallagher Bassett division. Popp has more than 30 years of health care risk management experience, serving in risk and claims management consulting roles both at brokerages and in-house at several large malpractice carriers.

Ron Judd “Heart of RIMS” Award

Named after Ron Judd, who served as executive director of RIMS for 22 years, the Heart of RIMS Award recognizes individuals for their outstanding performance in advancing the society at the chapter level.

In 2021, two chapter members are being recognized: Mark Habersack, director of risk management at MGM Grand and leader of the RIMS Nevada Chapter, and Sue Mepham, a retired risk professional and leader at the RIMS Saskatchewan Chapter.

RIMS Rising Star Award

This award recognizes up-and-coming risk management professionals under the age of 35 or who have seven or fewer years of professional experience.

Elliot Long, a U.S. risk management consultant at Aflac, is this year’s recipient for “demonstrating exceptional initiative, volunteerism, professional development, achievement and leadership potential.” Long graduated from the University of Georgia in 2014 and kicked off his risk management career at Deloitte as a business risk consultant before joining Aflac in 2016.

The Richard W. Bland Memorial Award

Lynn Haley Pilarski will receive the 2021 Richard W. Bland Memorial Award, which recognizes a member’s commitment to the industry’s legislative or regulatory interests. The award was first created in 1974 by the RIMS Kansas City Chapter.

Pilarski serves as a risk manager at General Motors and is also a member and vice president of the RIMS Detroit Chapter.

Learn more about these risk professionals here and celebrate their achievements by tuning in to the RIMS LIVE 2021 Awards & Leadership Keynote on April 26 at 1 pm ET.

Related: 

• Executive Insights: RIMS Vice President Soraya Wright
• How to achieve success as a risk manager in 2021
• 5 ways risk professionals can become even more indispensable