iNED Forum: Hacked Again! The Board’s Role in Insurance Cyber Security and Resilience

Cyber security is a major priority for the Board of any company in the insurance sector. The potential negative consequences of a successful attack have never been higher whilst the sophistication of attacks is ever increasing with AI providing a powerful additional tool. 

The iNED Forum of The Worshipful Company of Insurers is hosting a virtual panel discussion to assist NEDs prepare their organisations not only to resist Cyber Attacks, but also to respond effectively in the event of a successful attack.This will include discussion of the issues around responding to a ransom demand. Delegates will have the opportunity to pose their own questions via Zoom.

Our expert panel members are Heyrick Bond Gunning and John Kiely whose resumes you will see below. The panel will be moderated by iNED Committee member Kelly Lyles who is herself a NED at several companies, including Convex and Howden Group.

Learning Objectives

By attending this event, delegates should be able to:

• Articulate the key preventive steps to mitigate hackers’ success.
• Describe how to deal with a successful attack, including the moral and financial considerations of a ransom demand, securing company and client data, and minimising reputational damage.
• Challenge effectively executive management’s cyber security plans.

This virtual iNED Forum is open to insurance Non-Executive Directors (iNEDS), aspiring iNEDS, Company Secretaries, Compliance staff and all those involved with corporate governance, underwriting, broking and risk management in the insurance sector.

There is no requirement for delegates to be members of the Worshipful Company of Insurers.

Speaker(s)

HEYRICK BOND GUNNING
CEO, S-RM

Heyrick is S-RM’s Chief Executive Officer. His focus is setting the strategic direction for the business, working with key clients to understand their needs and investor relations. He also sponsors important projects within S-RM including new technology platforms, the ED&I and S-RM’s culture programs. He has played a pivotal role in S-RM’s growth since joining in 2007, leading the management buy-out of the company from Salamanca Group in 2015. S-RM now has nine international offices and employs 450 people, serving clients across cyber security and corporate intelligence, in 140+ countries.

Prior to joining S-RM, Heyrick was Managing Director at Kroll, an independent risk advisory firm, and Head of Client Engagement for MergerMarket (Acuris). He set up DHL’s operations in Iraq at the end of the Gulf War, delivering $75M in revenue in their first year. He started his career with five years as an officer in the British Army.

Heyrick has a BA in Geography and Archaeology from the University of Manchester, is an alumni of INSEAD, and a published author. 

John Kiely
Chairman, Edelman Smithfield EMEA, London

John has over 30 years’ experience advising UK and international businesses on their communications with the capital markets and other key stakeholders.

He has spent his career in communications working for leading agencies and was a co-founder of Smithfield — now Edelman’s wholly owned global financial communications practice.

John has advised on a wide range of strategic and high-stakes issues, including cross-border and domestic M&A, restructuring, fundraising, board and governance matters, shareholder activism, and crisis situations. He has worked with major corporates across all sectors of the market.

A graduate of University College London, John is also a guest lecturer at London Business School, where he covers core topics such as M&A, activism, investor relations, and crisis communications