An audience of 85 people attended the second Herbert A. Wertheim Lecture of the fall, 2006 series, presented by Bernard John Daenzer, CPCU, JD, and chairman of Daenzer Associates. He spoke on “The Incredible Growth of Professional Risk Management in the Last Fifty Years.” He should know. He’s been a major player all that time.

A very early casualty property insurance underwriter (CPCU), Daenzer became president of the Connecticut Chapter and the National Society, amassed twenty years of experience with stock insurance companies, and became CEO of Security-Connecticut Companies, where he started Security-Connecticut Life. For 23 years, he ran a Lloyd’s-type operation called Wohlreich and Anderson, which became Howden-Swann with 23 offices in the United States; was the first American on the board of a Lloyd’s Broker in London; and was the first American to become an Underwriting Member of Lloyd’s. For twenty years, he practiced law and was a consultant to law firms.

Finance Department benefits from Daenzer’s insights.

In her introduction, Executive Dean Joyce J. Elam called attention to Daenzer’s entrepreneurship, product-design innovation, and industry-practices leadership. She also told the audience that the college has decided to offer an insurance and risk management curriculum—an initiative to which Daenzer has contributed.

“Our department has identified a strategic fit with our mission to initiate such a curriculum,” said Deanne Butchey (PhD ’05), instructor, Department of Finance. “Few schools of business have focused on this rapidly changing field, and the Landon School is well positioned to develop a program to enable its students to take advantage of the numerous job opportunities available in the insurance industry.”

According to her, “Daenzer reminded us of the potential for educating a tremendously underserved population in Latin América, provided us with insights into the development of the curriculum, and introduced us to several individuals currently working in both industry and academia who can be invaluable resources.”

As part of the major, the department launched its first course, a survey of insurance, this fall, and will offer its second, called Insurance and Law, in spring, 2007.

The lecture—in which Daenzer reviewed changes in the industry, reflected on specific practices, and interwove his own experiences—took place on November 16, 2006, on the Modesto A. Maidique Campus.

To view a video or download an audio of the lecture, visit http://business.fiu.edu.