Tuesday April 14, 2015

Upcoming Conference

General Information
Agenda
Breakout Sessions
Online Registration Form
Hotel Information
 

Thank you to our 2015 Sponsors

Platinum


Gold







Silver






Bronze


 

Upcoming Conference

We have lined up a number of terrific speakers including Dr. Joachim Wenning, responsible for Global Life Reinsurance at Munich Re, as well as Dr. Aubrey de Grey, Chief Science Officer, SENS Research - who has an intriguing take on longevity. Adam Kreek, Olympic Gold Medalist will also join us as a Guest Speaker. Scroll down to view all Breakout Sessions.

INDUSTRY KEYNOTE

Dr. Joachim Wenning
Member of the Board of Management of Munich Re

Dr. Joachim Wenning is responsible for the Global Life reinsurance business of Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurer. From this unique vantage point, Dr. Wenning will be sharing his professional and personal experiences on how to Reach for Gold.

KEYNOTE

Dr. Aubrey de Grey, Chief Science Officer, SENS Research
Biomedical Breakthroughs: Living Beyond 100

The near-constant rate of increase in life expectancy at birth seen for so long in the industrialised world is about to end. In the coming couple of decades it will slow, as its drivers (reduced smoking, improved early-life nutrition) reach the same kind of diminishing returns that we saw a few decades ago in relation to infant mortality. But after that, it will skyrocket, as a result of the arrival of comprehensive regenerative medicine for the ill-health of old age. Reinsurers should look forward to this era, and perhaps they should - and can - work to hasten it.

Mr. de Grey will discuss the biomedical basis for this prediction and its implications - implications which those taking long-term longevity bets will benefit from anticipating well in advance.

GUEST SPEAKER

Adam Kreek
Olympic Gold Medalist

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

KEYNOTES

Dr. Joachim Wenningbr /> Member of the Board of Management of Munich Re

After obtaining a degree in economics at the University of Munich, Dr. Wenning joined Munich Re in 1991, where he worked as a treaty specialist with technical responsibility for life reinsurance clients in Germany until early 1997. Parallel to this, Joachim Wenning wrote his doctoral thesis, for which he was awarded the degree of Dr. oec. publ. in 1995. At the beginning of 1997, Joachim Wenning transferred to the Group company Hamburg-Mannheimer Versicherungs-AG in Hamburg for two-and-a-half years, during which he implemented a number of strategic projects aimed at realigning marketing and sales. Following his return from Hamburg, Joachim Wenning headed the department "Life Reinsurance Latin America, Southern Europe and the Middle East" from mid-2000 onwards, where he was responsible for life reinsurance business in these countries. Following his appointment in May 2005 to the position of CEO of New Re, Geneva, Joachim Wenning became responsible for the company's strategic development, with an expanded mandate for financial solutions in life and health reinsurance and for financial institutions business, and oversaw the establishment of New Re Bermuda and Zurich.

Dr. Wenning has been a member of the Board of Management of Munich Re since 1 January 2009. He is responsible for the Divisions Life and Human Resources. Additionally he is Labour Relations Director.

 

Dr. Aubrey de Grey
Chief Science Officer, SENS Research Foundation

Dr. Aubrey de Grey is a biomedical gerontologist based in Cambridge, UK and Mountain View, California, USA, and is the Chief Science Officer of SENS Research Foundation, a California-based 501(c)(3) charity dedicated to combating the aging process. He is also Editor-in-Chief of Rejuvenation Research, the world's highest-impact peer-reviewed journal focused on intervention in aging. He received his BA and Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 1985 and 2000 respectively. His research interests encompass the characterisation of all the accumulating and eventually pathogenic molecular and cellular side-effects of metabolism ("damage") that constitute mammalian aging and the design of interventions to repair and/or obviate that damage. Dr. de Grey is a Fellow of both the Gerontological Society of America and the American Aging Association, and sits on the editorial and scientific advisory boards of numerous journals and organisations.

 

Adam Kreek - Olympic Gold Medalist

Shared Leadership. Teamwork. Mental Toughness. Managing Change. Safety. An Olympic Gold Medalist turned Adventurer and Engineer, Adam is a Social Entrepreneur who walks the talk. Adam is Chair the Board of Directors of Greasecycle, a start-up Biodiesel company on Vancouver Island, and he runs Kreek Speak Enterprises Inc. where he teaches strategies of high performance, framed in compelling narratives and supported by cutting edge research.

A world-class and interactive storyteller, Adam's timeless performance philosophies serve to embolden organizational culture, re-boot team performance, and expand resiliency. Adam delivers keynote addresses and workshops on the topics of Shared Leadership and Teamwork, Managing Change Successfully, Cultivating a Safety Culture, and Strategies for Peak Performance. Relevant, powerful, and transformative, Adam’s keynotes motivate, inspire, educate, and entertain.

During his 13-year rowing career, Adam won over 60 medals, including 43 gold medal performances. After a disappointing loss at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Adam and his team powered their way to a gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Following his Olympic career, Adam was named Athlete Leader of the Year at the prestigious Canadian Sports Awards, and was elected to the Canadian Olympic Committee to direct sports policy in Canada. Adam and his teammates were inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in June of 2014, the fourth hall of fame to recognize their momentous accomplishment.

Always eager to take on new challenges, Adam made the first ever attempt to row unsupported across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to North America in January 2013. His goals were to advocate for adventure as a tool for self-development, to educate youth about the importance of sustaining the health our oceans resources, and to collect scientific data about the state of the Atlantic Ocean. After four years in planning and 73 days at sea in their 29-foot rowboat, Adam and his three teammates capsized just 10 days short of their destination. Fortunately, the crew's exceptional safety and emergency planning ensured that all four members survived and much of their equipment and data was salvaged.

Adam also serves on the Board of Directors of the Island Biodiesel Coop and is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the BC Biofuels Network. He is a spokesperson for Whitehall Spirit rowing boats and clubs. Adam is former Board Member of the Canadian Olympic Committee where he worked in a leadership role to ensure the benefits of sport spread to the broader Canadian society, and of Clean Air Champions, where he worked for many years to educate Canadians about the importance of the link between personal and environmental health.

Adam is a Big Brother, with Big Brothers and Big Sisters. He recently served as Honorary Co-chair of the Elk Lake Boathouse Renewal Project and helped to raise $1.3 million to renovate the community facility that houses Canada's Olympic Rowing Team. In addition to his work with organizations, Adam has worked with tens of thousands of youth in schools, instilling within our next generation the idea that the "secret to happy living is giving."

Adam holds a degree in Geotechnical Engineering and Hydrology from Stanford University. He lives in Victoria, BC, with his wife and two children.

"You row an ocean by taking one stroke at a time. You build a business by solving one problem at a time. Make forward progress one inch at a time. Inch by inch. Repeat!" - Adam Kreek