May 17, 2004 - The Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA) is pleased to announce that Francois Bourdon of Montreal, Canada and Tan You Leong of Singapore have been named the winners of the prestigious PRM Candidate of the Year award for 2004.

First selected as being among the top fifteen candidates in exam performance, Mr. Bourdon and Mr. Tan were then chosen to be among five finalists based on their answers to a standard set of essay questions that were reviewed by a diverse committee of experts. These finalists were then interviewed by PRMIA leaders and letters of recommendation from their department heads were sought. Based on all of these inputs, Mr. Bourdon and Mr. Tan were distinguished.

The Professional Risk Manager (PRM) designation is the most challenging and most highly regarded certification for risk professionals. Having secured public endorsements from numerous firms and accolades for its quality and standard-setting design, those that attain the designation are the top prospects in their field. The winners of the PRM Candidate of the Year are the best of the best.

Francois Bourdon was an Actuarial Cross-Over candidate whose outstanding performance on the exams of the PRM program (PRM Focus Award Winner for Exam III - Risk Management Practices), and his excellence in elucidating the role of risk management in the firm impressed our reviewers.

He currently serves as a Portfolio Manager and Quantitative Strategist for Fiera Capital in Montreal, Canada. At Fiera, his responsibilities include determining asset mix, developing models, management of a Canadian Equity portfolio and development of a Global Tactical Asset Allocation fund that is scheduled to launch this month.

Prior to working with Fiera, Francois held positions with Desjardins-Laurentian Life Assurance Company and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company of Canada.

Said Gisèle Wilson, Senior Vice-President, Distribution and Co-Chief Investment Officer for Fiera of Francois, " ...he has been passionately dedicated to developing and implementing systematic and successful approaches to money management, particularly through the application of meticulously tested quantitative models created by him." She continued, "François’ intelligent, rigorous and well-researched approach and his strong focus on risk management are directly responsible for our ability to compete in this area."

Francois has his B.Sc. Mathematics (Actuarial Sciences) from Concordia University, is an Actuarial Fellow with the Society of Actuaries (FSA), a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Professional Risk Manager (PRM).

Tan You Leong of Singapore was an FRM Cross-Over candidate whose outstanding performance on the exams of the PRM program (PRM Focus Award Winner for Exam II - Mathematical Foundations of Risk Measurement, where he achieved a perfect score), and essays explaining his views on risk management philosophy impressed our reviewers.

He currently serves as a Risk Analyst with the Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation – OCBC Bank (Group Risk – Operational Risk Management). At OCBC, You Leong is primarily responsible for spear heading the development and implementation of the operational risk management framework and methodologies across OCBC Group.

Prior to working in the Operational Risk area at OCBC, You Leong worked as a Risk Analyst in Group Risk – Market Risk Management. There he was involved in analyzing and conceptualizing market risk models and methodologies, enhancing the VaR (Value-at-Risk) Engine and the development of valuation methodologies for structured products, e.g. cross-currency basis swaps, convertible bond asset swap.

You Leong's references went out of their way to praise his performance. Said Mike Fullwood, Head of Continuity Management for OCBC "I have been in Banking for more than 30 years and have not come across someone with all of TYL's qualities." "You Leong is an extraordinary individual...," said Jack Foo, Head of Operational Risk Management for OCBC. "...what distinguishes You Leong is his ability to be able to analyse and understand what he [sees] and then present to us in a manner that puts it in the appropriate context and demystifies the jargon. It is his ability to distil information and strong problem solving skills that differentiates him from the rest." Continuing, Mr. Foo and Mr Fullwood said, "[He] has always displayed a strong sense of commitment to both the organisation and the risk profession."

You Leong has his Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) from the National University of Singapore and is a candidate for Level III of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. He has been awarded the OCBC Bank Special Chairman Award for Continuous Improvement Excellence and the Lee Kuan Yew Gold Medal (best graduate in Electrical Engineering Department), National University of Singapore (NUS).

The finalists for the PRM Candidate of the Year Award included:

Ulf Klinker works in the Market Risk Controlling department of ING BHF-Bank, in Frankfurt, Germany. He has an M.S. in Physics from the University of Ulm and wrote a Masters' Thesis in Theoretical Quantum Optics at Texas A&M University in the US. He has also conducted post graduate studies of Financial Mathematics at the University of Ulm.

Dr. Matthew Fletcher holds an MA in Mathematics and Computation from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Bath. He has worked at several banks and software vendors in the City of London, most recently at Sungard Trading and Risk. His main focus is software development for the pricing and risk-management of derivatives.

Jeffrey Roberts is currently Vice President-Research for Energy Merchant LLC (EML) has 20 years experience in the chemical and energy industries. Jeff received an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh and has a BS in chemical engineering from Virginia Tech where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He also holds the CFA designation.

Please join us in congratulating the following candidates who were awarded the 2004 PRM Merit Award:

The following panel conducted the final interviews and determined the winners:

The following panel reviewed the essay answers of those eligible for the PRM Candidate of the Year Award: