Canadian Risk Forum – Executive Leader Session

One of the participants joining the 10th annual Canadian Risk Forum earlier this month for a muchanticipated Executive Leader session was Daniel Moore, Co-Founder River Run Ventures. He sat down for a Fireside Chat with Katherine Rivington, Head, North American Retail Credit and Chief Risk Officer (CRO), Canadian P&C and Wealth Management, BMO Financial Group, moderated by Yannic BlaisGauthier, Partner, Financial Services Risk Management, EY. The session delved into Innovation and the Future of Risk Management with Risk Executives as they navigate the constant disruption driven by forces such as globalization, environmental change, demographics, and technological and talent expectation shifts. Before the Forum, Daniel was able to spend some time with Intelligent Risk editor, Carl Densem, for a brief interview about the event.

PRMIA now? Daniel, which of these forces is picking up and demanding risk managers’ attention right

Daniel In today’s transformative era, risk managers have more to pay attention to than ever before. They need to heed warnings in imminent areas like technology, talent and macroeconomic concerns, while also paying attention to longer-term risk possibilities on the horizon. You can’t, as a risk manager, do one without the other; it’s a bit like an air traffic controller, you risk having planes backing up in the sky if your only focus is the ones taking off safely. So, the challenge comes from both the larger number and varied timeline of the issues risk managers face today, but with that challenge comes the opportunity for companies that manage these risks well to really build a competitive business model. At times acting quickly is a competitive advantage, but at other times you need to be a fast follower. That points to a key skill for companies: prioritization. Immediate concerns need action right away, for instance repositioning the bank’s balance sheet given interest rate hikes or reacting to talent needs. Other concerns are long-term and allow more time for thoughtfulness when planning an approach. Regardless of when and how concerns come up, the right time to start thinking about organizational readiness is now.

PRMIA What is the danger of falling behind or waiting for the shifting sands to settle?

Daniel

PRMIA How can organizations attract (and keep) the right talent, where are companies going wrong?

Daniel People risk is near and dear to my heart, it’s something I think about a lot, especially since banking is all about people. The pandemic has been a reminder that people and safety -whether customers or employees- are at the heart of our organizations and they need to be at the centre of our risk frameworks. Now, after a few years, we’re thinking about how to create the right work environment that meets the changing needs of employees and provides them with the flexibility they’re looking for – whether it’s working remote or taking a hybrid approach We’ve also seen a lot of organizations double-down on their sense of purpose and how they can live their purpose through corporate responsibility initiatives. A recent Harvard Business Review article showed that C-suite job requirements are now more about empathy and communication than hard, technical business skills and research from EY reveals today’s employees want their leaders to be empathetic to both their professional and personal needs. An ability to truly understand employees, customers and communities wins in the long-run; that’s a sustainable business advantage.

The Executive Leadership Fireside Chat can be viewed as a part of the Canadian Risk Forum recording.