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RIMS has announced Jennifer Pack, Vice President of Risk Management for Hyatt, as the 2025 RIMS Risk Manager of the Year. Mark Saltsgaver, Vice President, Corporate Risk Management for Eli Lilly and Company was inducted into the Risk Management Honor Roll. Jennifer and Mark will be presented with the honors at RISKWORLD®.

NEW YORK (April 28, 2025) — RIMS, the risk management society®, has announced Jennifer Pack, Vice President of Risk Management for Hyatt, as the 2025 RIMS Risk Manager of the Year. Mark Saltsgaver, Vice President, Corporate Risk Management for Eli Lilly and Company was inducted into the Risk Management Honor Roll. Jennifer and Mark will be presented with the honors at RISKWORLD® in Chicago in May.

 The Risk Manager of the Year program aims to raise the profile of the risk management profession and the outstanding programs the honorees have implemented within their organizations. The program was initiated in 1977 and the Risk Management Honor Roll was added in 1981.

 “From healthcare to hospitality, risk professionals have become the driving force behind greater efficiencies, business resilience, and innovation,” said RIMS CEO Gary A. LaBranche, FASAE, CAE. “Jennifer Pack has transformed risk management at Hyatt, embedding a culture that has provided a launchpad for organizational success. Similarly, Mark Saltsgaver’s ability to develop impactful relationships across Eli Lilly and with external stakeholders demonstrates the undeniable value of having strong risk management leadership. RIMS looks forward to celebrating both of these exceptional risk leaders at RISKWORLD.”

Any full-time professional who administers risk management programs for a corporation, nonprofit institution, or government entity is eligible for submission in the Risk Manager of the Year program. The nominations are judged by an independent panel comprising prior honorees and other risk management and insurance industry leaders. 

ABOUT THE WINNERS

RISK MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Jennifer Pack

As Hyatt’s Vice President of Risk Management, Jennifer Pack has helped transform the organization’s risk strategies, aligning them with its evolving business model to ensure resilience in today’s complex environment.

Leading a team of nearly 40 professionals, Jennifer’s leadership and innovative risk solutions have helped strengthen Hyatt’s risk management framework, enabling it to proactively identify risks and develop strategies to address them. She has enhanced claims management, employee health programs, fire safety, and leveraged alternative risk transfer vehicles. Her success has allowed Hyatt to proactively address key risks such as social inflation, cybersecurity, and others that could impact the organization and its range of diverse distribution channels.

Among her many accomplishments, Jennifer successfully redesigned Hyatt’s Short-Term, Long-Term Disability, and Workers’ Compensation programs, moving them from a decentralized model to a centralized approach. The initiative reduced manual processing by up to 80,000 hours, improved compliance, reduced legal exposure and is linked to millions in savings.

Under her leadership, Hyatt’s risk management team is overhauling Hyatt hotels’ fire safety. They have established the first-of-its-kind Fire Life Safety Compliance and Governance Program, setting a standard for the organization and industry. The initiative includes the implementation of new technology, as well as auditing the 1,450 Hyatt hotels in 79 countries.

Jennifer is a recognized risk management, insurance, and hospitality thought leader who frequently speaks at marquee events including RISKWORLD, the American Hospitality Lodging Association events, and others. She has been honored with Captive Review’s Captive Owner Award, included on Business Insurance Women to Watch list, named a Risk & Insurance All-Star, as well as presented with Captive Insurance’s Influential Women award.

Jennifer is a beloved mentor who has had an impact on many careers. She continues to demonstrate her commitment to advancing the risk management profession as an active member of RIMS Chicago Chapter.

RISK MANAGEMENT HONOR ROLL: Mark Saltsgaver

In his nearly 35-year career with Eli Lilly (Lilly), Mark Saltsgaver has created a world-class, global risk management function that is closely aligned with the organization’s strategy and culture.

As the Vice President, Corporate Risk Management at Lilly, Mark is directly responsible for all global corporate risk management and insurance functions that empowers the organization’s 46,000 employees, across 100 countries, to deliver life changing medicines that address the unmet medical needs for some of the world’s most challenging conditions. 

Mark’s defined risk financing vision for the organization leverages the advantages of captive insurance. Supporting the captive with structured reinsurance, he has successfully identified new opportunities for the captive to financially protect the organization while reducing Lilly’s total cost of risk by millions of dollars.

Mark’s team is also modernizing the delivery and performance of certificate of insurance demands for Lilly’s multi-billion-dollar clinical trial research business. The endeavor includes a multi-stakeholder workflow project to map the end-to-end certificate of insurance process. The project’s success is estimated to eliminate over 20,000 manual touchpoints, greatly improving productivity and quality.

Adept at bringing people together, Mark has built powerful relationships across the Lilly organization and with external stakeholders. These strategic partnerships – especially with leadership from Lilly’s finance, legal, IT, and operations teams – have been integral to completing an in-depth predictive analysis of emerging and evolving risks.

Through incredible leadership and commitment, Mark has elevated global collaboration, advanced an organizational understanding of risk, and embedded a captive-centric risk management philosophy that has not only allowed the organization to adapt to change, but has also directly contributed to its operational and financial success.

Above all, Mark remains focused on team member development. He is considered a mentor by many and continues to demonstrate his commitment to advancing the profession by sharing his insight and experiences at countless industry events. 

About RISKWORLD®
Launched in 1963 as RIMS Annual Conference & Exhibition, RISKWORLD® attracts some 10,000 risk and insurance professionals at all experience levels, business executives with risk management interests, brokers, insurers and service providers for the ultimate learning and networking experience. The four-day. RISKWORLD experience offers more than 150 learning opportunities, keynote presentations, special events, and an expansive Marketplace with hundreds of solutions providers – all with countless opportunities to engage and elevate the risk community. RIMS will celebrate its 75^th Anniversary at RISKWORLD in Chicago from May 4 - 7. RISKWORLD 2026 is scheduled for May 3 – 6 in Philadelphia.

 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 serves 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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