Airmic meets growing demand for risk skills, explains outgoing chair

Paul goulding’s term as Airmic chair has spanned Brexit, the Grenfell Tower fire and failure of UK construction firm Carillion, not to mention a global malware attack and near record natural catastrophes. Yet it is the changing business environment – with advancements in technology, globalisation and emergence of new business models – that he sees as the biggest risk management issue during his time in office. The outgoing Airmic chair believes that this mix of volatility and change is creating increased demand for risk management skills and risk managers. He sees the risk management profession becoming more relevant and evolving, requiring Airmic to increase engagement and meet members’ changing needs. Strategic focus “Risk management is moving up the food chain and that is why the technical support and education provided by Airmic is so important. Going forward, risk managers will become more strategic and operationally focused, while the evolving business model will also become part of that strategic discussion,” said Mr Goulding, who is also director of insurance at Heathrow Airport. For example, cyber is a developing area that risk managers have little experience of, and are hungry for information on, according to Mr Goulding. He has found Airmic a useful resource for cyber, be it for networking, training, education or access to technical guidance. Last year Airmic published a guide to buying cyber insurance and is due to release a second cyber report at this year’s conference in Liverpool at the start of June. “I would not feel completely comfortable talking to IT about cyber, but it is helpful to get a leg up and know what questions to ask,” said Mr Goulding. Brokers and insurers are a good source of advice on cyber risk, but risk managers also need a more “open discussion” with their risk management peers, he said. The cyber insurance market has moved on considerably in the past year, continued Mr Goulding. “We now see that much larger cyber insurance programmes are available and that companies are better able to articulate cyber risk in a more coherent and focused way,” he explained. Airmic published Roads to Revolution at its annual conference. This is the latest instalment in its work on the role of risk management, or lack of it, in corporate failure and governance. The latest study looks at how risk management can help companies cope with changing business models. Airmic is also due to produce a report on the role of the chief risk officer, the likely career path for an increasing number of Airmic members, according to Mr Goulding. A growing trend towards more senior risk management positions can already be seen in the success of Airmic’s Leadership Programme, launched last year with Cass Business School. The next programme intake – which promises to give senior risk professionals the skills required to become “tomorrow’s risk leaders” – begins later this year and is a testament to the growing maturity of the risk management profession, according to Mr Goulding. “Sustained demand for the Leadership Programme shows where we are heading as a profession. As risk managers broaden their involvement and influence in an organisation the importance of soft skills, as well as technical skills, increases,” he said. Mr Goulding expects demand for risk managers to grow, but does not envisage a skills shortage. Demand could be met from the existing pool of risk managers, university graduates and people working in other functions, like audit and legal, he said. “There will be increased demand for risk management professionals in the future. Risk is definitely a concept that boards are getting their heads around and are looking for people to advise them accordingly,” said Mr Goulding. Airmic recognises that members have different needs at various points of their careers, he explained. “Therefore, we are looking to help members obtain the right skills and progress their careers, from fastTrack for the newest generation of risk managers to the Leadership Programme for the future risk leaders and CROs,” he said. Expanding risk managers’ skills sets is also important for risk transfer, according to Mr Goulding. “Insurers want to understand their clients and for this they need risk managers. It’s about up-skilling and this is something that our insurance partners are anxious for us to do,” he said. When Mr Goulding took over as Airmic chair at last year’s conference, he set out his theme of “working better together”. A key task as chair has been to oversee the transition of Airmic chief executive from John Hurrell to John Ludlow, while at the same time maintaining and building relationships with members and partners, he explained. Airmic continues to look at ways to increase engagement with members as it meets their needs, according to Mr Goulding. “Whether it’s our guides or thought leadership, it is all down to the dialogue and suggestions of our members,” he said. The year spent as chair reinforced Mr Goulding’s belief in the importance of good communication within an organisation like Airmic. “It is easy to get too focused and assume everyone has the same level of knowledge. It is important to keep communicating, but also to find the appropriate level and form of communication,” he said.

Airmic meets growing demand for risk skills, explains outgoing chair

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