Biosecurity

The Big Covid-19 Blind Spot: Lack of Risk Management Is Leaving Us Wanting

In many organizations, risk managers have long been essentially back-office roles, with limited or no access to boards, executives, and key decision-makers. They oversee a varied and ad hoc set of risks like workplace health and safety, business continuity, cybersecurity, compliance, and fraud. But their jobs tend to lack sufficient authority and funding, and those in leadership positions often don’t understand risk management and its importance to their business. Outside of large corporations and financial services firms, Chief Risk Officers have been the exception rather than the rule.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the social and economic crises it has brought have thrust risk managers forward, and they’re now playing a key role in crisis management and business continuity; their knowledge and expertise are finally being put to good use. The survivors that emerge from this period—whether they’re startups, tech companies, or larger established corporations—are likely to be those that have developed strong risk management capabilities.