Speaker information: Construction Risk Management

Company	Job Title	Name	Speaker Bio	Speaking At
Clyde & Co LLP	Partner	Toby Rogers	Toby specialises in complex insurance coverage disputes in a range of classes including first party property, business interruption, contractors’ All Risks, latent defects insurance and public liability. He is co-editor of Riley on Business Interruption, the leading text in this area which has been cited extensively by the High Court and Court of Appeal in the ongoing Covid business interruption litigation. He acted for QBE in the FCA Test Case and has acted for a range of insurers to assist them with their response to Covid BI claims. Toby also undertakes complex subrogation and liability defence work, much of which relates to the construction industry.	Panel discussion: Implications of US tariffs for the construction industry
Berkeley Estate Asset Management	Head of Construction	Rob Rotbart	-	Workshop: Leaks, losses and liability: the AI revolution in water risk prevention
Aon	Executive Director	Peter Rudd	Peter has been working in the London market for the past 20 years and is currently the Chief Broking Officer for the Construction & Infrastructure group. He is responsible for the design and placement of major global onshore construction programs working with clients and the Aon network. Prior to joining the Aon Construction Team in August 2005, Peter obtained extensive experience working on major global construction projects with Marsh where he was the territory leader for Asia/Australia for onshore construction.	Workshop: Understanding regional insurance variations
Rimkus	Insurance Delays Director	Chantel Russell	Chantel is a chartered structural engineer with 11 years of experience in both design and fabrication, having worked in multi-disciplinary teams in order to deliver complex major projects. She has experience in offshore and onshore projects in design and analysis as well as experience as a Lead Engineer on major offshore oil and gas projects. Chantel also has site experience in the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) construction yard in South Korea on the fabrication of an offshore platform. In addition, Chantel has worked as a structural engineer working in the nuclear industry in Paris. Chantel has 6 years’ experience in delay analysis, working on delay claims in Insurance and Construction in a variety of sectors (Delay in Start-up [DSU], Business Interruption [BI], and Construction Delay claims). Over the last 6 years, her technical industry experience has enabled her to understand the intricacies of construction delays and utilise her knowledge in the analysis of delay claims (DSU, BI, and Construction).	Panel discussion: Delays on construction projects – managing and mitigating the risks
HDI UK & Ireland	Captive Manager	Dan Sammons	Dan Sammons joined HDI in February 2025 from AIG, where he held a variety of roles across the Alternative Risk Transfer and Captive Underwriting units, most recently as Head of Alternative Risk Solutions UK. In this newly created role at HDI, Sammons brings extensive experience in International Programmes, Captives and Alternative Risk Transfer to further enhance the firm’s proposition to deliver strategic long-term growth. Dan will lead HDI's Captives growth strategy across UK and Ireland, and help further cement HDI’s position as a global leader in Captives and Alternative Risk Transfer.	Panel discussion: Europe's changing captives landscape
Aon	Practice Leader – EMEA Claims Preparation, Advocacy, and Valuation	Mike Sgarlata	-	Panel discussion: Claims – how to navigate megatrends
Aon	Managing Director, Construction & Infrastructure	Simon Simpson	Simon has considerable risk and insurance experience in the construction sector both globally and in the UK which has been gained from nearly 34 years in the industry. Prior to taking on the position of Business Leader, Simon has managed the delivery of service for major contractors and projects with complex and demanding requirements. His knowledge and ability to manage both the strategic and operational delivery of service are recognised within the insurance industry. Simon’s role now includes the responsibility for both UK Construction and Infrastructure and the provision of technical and broking support to the Aon network globally. Also included as part of Simon’s team is Aon’s surety offering for both construction and commercial risks.	Fireside discussion: Managing sports stadia construction – Everton Football Club Panel discussion: The importance of collaborative sharing
Allianz Commercial	Global Head of Construction	Darren Smart	Darren is Global Head of Construction at Allianz Commercial. He returned to Allianz in 2024, where he started his underwriting career as an underwriter at Allianz Cornhill (Allianz UK), before working at Trans Re as Assistant Vice President. He joined Liberty Specialty Markets in 2007 as Construction Regional Product Line Manager for EMEA, before becoming Global Construction Practice Leader role in 2016.	Panel discussion: Major risks and insurance market outlook
DAC Beachcroft	Partner	Giles Tagg	Giles specialises in professional indemnity insurance and, in particular, defending claims against construction professionals such as architects, engineers and Design & Build contractors. Giles has 20 years' experience in dealing with litigation in the Technology and Construction Court, arbitration, adjudication and mediation. He also regularly provides policy coverage advice to insurers.	Panel discussion: Design & Construct coverage issues
Aon	CCO, Construction & Infrastructure	Tariq Taherbhai	Tariq is the Chief Commercial Officer for Aon’s Global Construction & Infrastructure (C&I) industry specialty. In his role, Tariq is tasked with developing and implementing the global growth and marketing strategies for the specialty. In addition, Tariq works with other leaders to ensure that the full capabilities and expertise of Aon are properly delivered to the firm’s global C&I clients. Tariq has significant experience with project finance and public private partnerships, having advised on multiple large, complex projects over the past two decades. Before joining Aon, Tariq was vice president of the project legal group at Infrastructure Ontario, with responsibility for all legal and procurement matters related to public private partnerships procured by the Province of Ontario, Canada.	Panel discussion: Implications of US tariffs for the construction industry
Aon	Chief Commercial Officer Construction & Infrastructure	Jon Thacker	Jon joined Aon at the start of 2025 having spent the past 20 years working within WTW’s Construction Team. Jon has 37 year’s experience working within the Construction Insurance Industry having started his insurance career in 1988. During that time he has handled insurances for major contractors arranging all aspects of their relevant insurance requirements both annual and more complex major one-off projects along with placing projects for developers. Jon has been involved in numerous major projects across the Construction Sectors in the UK and Overseas, including Tunnels, Roads, Bridges, Waste, Rail, Water Sector, major building projects and PFI/PPP’s.	Panel discussion: Delays on construction projects – managing and mitigating the risks
Aon	Global Claims Leader, Construction & Infrastructure	Clarence Ting	Clarence has been working in insurance since 2003. During this time he has been effectively managing Energy, Construction, Machinery Breakdown, Delay Start-Up and Business Interruption claims globally. Prior to joining Aon, he worked with global reinsurance firms leading their major and complex losses in the region. In his current role, he is a member of Aon’s Global Construction & Infrastructure Leadership team and a member of the Global Claims Leadership team delivering significant client value through Aon’s governance and escalation protocols, and dedicated Claims Advocacy. Clarence spent 9 years as Council Member with the Singapore Insurance Institute (SII), and is the Secretary & Founding Member of the Asia Power Forum (APF).	Panel discussion: Claims – how to navigate megatrends
K&L Gates LLP	Partner, Head of Insurance Coverage	Sarah Turpin	Sarah Turpin is a partner in the Insurance Recovery and Counseling practice in London and joint global practice group coordinator. She represents policyholders seeking coverage under a broad range of insurance policies, including Professional Liability, Directors’ and Officers' Liability, Property/Business Interruption, Construction All Risks/DSU, Public/Product Liability and Cyber and Technology Risks. She acts for policyholders in relation to disputed insurance claims, if necessary, through mediation, litigation, or arbitration, and advises on claims notification and claims management issues. Sarah also advises on policy wordings at the pre-contract stage and on the inter-action between local and global policies.	Panel discussion: Delays on construction projects – managing and mitigating the risks
Royal BAM Group	Director Insurance	Bernard Van den Berg	Bernard is a seasoned insurance professional with 30 years of experience, including 11 years at Royal BAM Group NV, 6 years as Insurance Manager at Ballast Nedam NV and 13 years in various sales roles at Rabobank.	Panel discussion: The importance of collaborative sharing
K&L Gates LLP	Partner, Construction Disputes	Matthew Walker	Matthew Walker is an international arbitration, litigation, and dispute resolution partner who focuses on construction law. Matthew acts as arbitrator and counsel in arbitration and has co-authored many leading practitioners' guides to arbitration in Qatar, including for LexisPSL, GAR Know How, Lexis Middle East, and Practical Law for Thomson Reuters. This has seen Matthew recognised in Who's Who Legal as recommended for arbitration in Qatar, as well as Thought Leader for construction. Matthew was awarded Lexology's Client Choice Award (voted on by clients) for 2024 for Arbitration & ADR in Qatar and is listed as a Global Elite Thought Leader by Lexology for his Client Choice accolade. He has been ranked in the UK by Chambers & Partners as Band 3 for Construction: International Arbitration (UK-wide) for 2025 and is recognised in The Legal 500 United Kingdom 2024 as a Recommended Lawyer for international arbitration in London, as well as for insurance litigation (policyholder), and construction: contentious and non-contentious.	Panel discussion: Delays on construction projects – managing and mitigating the risks
Supplien Consulting	Director	Nick Wildgoose	Nick is a qualified accountant, supply chain and risk professional and has held a variety of global financial, procurement and commercial positions in several industry sectors. Working for companies such as PWC, Linde Group, The Virgin Group, Zurich Insurance Group and DHL Resilience360. He has served on the Board of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply which is the biggest procurement professional body in the world. He also served as a specialist advisor to the World Economic Forum and was Chairman of the Supply Chain Risk Leadership Council.	Presentation & panel discussion: Supply chain risk – identify, measure, manage and mitigate
Aon	Head of Strategic Risk Consulting	Charles Winter	Charles has over 35 years’ experience in the insurance sector and has worked for Aon for over 20 years. He is currently Head of Strategic Risk Consulting for the Aon Risk Consulting business in the UK. Previous roles have been in corporate broking and underwriting.	Panel discussion: Europe's changing captives landscape
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions	Head of Engineering & Construction	Cedric Wong	-	Presentation: Flood risk – the journey from knowledge to protection
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority	Risk Director	Hannah Wynne	-	Breakfast session workshop: Building the perfect construction risk manager – what skills are needed and is the profession ready for the future?