It was my honor and pleasure this past Thursday to be a part of the PLUS Canadian Chapter event in Toronto, Ontario. It was a well-organized and really well-attended event — so well-attended in fact that it was sold out. It was standing room only. I was also fortunate with weather for my visit. There was some occasional sun while I was there and the temperatures were generally mild, at least for this time of year in Canada, so I had a little chance to look around some as well. 

 

I was the keynote speaker and participated in a discussion with moderator Brian Rosenbaum of AON on the topic “What’s in Store for Executive Risk in 2018.” Even with the crowd size, there was a lot of audience interaction. I know I enjoyed the session and I think the attendees did as well. It was great seeing some old friends and making some new friends, too. It was great to learn how many of the Canadians follow The D&O Diary.

 

Here’s a picture taken just before the event with the event moderator Brian Rosenberg of AON, and, on Brian’s right, Nicole McAuley of the Forbes Chochla law firm, and to my left Jennifer Drake of AON. Nicole and Jen were instrumental in planning and organizing the event and they were also great hosts as well.

 

The turnout for the event was great. This picture really doesn’t do justice to the crowd. The room was packed.

 

The reception after the education also was great — although a little crowded. I had a chance to meet a number of the attendees during the reception. Here I am standing with, from left to right, Jessica Foster of AON; Samantha Rodrigues of AON; Michelle Dalton of Intact Insurance Company; and Madeline Ntoukas of DWF Claims (Canada).

 

With Priya Vansh of Beazley Canada and Aisha Anwar of Swiss Re. That’s Jeffrey Ballard of Liberty International Underwriters behind us.

 

With Hang Le Hong of Arthur J. Gallagher, Montreal.

 

With Tim Usher-Jones of Chubb.

 

With the PLUS Canadian Chapter (Toronto) Steering Committee. From left to right, Joshua Laycock, The Guarantee Company of North America; Nicole McAuley, Forbes Chochla; Jennifer Drake, AON; me; Matthew Devcic of Allianz; Michael Densham of Berkshire Hathaway; Priya Vansh, Beazley Canada; and David Berry of Liberty International Underwriters. What a great bunch of people.

 

More Pictures of Toronto:

The Ontario Legislative Building

 

As I was walking around in downtown Toronto, I thought to myself that there really didn’t seem to much street life for a city the size of Toronto. It turns out, all the people were underground. There is a huge network of underground passageways called the Toronto PATH connecting basically the entire downtown area, in a area lined with shops and restaurants.

 

Nothing more Canadian than this, eh? Waiting in line for coffee at a Tim Horton’s.