The decision to grant Sonia Cambier the 2025 award was based on her outstanding track record in addressing the complexities of the modern risk landscape. As noted by Bart Smets, Sonia has demonstrated profound innovation in addressing emerging risks. Her strategy uniquely combines defense, resilience, and insurance, while leveraging alternative solutions, such as captives, to both absorb losses and finance critical prevention efforts.
Her strategic role involves managing complex risks across global supply chains, regulatory environments, and industrial operations. Beyond her internal responsibilities, Sonia is recognized for her active participation in professional circles, where she contributes to the advancement of the field. Her foresight regarding topics such as Brexit, regulatory changes, and alternative insurance models has consistently placed her ahead of industry trends.
Sonia’s path into risk management began as a Casualty Underwriter at a firm now part of AXA XL, followed by a tenure at Aon as Account Director and practice leader for “high hazard industries,” including Chemical, Pharma, Mining, and Aerospace. These sectors are characterized by top-tier risk management and low loss frequency, but a potential for catastrophic events that require sophisticated risk transfer programs.
Solvay was originally Sonia’s most highly-regarded client due to its advanced use of alternative risk transfer. When the opportunity arose to lead their insurance and prevention department, she transitioned to the corporate side. Today, as Insurance and Prevention Director at Solvay – a multinational chemical company founded in 1863 – she reports directly to the CFO. She oversees the risk landscape for a company whose “essential chemistry” is vital for air purification, food conservation, health, and sustainable technologies like battery recycling and semiconductor manufacturing.
Solvay has a long history of innovation, establishing one of the first reinsurance captives in the 1970s. Sonia, alongside her CFO and the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), has advanced this legacy by significantly increasing the Captive’s self-retention across nearly all lines of insurance.
“Coupled with a disciplined loss prevention program, this strategy has generated a substantial cash positive return for the Group,” Sonia explains.
She attributes the success of these programs to a cooperative nature. Developing comprehensive programs requires deep collaboration with all functional leaders and business units to understand industrial processes and local regulatory environments. For Sonia, the key risk for any internal function is stagnation, failing to challenge itself or running on “autopilot.”
Sonia’s leadership is perhaps most visible in her role as Chairman of the Board of MIRIS, a Cyber Insurance Mutual founded in 2022. Created as a response to limited market capacity for large European companies, MIRIS began with 7 companies and has grown to 13. By uniting the expertise of various Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), MIRIS fosters strong cyber resiliency among its members.
Furthermore, Sonia successfully managed the insurance complexities of the 2023 spin-off of Solvay into two independent groups: Solvay and Syensqo. She describes this experience as one of the most challenging and fascinating of her career.
One of Sonia’s most valuable insights is that insurance must be a core component of business deals. She recalls a defining moment early in her career at Solvay: a late-night call from a colleague in Japan. A major deal was on the verge of collapse because the buyer required specific insurance coverage that was not locally available.
“Lesson learned: therefore, a key takeaway for leadership teams is to engage their insurance team from the outset in all significant group projects (including large Capex, M&A, Joint-ventures, and major new commercial or supply contracts) and empower them as a core stream leader. What we do now at Solvay.”
Sonia acknowledges that the risk profession comes with intensity, complexity, and stress, but emphasises that the rewards, particularly the talented people she works with, make it “the most beautiful job in the world.”
She warns that the industry is often saturated with technical jargon, making it feel like a foreign language. Her advice to future risk managers is clear: “A risk manager within a corporate group must adopt a clear, simple, and educational approach to effectively convey key messages.”
As the risk environment becomes more intricate, unpredictable, and interconnected, Sonia sees risk management as an increasingly vital function. Organisations must continue to seek alternative ways to finance risks when market conditions fail. Personally, even with three decades of experience, Sonia remains a lifelong learner, currently focusing her attention on the potential risks associated with Artificial Intelligence.
– Interview with Sonia Cambier, winner of the Jo Willaert Award 2025 –
