Speaker information: Construction Risk Management

Company	Job Title	Name	Speaker Bio	Speaking At
SCOR & IMIA Executive Committee Member	Global Head of Construction	Isabelle Kowalski	Isabelle has worked for 30 years in the construction world, including six years as civil engineer and 25 years in the insurance and reinsurance industry. Since 2019 she has been Global Head Construction at SCOR Business Solutions. As member of the IMIA Executive committee, she is also engaged in a number of initiatives, the latest one being Claims Classification. She gained her experience in construction as site superintendent with Spie Batignolles and VINCI, as senior construction underwriter at SCOR, being lead market on a number of large projects around the world, and as senior practice leader at AXA Corporate Solutions, managing large corporate accounts on all construction lines	Workshop: Closing the loop – how claims insight improves risk management & insurance placement
Liberty Specialty Markets	Head of Construction – London Markets	Patrick Bravery	Prior to joining Liberty, Patrick spent 13 years in construction underwriting at both Swiss Re and within Lloyds of London. In all his roles he has been primarily involved in the insurance of major construction projects worldwide, most notably as a lead underwriter for British Airport Authority’s Terminal 5 Heathrow, Land Transport Authority, Singapore Circle, Downtown and Cross Island Lines and Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York East Side Access and 2nd Avenue projects.	Workshop: Closing the loop – how claims insight improves risk management & insurance placement
John Cockerill - Board Member, Belrim & FERMA	Head of Professional Ethics & Risk Management and Insurance	Gaëtan Lefèvre	-	Panel discussion: Managing energy volatility vs rising demand in construction projects
Landsec	Group Insurance Director	Cleo Curl	Cleo is Group Insurance Director within the Corporate Governance team of Landsec, a FTSE 100 company and is one of the leading real estate companies in the UK. Cleo has responsibility for risk financing of insurable risk for the group and coordination of risk management activity across the portfolio. She is a Chartered Insurance Risk Manager of the Chartered Insurance Institute and a Certified Risk Professional of the Institute of Risk Management. Cleo started her career in a small motor trade insurance broker before moving to in-house insurance roles in various industries such as Helphire, London Luton Airport, Luminar and Threadneedle before moving on to Landsec in 2016.	Case study: Delivering success through collaboration – risk management lessons from Timber Square
SCOR	Global Segment Leader, Environmental Impairment Liability	Emma Bartolo	Emma joined SCOR in February 2023 as the Global Segment leader for Environmental Impairment Liability (EIL) based in London, responsible for the growth and development of the EIL portfolio as well as SCOR’s new suit of ecological restoration products. Emma joined SCOR from Chubb, where she was the London Corporate Regional Manager, responsible for the delivery of the middle-market strategy and financial plan for all lines of business. Prior to this, Emma worked as an environmental underwriter for over 10 years and was responsible for the EIL portfolio at Chubb for its UKI retail and Lloyds Syndicate business. Before joining the insurance industry, Emma worked as an Environmental Consultant at WSP, and as a Technical Officer, Contaminated Land at Manchester City Council, UK.	Presentation: Construction environmental liability – emerging risks every risk manager must know
Aon	Chief Commercial Officer, 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: Operating in a crisis – the importance of resilient risk management & collaboration
Aon	Global Claims Leader, Construction & Infrastructure Industry Specialties Claims Leader, Asia	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 escalation protocols, and dedicated Claims Advocacy. Clarence is empaneled with the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) and a member of the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID).	Panel discussion: Navigating the new era of megaproject losses and Delay in Start-Up claims
GlobalData	Lead Analyst, Construction Intelligence Centre	Tom Hopgood	Tom focuses on emerging trends in construction, with particular emphasis on the North American and European markets. He provides market sizing and forecasting, offering detailed analysis of project opportunities and risks. In addition to his consultancy work, he and his team publish a range of reports, including GlobalData’s quarterly Global Construction Outlook, which benchmarks 91 major construction markets by value and growth and highlights key macroeconomic trends. Before joining GlobalData, Tom earned a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Bristol and gained extensive experience in the UK biofuel sector, specialising in carbon trading and subsidy analysis.	Panel discussion: Operating in a crisis – the importance of resilient risk management & collaboration
nPlan	CEO & Co-Founder	Dev Amratia	Dev is a chartered engineer and the Co-Founder and CEO of nPlan, a machine learning company that learns how completed construction projects performed to forecast the outcomes of future projects. nPlan delivers a new paradigm in the management of risk and uncertainty. Dev’s experience is in delivering construction projects for the energy industry, spanning three continents over nine years. Following this, Dev worked within the UK government to launch and deliver the national review on AI, which was published as part of the Industrial Strategy in 2017.	Presentation: AI at the front line of megaproject risk – smarter schedules, safer outcomes Panel discussion: Risk, capital and coverage – aligning insurance strategy with Europe’s infrastructure investors
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: Navigating the new era of megaproject losses and Delay in Start-Up claims
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: Weathering the future – climate risk, extreme weather and insurance for European construction
Port of Rotterdam N.V.	Risk & Insurance Manager	Nanda Smeets	Nanda has been working at the Port of Rotterdam for nearly 10 years, holding various positions before stepping into the role of Risk and Insurance Manager 2.5 years ago. As the first person to hold this position within the company, Nanda is fully responsible for establishing and shaping the role, developing a structured approach to risk management and insurance. Nanda holds a law degree from Leiden University and brings strong analytical and strategic skills to the field of risk management. Before joining the port, Nanda lived and worked in Santiago, Chile, for 2.5 years, gaining international experience in legal and business environments. Passionate about ensuring resilience in complex operations, Nanda focuses on managing risks and insurance solutions that support the port’s long-term success.	Workshop: Beyond the shoreline – managing residual risk at marine construction interfaces
Zurich Insurance Group	Head of Continental Europe & Canada Construction, Commercial Insurance	Richard Gordon	Before assuming his current position, Richard served as Head of Construction for Zurich in London and previously as Underwriting Manager for Engineering Lines with Zurich Commercial Insurance in Dubai, UAE. These roles involved extensive international engagement, particularly across the GCC region, and reinforced his expertise in complex infrastructure risks and multinational project portfolios. Richard began his Zurich career in 2015 as a Senior Underwriter. Prior to joining Zurich, he worked with Infrassure Ltd in Zurich, Switzerland, as a Construction Underwriter within the Construction and Infrastructure team, underwriting major international engineering projects. His professional foundation is in civil engineering, having worked on large scale infrastructure schemes in the UK as well as overseas in India and Kazakhstan.	Presentation & panel discussion: Managing economic & geopolitical risk in European construction
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.	Panel discussion: Interpreting LEG3 in 2026 – what insurers think and what buyers need to know
Aon	Global Head of Construction & Infrastructure	James MacNeal	James is currently Aon’s Global Head of the Construction and Infrastructure Practice which includes over 1000 specialist colleagues in 48 countries. In this role James is responsible for growth, thought-leadership and best practice in this key industry practice. James is also the relationship lead for certain Aon clients. He has over 35 years of construction insurance experience, of which 21 have been with the Aon Group. He was previously at Marsh where he led the UK Construction Units broking team. James has travelled extensively and placed a wide variety of major construction projects in most parts of the world, for Owners, Contractors and Infrastructure Funds. James has a strong track record of delivering on clients' expectations with some of the largest firms in the Construction sector. He has designed insurance programmes across a wide variety of industry segments, with particular specialisation around energy/power, digital infrastructure and transportation. James is actively engaged as the Executive Sponsor / Account Director on some of Aon's largest construction accounts and leads the carrier relationships in this key industry.	Fireside discussion: Building at Nscale – managing risk in global data centre expansion
Aon	Practice Leader, Construction & Infrastructure EMEA	Jon Chapman	-	Panel discussion: Building the digital backbone – managing risk & securing coverage on the new wave of data centre construction projects
Rua Al Madinah Holding	Cost & Contracts Director	Nikolaos Exakoustos	-	Panel discussion: Operating in a crisis – the importance of resilient risk management & collaboration
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer	Partner	Sarah McNally	Sarah is a Partner at international law firm, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer. She is global lead for insurance disputes and works for corporate policyholders on contentious and non-contentious insurance matters. She assists clients on the biggest and most complex insurance matters with a focus on construction, real estate, business interruption, political and credit risk and W&I claims. She recently advised Sky on its successful CAR claim in the English courts. Sarah is ranked in Chambers Global, Chambers UK and Legal 500 as a Leading Partner/Band 1 lawyer for Insurance Litigation for Policyholders.	Panel discussion: Interpreting LEG3 in 2026 – what insurers think and what buyers need to know Panel discussion: Building the digital backbone – managing risk & securing coverage on the new wave of data centre construction projects
Howler Global Ltd	Associate Director	Martin Woodfield	Martin Woodfield brings 18 years of construction and fire risk expertise to the forefront of project resilience. As Associate Director at Howler Global Ltd and a member of the PAS 9970 technical committee, he advises leading developers and contractors on integrating early fire detection into strategic risk control — transforming fire safety from a compliance obligation into a critical layer of project protection.	Presentation: The biggest construction loss driver – fire and the future of construction risk control Workshop: The hidden threat – construction fire risk and the case for early alerts
Construction Fire Safety Services Limited	Director	Dan Martin	Following an 18-year career in the Fire & Rescue Service, Dan has continued to work extensively across the fire safety and construction sectors, building more than 30 years of combined industry experience. As UK Fire Safety Manager for a leading Tier 1 Principal Contractor, Dan gained deep insight into the real-world challenges of managing fire safety during the construction phase. He has also supported the wider industry through lecturing, the development of virtual reality fire training for site operatives, and contributing to innovative solutions including a reusable temporary fire door system. Now Director of Construction Fire Safety Services Limited, Dan continues to support construction projects nationwide while championing professional development and raising awareness of this critical area of fire safety.	Presentation: The biggest construction loss driver – fire and the future of construction risk control