IRMI - International Risk Management Institute Leadership

Ron Allen, chief financial officer, has been a part of the IRMI family since 2002. Prior to joining IRMI, he worked in financial positions with technology and financial services companies for 11 years. Mr. Allen is currently a member on the executive team and serves on the board of directors for WebCE and ZERORISK. He is responsible for overseeing the company’s financial integrity and forecasting its financial future. Mr. Allen has a master’s degree of science in accounting from the University of Texas at Dallas and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Texas A&M. He also holds the titles Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).

Mike Wojcik, executive vice president and chief information officer, brought 15 years of information systems experience to IRMI when he joined the firm in 1999. Before coming to IRMI, he was vice president of management information systems with a multi-line insurer. In previous assignments, he led the information and technology organizations for two companies specializing in automated billing and collections of health insurance claims. Prior to that, Mr. Wojcik was a systems consultant and project manager for a premier systems consulting firm. He graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University. Mr. Wojcik is a member of the executive committee and is responsible for managing IRMI's information systems.

Joel A. Appelbaum, executive vice president and chief content officer, brings with him over 25 years of experience with the insurance industry. Before joining IRMI, Mr. Appelbaum was the president of the construction division for ProSight Specialty Insurance. He specialized in providing insurance solutions for the construction industry. Previously, he was the enterprise chief risk officer for Zurich Insurance in North America and the chief underwriting officer at Zurich Direct Underwriters. Prior to that, he was the construction risk officer at CNA Insurance. Prior to joining CNA, Mr. Appelbaum served as a senior officer of the Argonaut Great Central Insurance Company in Chicago. While with the Argonaut Companies, he held various positions, increasing in responsibility, relating to insuring and underwriting large contractors and wrap-up projects. Mr. Appelbaum holds a BS degree from DePaul University (Chicago) and an MBA with honors in international business from Lake Forest Graduate School (Chicago). He has professional Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in Risk Management (ARM), and Associate in Insurance Services (AIS) designations from the Insurance Institute of America and the Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS) certification from IRMI.