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(NEW YORK) September 29, 2025 – With great sadness, RIMS, the risk management society®, and its network of more than 200,000 risk professionals mourn the loss of one of the most-respected risk management professionals within its community: Susan Meltzer. A statement from RIMS President Kristen Peed, RIMS Canada Council Chair Valerie Barber, and a summary of Susan’s professional accomplishments are below.

To honor Susan’s leadership and service, RIMS The Foundation for Risk Management (The Foundation) has established The Susan Meltzer Scholarship Fund. The Foundation will call on the global risk management community to help establish a scholarship that would fund expenses for one Canadian risk professional to attend RIMS Canada Conference every year. The RIMS Foundation for Risk Management plans to raise $40,000 USD to support this scholarship. To begin the fundraising effort, RIMS will contribute $10,000 USD to initiate The Susan Meltzer Scholarship Fund.

RIMS, The Foundation for Risk Management, is dedicated to shaping the future of the profession, strengthening the global risk management community, and further enabling RIMS to invest in the future of the industry. To donate to The Susan Meltzer Scholarship Fund or to learn about The Foundation, visit www.RIMS.org/FRM.

**STATEMENT - RIMS 2025 President Kristen Peed**

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.

This year, I had the privilege of meeting Susan at the RIMS Canada Conference, where we honored her as the newest inductee into the RIMS Risk Management Hall of Fame. Her impact on the profession was far-reaching, and it was evident at the conference just how many of today’s risk leaders were touched and inspired by her generosity.

Most memorable, however, was seeing the joy she shared with her family and friends, who joined her in Calgary to celebrate her career. It was clear how much they meant to her, and how important they were to her life. On behalf of RIMS, we extend our deepest gratitude for all Susan gave to this profession. Her legacy and the mark she left on all of us will not be forgotten.

**STATEMENT - RIMS Canada Council Chair Valerie Barber**

Susan Meltzer will forever be remembered as a Canadian risk management icon. Whether it was her approach to tackling complex risks or elevating the power and prominence of risk management, her innovative and collaborative spirit inspired us all to think big, be proactive, and focus on the future.

Beyond all her extraordinary career achievements, Susan was a role model for many women starting their insurance and risk management careers as in the early years, she was one of just a few prominent Canadian female leaders in the industry. She was an incredibly generous and compassionate person who devoted countless hours to helping others reach their goals and achieve their dreams.

Beloved within Canada’s close-knit risk community, Susan’s contributions will continue to open doors for the next generation of risk management leaders for years to come. Her passing undoubtedly leaves a huge void within Canada’s risk management community, and on behalf of RIMS Canada Council, our deepest sympathies go to her family, friends, colleagues, and all those who had the privilege of engaging with her over the years.

**ABOUT SUSAN MELTZER**

Susan Meltzer served as RIMS Global President from 1999-2000. She was a member of the board of the International Federation of Insurance and Risk Management Associations (IFRIMA) from 2000 to 2010, holding the position of President from 2004 to 2008. She also served on the CIP Society Council, and the Graduate Society of the Insurance Institute of Canada.

Susan graduated from Carleton University in Ottawa in 1975 and began her risk management career with Morris and Mackenzie Insurance Brokers immediately following graduation. Her risk management journey included roles at the largest and most successful organizations in Canada including Bell Canada, SunLife Financial, and Aviva Canada.

In her last risk management role at Aviva, Susan led enterprise risk management across Aviva North America and was accountable for risk management in Aviva Canada. She retired from Aviva Canada as the organization’s Vice President, Risk in June of 2019.

Susan has not only guided and mentored countless risk management professionals, she also taught Canadian Risk Management Certificate (CRM) courses at University of Toronto and participated in the Spencer Educational Foundation’s Risk Manager in Residence program at several universities in Canada and the United States.

Susan was named a Business Insurance Women to Watch in 2006, received Canada’s highest honor, the Donald M. Stuart Award in 2001, awarded RIMS highest global honor the Harry and Dorothy Goodell Award in 2004, and was inducted in RIMS Risk Management Hall of Fame in 2025. In recognition of her amazing service to risk management, she is a RIMS and ORIMS Chapter Emeritus Member. And, in 2024, ORIMS renamed its Top CRM Graduate Award to the Susan Meltzer Award, commemorating her outstanding contributions to the CRM program.

About RIMS
RIMS, the risk management society®️, empowers risk professionals to make the world safer, more secure, and more sustainable. Through networking, professional development, certification, advocacy, and research, RIMS and its 80 chapters serve more than 200,000 risk practitioners and business leaders from over 75 countries. Founded in 1950, the Society publishes the award-winning Risk Management Magazine and produces RISKWORLD®️, the largest annual gathering of global risk professionals. RIMS embraces diversity, equity and inclusion and welcomes all risk professionals to connect and learn, explore the online Risk Knowledge library, tune into the RIMScast podcast series, and engage with the global risk community via RIMS social media channels. To learn more, visit https://www.RIMS.org.

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