The Malta Association of Risk Management was formally launched at a National Conference on Risk Management themed “Opportunity” held recently.

The conference brought together 96 delegates from the private and public sectors, including representatives from the Office of the Prime Minister, the banking, financial, insurance, audit and accountancy sectors as well as from the manufacturing and services industries.

In his address, MARM president John Schembri said: “Every risk manager knows that opportunity and risk reside on two different faces of the same coin and this fundamental aspect of risk should be borne in mind by practitioners in all circumstances. It is likely that were it not for the pressing global recession and challenging events unfolding around us, MARM may well not have been founded at all.”

Mr Schembri added: “The six of us converged because we all felt that there was a need to start doing something about risk management in Malta – in other words, from risk around us we saw opportunity for change and improvement.”

Other speakers included Marie Gemma Dequae, former president of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations , Ed Mallens, consultant with the Public Risk Management Organisation, Marie Gemma Dequae, chairman of the Scientific Council of PRIMO Europe, Carolyn Williams, head of thought leadership Institute of Risk Management UK and Guy Kurjian, president of the World Food Safety Organisation.