WASHINGTON—The Weather Risk Management
Association (WRMA), the international trade organization of the
weather risk management industry, has elected a new Board of
Directors for the 2003-2004 calendar year.
Shingo Izawa of the Japan-based Circles International
Solutions PTE Limited, Gearoid Lane of the U.K. company Centrica
PLC, and Brian O'Hearne of Kansas-based Guaranteed Weather,
joined the WRMA Board and assumed their new responsibilities
immediately after their election at WRMA's fifth annual meeting
in Miami, Fl.
The nine-member WRMA Board of Directors also
includes President Lynda Clemmons of Connecticut-based XL
Weather & Energy Inc., Vice President John Polasek of
Texas-based Entergy Koch Trading LP, WRMA Treasurer Jeff Porter
of New York-based Hess Energy Trading Company and Directors
Claude Brown of London-based Clifford Chance, Colt Heppe of New
York-based Garban Intercapital LLC, and Alex Schippers of
Amsterdam-based ABN Amro Bank.
"Our new Board members bring experience and perspectives that
will be important to the Weather Risk Management Association as
we continue to foster the industry's strong growth and expansion
in the agriculture, energy, banking and investing end-user
communities," said WRMA Executive Director Valerie Cooper. "The
U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that nearly one-third of
the U.S. economy, or $3.5 trillion, is at risk due to the
weather. Companies throughout the world are beginning to
understand the magnitude of this risk and are increasingly using
these tools to manage it. WRMA's international Board is well
equipped to demonstrate that there is simply no excuse for
companies to lose profits due to the weather."
WRMA's annual industry survey noted
unprecedented growth in the number of weather risk management
contracts transacted from April 2002 through March 2003, nearly
tripling the transactions during the previous year. The survey
recorded 11,756 contracts transacted during the survey period
compared with 3,937 in the previous year. It also identified a
surge in smaller contracts, increased diversity of the
industries served and a broader spectrum of users. In addition,
during the past year, the number of contract transactions in
Europe and Asia nearly doubled in each region.
Mr. Izawa is the Founder and Senior Representative Officer of
Circles International Solutions PTE Limited, a nascent
enterprise specializing in weather insurance and derivatives. He
founded Circles International Solutions in April 2003.
Previously he was with Societe Generale for seven years. Mr.
Izawa earned a University degree in Economics from Seijo
University in Japan.
Mr. Lane is the Head of Electricity Supplies for Centrica
Plc.'s Energy Management Group and responsible for developing
Centrica's weather trading activities. A chartered engineer, he
holds a Master's degree in Engineering Science from the National
University of Ireland (University College Galway) and has an
M.B.A. from Henley Management College.
Mr. O'Hearne, former President and CEO of Aquila Inc.'s
insurance and trading companies, led the buyout of Aquila's
weather assets and trade names, including GuaranteedWeather –
which is now a member of WRMA. He was responsible for developing
and growing Aquila's weather and alternative risk business.
Aquila was a founding member of WRMA. Mr. O'Hearne intends to
bring a global and pure weather risk management perspective to
the Board of Directors. He received his L.L.M., M.B.A., J.D.,
and Bachelor of Arts from University of Missouri at Kansas City.
In an effort to encourage new vitality in the leadership,
Previous WRMA Board members Mark Tawney of Swiss Re, Diego
Wauters of Societe Generale, and Hiroshi Matsui of Mizuho
Corporate Bank, whose terms had expired, chose did not to run
for re-election.
"Mark Tawney, Diego Wauters and Hiroshi Matsui were valuable
Board members. We will miss their many contributions, and thank
them for their dedicated service to the Weather Risk Management
industry," Ms. Cooper said.
About the Weather Risk Management Association
Founded in 1999 by some of the leading companies
in the industry, the Weather Risk Management Association (WRMA)
is an international trade organization dedicated to promoting
the industry both to those within it and to end-users. The
industry began in 1997, offering companies the opportunity to
control their financial exposure to weather conditions. As a
part of its mission, WRMA initiates surveys of the industry,
advocates the standardization of contracts and other
documentation used for transactions and sponsors forums and
conferences around the world for members to meet and discuss a
range of topics such as international markets, data collection
issues and tax and legal matters.
