RIMS honours industry veteran with top award

The award was presented at the RIMS Canada Conference in Ottawa

RIMS honours industry veteran with top award

Insurance News

By Mika Pangilinan

The RIMS Ontario Chapter (ORIMS) has named Catherine Dowdall the latest recipient of the Donald M. Stuart Award, hailed as the highest honour in the Canadian risk management field.  

Dowdall is currently the director of insurance and loss control at AECON Construction. Her risk management career spans nearly four decades. It includes time spent at iconic Canadian corporations Tim Hortons, Canada Post, OLG, Brookfield Properties, Cadillac Fairview, and The Ontario Ministry of Government Services. 

For the past seven years, Dowdall has been an integral member of AECON’s insurance and loss control team, managing the procurement and negotiation of complex, standalone insurance programs tailored for multi-billion-dollar construction projects. 

Dowdall is also an active RIMS volunteer and has held various positions on the ORIMS Board of Directors, including serving as its president during the 1999-2000 term. 

The Donald M. Stuart Award was established in 1979 to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the risk management profession. Previous recipients include Stéphane Cossette, who served as director of risk and insurance for Quebecor Media Group before his retirement.   

Dowdall was presented the award at the RIMS Canada Conference held in Ottawa this week.  

During the conference, ORIMS also awarded Mattieu Shorgan the 2023 Fred H. Bossons for receiving the highest average mark on examinations required to attain the Canadian Risk Management (CRM) designation. Shorgan is a senior account executive at Wells Fargo.  

“Risk management is constantly evolving, but the guiding principles behind the Donald M. Stuart Award – a commitment to building relationships, sharing experiences, thought-leadership and altruism – have remained the same,” said ORIMS vice president Valerie Fox.  

“In addition to being a trailblazing risk leader, day in and day out, Catherine Dowdall graciously devotes her time to helping up-and-coming risk professionals navigate the profession and leverage opportunities to succeed. It is an honour to present Catherine with this prestigious award at RIMS Canada Conference this year.” 

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