FERMA Announces Passing of Former President Jo Willaert

Jo Willaert, the immediate past president of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA), has passed away, the organization announced in a statement.

Mr. Willaert was FERMA president from 2015 to 2019, before handing the leadership of the organization to the current president, Dirk Wegener.

"We, the FERMA team, and the entire European risk manager community were shocked by the news that our dear friend, colleague, and comrade, Jo Willaert, had passed away," Mr. Wegener said in the statement. "Over the weekend, we received numerous messages from people expressing their dismay, grief, and sadness, but also full of thankfulness and appreciation for his dedicated service to FERMA and our community. I, as well as many others, have lost a friend."

Mr. Wegener noted that Mr. Willaert chose leadership and communication for the themes of his FERMA presidency, themes that remain driving forces behind the organization's efforts. "We are grateful to Jo for his enormous contribution to FERMA and the risk management community," Mr. Wegener said.

During Mr. Willaert's time as FERMA's president, the organization represented the interests of European risk managers and organizations on such issues as natural catastrophes, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), non-financial reporting, Solvency II, and digital transformation.

"We have all benefitted from Jo's skills, his time, and his enthusiasm," FERMA CEO Typhaine Beauperin said in the statement. "He had a wonderful way of bringing people together, and he did so over his 4 years as FERMA president. He was a strong advocate for risk management and a friend to many. We will miss Jo very and much and will always remember him with gratitude and affection."

A law school graduate, Mr. Willaert spent his early career working in the broker industry with companies that eventually became part of Marsh and later with Aon. He joined imaging solutions group Agfa-Gevaert in 2001, where, as corporate risk manager, he was responsible for the design of the organization's worldwide enterprise risk management and insurance programs.

Mr. Willaert also served on the board of the Belgian risk management association BELRIM and was president of the International Federation of Risk Management Associations (IFRIMA) from 2017 to 2019.