Dr. Louis Gritzo is chief science officer and staff senior vice president for commercial property insurer FM Global, a leader in property loss prevention and business continuity. Lou is responsible for leading the strategic advancement of science and research at FM Global, and oversees a worldwide team of scientists with expertise in fire, explosions, natural hazards (windstorms, floods, freeze, hail, and earthquakes), equipment risk and reliability, and cyber hazards. The team’s mission is to research global hazards and develop scientifically proven solutions to prevent property loss and business interruption.
Lou’s responsibilities include overseeing activities at FM Global’s US$250 million, 1,600-acre Research Campus in West Glocester, Rhode Island, USA, the world’s largest center for property loss prevention research and testing, as well as scientific laboratories in Norwood, Massachusetts, USA. He is also spearheading development of two new projects: an FM Global European research center on the future of industry, including automation and cyber security; and centers of excellence in Asia, Europe, and the Americas for the study of climate risk and climate resilience, work that supports ESG (environmental, social, and governance) performance for FM Global and its clients.
Prior to joining FM Global in 2006, Lou was manager of fire science and technology at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, and was a member of its Advanced Concepts Group think tank.
He has served as chair of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Heat Transfer Division Executive Committee, on the governing board of the Global Earthquake Model, on the Research Foundation Board of Trustees and Research Advisory Committee for the National Fire Protection Association, and on advisory committees for several universities. In 2015, he was an invited panelist for two sessions at the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Management in Sendai, Japan. He is also a contributing author to Forbes.com.
Gritzo has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, with a minor in applied mathematics, from Texas Tech University, USA.