Susan Meltzer, a former president of the Risk & Insurance Management Society and a risk management trailblazer, has died at 71.
“Throughout her remarkable career, Susan was a passionate champion of the RIMS Ontario Chapter, the RIMS Canada Council, RIMS Global, and the broader advancement of the risk management profession. Her passing is a profound loss to the global risk management community,” RIMS 2025 President Kristen Peed said in a statement issued Monday.
Ms. Meltzer began her career at a Toronto-based brokerage after graduating from Carleton University in Ottawa in 1975. She held risk management positions at some of the largest organizations in Canada, including Bell Canada, SunLife Financial and Aviva Canada.
She retired from Aviva Canada in 2019 as the organization’s vice president of risk management.
Ms. Meltzer was RIMS global president from 1999 to 2000 and president of the International Federation of Insurance and Risk Management Associations from 2004 to 2008.
She was named a Business Insurance 2006 Women To Watch winner. In 2001 she received Canada’s highest risk management honor, the Donald M. Stuart Award, and in 2004 received RIMS’ highest global honor, the Harry and Dorothy Goodell Award.
Earlier this year, Ms. Meltzer was inducted into the Risk Management Hall of Fame.
To honor Ms. Meltzer’s leadership and services, the RIMS Foundation has established the Susan Meltzer Scholarship Fund to cover expenses for one Canadian risk professional to attend the RIMS Canada conference each year.
RIMS has contributed $10,000 to start the fund, and the foundation plans to raise $40,000 to support the scholarship.
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.