April Savchuk (pictured), director of global insurance and risk at Centerra Gold, has received the Donald M. Stuart Award, widely regarded as Canada's highest honor in risk management.
The Ontario chapter of RIMS (ORIMS) presented the award at the RIMS Canada Conference 2026, held from October 18 to 21 at the Québec City Convention Center. The award has recognized Canadians who have made outstanding contributions to the profession since 1979.
“This award has always represented the standard of achievement and leadership within the Canadian Risk Management community,” Savchuk said.
ORIMS president Debbie Carpenter said Savchuk had guided organizations through complex and volatile challenges while always making time to mentor and support others.
At Centerra Gold, Savchuk oversees global insurance, enterprise risk management, crisis coordination and reclamation surety strategy. Reclamation surety covers mining companies’ obligation to restore land once operations end, often through bonds that regulators require before a mine can proceed.
Over her career, she has worked on alternative risk financing and captive insurance strategies, built insurance and risk programs for mergers and acquisitions, and led enterprise-wide risk and insurance functions. Her experience spans mining, insurance, retail and real estate. She began her career at Aon Reed Stenhouse before moving into risk management leadership roles at Hudson’s Bay Company, Catlin Canada, Crawford Canada and Yamana Gold.
Savchuk has spent the last 15 years in leadership roles with the William H. McGannon Foundation, which she now co-chairs as co-president. Named after one of Canada’s pioneering corporate risk managers, the foundation funds scholarships, research grants and student programs to develop the profession.
Her volunteer work with RIMS includes leadership roles with ORIMS from 2000 to 2013, including terms as president in 2005 and 2011. She later co-chaired the RIMS Canada Conference’s national conference committee from 2011 to 2017 and served on the RIMS Canada Council’s nominating committee from 2014 to 2017.
Evelyn (Yiyan) Huang received the Fred H. Bossons Award, which goes to the risk professional with the highest average mark across the three exams required for the Canadian Risk Management (CRM) designation. The award is recognized by RIMS and presented by the Global Risk Management Institute.
Savchuk’s career reflects how corporate risk management has shifted toward alternative risk transfer and specialist programs. Captives, M&A programs and reclamation surety are increasingly where large corporate clients want brokers’ expertise, and where the risk managers buying it expect brokers to bring structured solutions rather than standard placements.
