Mission & Objectives
Our Mission:
To support ERM leaders (Risk Practitioners, Chief Risk Officers, and other Executives) to:
improve their organization’s capabilities to handle the risks in their business environment and
embed a risk lens into their organization’s strategic decisions.
Our Objectives:
To establish and nurture a community of ERM professionals in Canada;
To support the development of ERM professionals at every phase of their career; and
To enable ERM professionals to enhance their organization’s strategic risk management capabilities and integrate a risk lens into decision making.
What We Do
We provide peer-to-peer networking and education through in-person and online events.
Our events are focused on bringing ERM professionals groundbreaking ideas, and innovative perspectives, tools, and techniques they can use to enhance their enterprise risk management skills and their organization’s ERM practices.
All events also have a networking component to foster relationships and community among ERM professionals.
LEADERSHIP
The Society is governed by a volunteer Advisory Board that was established in early 2025 to act as the interim management team responsible for standing-up the Society.
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS: In 2026, we are expanding the Advisory Board with additional volunteers to work on several working groups that will continue to flesh out the Society’s operations and complete the transition to a formal not-for-profit organization. SERMP members who wish to serve the Society and contribute to its growth and ongoing development are encouraged to log into the Member’s Portal and volunteer for one of the working groups. All working group members will automatically become part of the interim Advisory Board.
The interim Advisory Board will be replaced by a duly elected set of directors and officers in late 2026, i.e., once the incorporation of the Society as a not-for-profit entity is completed.
The interim Advisory Board is comprised of the following volunteer members:
Our partners
The Society of ERM Professionals strives to provide a network for all leaders who have responsibility for managing risks to their organization.
We know that enterprise risk professionals come from various disciplinary backgrounds (e.g., strategic planning, finance, operations, engineering, audit, scenario planning, etc.) We also recognize that the role risk leaders hold in their organization can vary widely (e.g., Chief Executive Officer, Chief Risk Officer, Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel, etc.) and that these leaders are supported by professionals from across their organizations.
Therefore we seek to partner with other professional associations and organizations whose members may have an enterprise risk management role and would therefore benefit from the opportunity to learn from their ERM peers.
We are delighted to welcome the Schulich School of Business at York University as a partner. Schulich ExecEd offers a masters certificate program in ERM and Governance.
To learn more about partnership opportunities, please reach out to info@societyofERMprofessionals.com
Our HISTORY
January 2016: An informal cross-industry ERM networking forum is born
The group had its start in January 2016 at an informal pub night in Toronto. The aim was to bring together local ERM professionals from a wide range of industries and disciplinary backgrounds. Given that most organizations tend to have only 1- 2 people in an ERM role, the event participants appreciated the opportunity to compare notes with their peers in other sectors. The participants wanted to keep the networking going and the ‘Toronto ERM Community’ was born.
2016-2024: The network expands and evolves
The group quickly grew to over 175 ERM leaders and risk management practitioners. In the early years, the network held three to four meetings a year to enable ERM professionals to exchange ideas and experiences with their peers. Later, in response members’ requests for more opportunities to learn about how organizations are improving their ERM practices, speakers were added to the networking sessions. In 2020, online meetings were added to accommodate restrictions on gathering during the COVID-19 pandemic. This allowed the network to grow beyond the Greater Toronto Area.
2025: The transition to a formal association begins
From its inception, the network was supported by a small core of volunteers. This model limited the network’s ability to meet members’ needs. Thus, in early 2025, an Advisory Board was established to begin the transition from an informal network to a formal professional society. The formal not-for-profit structure will provide a stable basis to grow the network and enhance its ability to provide members high-quality peer-to-peer networking, professional development events, and other resources to support their development as ERM professionals. The interim Advisory Board will be replaced by a duly elected set of directors and officers in 2026, i.e., once the core structures are in place to operate the society as a not-for-profit professional association.
In 2025, the interim Advisory Board stood up the Society of ERM Professionals (SERMP). The interim Advisory Board defined the Society’s mission and objectives, established an online presence, hosted a highly successful inaugural event, and welcomed many ‘founding’ members.
2026: A call to ERM professionals to help build their new Society
Going forward, the success of SERMP will depend first and foremost on the support of the ERM community.
Thus, the interim Advisory Board calls on ERM Professionals from across Canada to help put the Society on a strong footing to serve the ERM community this year and far into the future.
If you are an ERM Professional (or aspire to become one) , here are three concrete things you can do in 2026 to support & build your new Society:
JOIN the Society. Click to become a member today and begin enjoying the benefits of SERMP membership.
VOLUNTEER to help flesh out the Society’s long-term strategy, governance & operational infrastructure, and delivery capacity at this critical phase of development as an organization. Members are encouraged to sign up for one of the ‘Volunteer Opportunities’ listed in the Members Portal.
ATTEND events of Society (either in-person or virtually). Members will be notified as new events are scheduled. It is in coming together that we establish the relationships that help us in our individual careers and nurture a strong professional community.