Cheri Hanes
Head of Construction Innovation & Sustainability AXA XL
Cheri is VP, Head of Construction Innovation & Sustainability at AXA XL. She leads strategy across AXA XL’s construction lines—helping clients build smarter and more sustainably through better processes, the right technology, tailored insurance solutions, and stronger service.
She partners with teams and clients to accelerate innovation, raise sustainability and tech maturity, and move the construction industry forward. She also represents AXA XL at industry events and educational forums, sharing practical insights on what’s next in construction risk and resilience.
Cheri brings 30+ years of experience spanning insurance, sustainable building, preconstruction, construction operations, and project management.
Seminars
- Implementing proactive risk management and site protocols to control moisture, weather exposure, material protection and fire risks to reduce disruptions and rework
- Engaging insurers, risk engineers, manufacturers, project partners, and delivery teams early to improve insurability, streamline approvals, and resolve issues before they impact delivery
- Aligning perception with proven practice by examining proven fire performance, protection strategies, and emerging best practices facilitating safer, taller, and more complex bio-based projects
As mass timber and emerging bio-based materials gain more traction, a key barrier to scale remains securing insurer confidence. Uncertainty around risk can translate into higher premiums, stricter underwriting requirements, financing challenges, and project delays. This workshop will explore how project teams can proactively address these concerns by understanding how insurers evaluate risk, generating the evidence needed by underwriters, and embedding risk mitigation strategies early in the design process.
This workshop will explore:
- Clarifying how insurers assess emerging materials such as mass timber, hemp, bamboo, and other emerging bio-based composites, and the specific data required to validate long-term risk performance
- Aligning developers, contractors, manufacturers, and insurers early in the project lifecycle to reduce risk, avoid late-stage cost impacts, and improve project outcomes
- Using performance data, claims evidence, fire protection strategies, and codecompliant design to strengthen underwriting certainty and accelerate market acceptance of low-carbon construction materials
