NEW ORLEANS—Today, Gary E. Bird, James D. Hinton and Reginald A. Pitchford were recognized as the 2015 inductees to the Risk Management Hall of Fame (RMHF), a joint venture between AIG and RIMS that celebrates risk professionals who have made exceptional contributions to advancing the discipline.
“With an eye on the future, it’s important that we remember the risk management leaders who have laid the groundwork, generously volunteered their experiences and demonstrated an unwavering commitment to advancing the profession,” said RIMS Executive Director Mary Roth. “Gary, James and Reginald are shining examples of this industry’s best and it is a privilege to announce their induction into the Risk Management Hall of Fame.”
“Throughout their professional careers, these industry leaders have gone above and beyond to make significant achievements in risk management,” said Rob Schimek, President and CEO of the Americas for AIG. “It is truly an honor to recognize them for their success.”
Before his death on September 11, 2001, Gary Bird served as director of risk management at the Phelps Dodge Corporation and senior vice president of construction risk management at Marsh & McLennon. He also authored the first three editions of The Wrap-Up Guide, an internationally recognized series that explores strategies and best-practices for managing liability policies designed to serve as all-encompassing insurance for all contractors and subcontractors. For his contributions to the field, IRMI changed the name of its annual construction risk management award in his honor, annually celebrating a risk or safety manager who has implemented an innovative risk management program for a construction project with the Gary E. Bird Horizon Award.
James “Jim” Hinton spent 33 years managing risk with the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) and its predecessor companies and served as president of Health Care Indemnity, Inc., HCA’s captive insurance company. In addition to developing innovative loss prevention programs, he lobbied successfully with industry colleagues to change the legal environment by investing heavily in tort reform efforts. Hinton also dedicated much of his life to leading a number of charities dedicated to aiding individuals with cerebral palsy and other disabled adults, spurred by his son’s struggle with the disorder. In recognition of his dedication to both risk management and social service, the James D. Hinton Memorial Captive Insurance Volunteer Award was created and awarded to Jim after his death in 2012 for his outstanding leadership within the captive insurance community.
After serving in the Royal Air Force medical service during World War II, Reginald Pitchford worked his way up in the Canadian risk and insurance fields, becoming a champion of risk management in Manitoba and the RIMS Manitoba Chapter (MARIMS) before it even achieved chapter status in 1976. His work as corporate risk manager at United Grain Growers Insurance Department was characterized by his belief that a primary risk function established a strong foundation, ultimately leading to one of the first successful applications of a series of risk processes that would later be called Enterprise Risk Management. In the early years of MARIMS, he was critical in its growth, serving as chapter president while also holding the position of president of the Insurance Institute of Manitoba and sitting on the Council of the Insurance Institutes of Canada, and taught during the 1960s and ’70s as a Fellow of the Insurance Institute of Canada.
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