Valerie Cusano, BSc., LL.B.

President, Iridium Risk Services Inc.

Val provides the overall leadership for Iridium and shapes the "Client first" culture of the company.

She works directly with large market-cap companies to develop and implement effective insurance programs and to facilitate the prompt payment of claims.  Val knows that learning her clients' business inside and out as well as constant communication are the nuts and bolts to building long-standing, trustworthy relationships.

Val earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alberta and a Law degree at the University of British Columbia. She started her career in insurance litigation before switching to the broker side with Marsh in 1996. Val progressed from a claims manager to an account executive for oil and gas companies with operations ranging from Alberta's oil sands to Africa and the Middle East.

Through her work as a broker over the past 15 years in the energy industry, Val has developed a reputation for her expertise in directors' and officers' liability, claims management and captives. She has been mentioned and involved in numerous articles, panels, forums, committees and boards. Most recently, Val was featured on the cover of Canadian Insurance Top Broker's June 2011 issue for the article titled: Staking a Claim, and served as a member of the Canadian Insurance Top Broker Editorial Advisory in 2012. She is currently a member of the 2013 Canadian Commercial Insurance Summit (CCIS) Advisory Committee as well as a Director of Palm Captive Consultants Limited.