On November 28 and 29, the Association for Federal Enterprise Risk Management (AFERM) held their annual Summit: a hybrid event held in Washington, D.C. that attracted over 400 risk management professionals to network and learn within their profession.
This year, the Summit came close to a postponement as the chairs of the event navigated a looming government shutdown that had many conference attendees in a holding pattern, unable to get approval to register. In the final month before the event, AFERM added over 200 registrations, many of which came after the November 16 continuing resolution passed by the U.S. Senate. Despite this hiccup, the event was a success! Attendees enjoyed 4 keynote sessions, including a speech by IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. Attendees also could earn CPEs at the 21 breakout sessions. Additionally, in person attendees had the opportunity to view demonstrations of the latest in ERM software and products from over 20 vendors that attended the event.
As this was the first year of MHQ and AFERM’s partnership, MHQ’s role looked a little different than with other client conferences. With the Summit project plan and on-site coordination for this year already taken care of, Steve Richter (MHQ Executive Director for AFERM), and Dara Rudick (Founder, CEO of MHQ) could attend with a focus on observing and learning. The team was able to familiarize themselves with the atmosphere of the event and envision their role for future AFERM Summits.
MHQ is grateful to have had the opportunity to take in this event from an outside perspective. We’ve gained valuable insights that will undoubtedly contribute to the success of future Summits.
We also express our gratitude for Marianne Roth, AFERM’s president. Marianne’s leadership is a huge component of AFERM’s success in their Annual Summit as well as their day-to-day programs. MHQ looks forward to continuing our collaborative journey with AFERM.
