Italian risk managers urged to continue climbing corporate agenda

Leading Italian risk managers agree that, now more than ever, companies in Europe’s fourth biggest economy need to embrace the concept of risk management at the highest level to help tackle rising threats to firms of all sizes.

Italian risk and insurance management association ANRA held the 2023 edition of its annual enterprise risk management (ERM) seminar in Milan on 4 May.

During the event, risk and insurance management experts also focused on the connection between operational management and cyber risk.

More than 100 ANRA members attended the event, which was sponsored by regional business association Assolombarda, and split into two round tables.

The first focused on the evolving role of the risk manager within small and big Italian companies. The second concentrated on the rise of cyber risk and the role of risk managers in tackling this rapidly evolving issue.

The opening discussion was introduced by Guido Zanetti, managing director, global power and utilities sector leader and head of the Italian energy practice of global management consulting firm Protiviti. Zanetti, a former risk manager in the utility sector, presented the findings of a survey of risk and insurance managers, carried out in partnership with ANRA.

ANRA now has more than 800 members representing many of Italy’s leading national and multinational companies; Italian risk managers, assisted by the association’s efforts, have made significant strides forward in terms of professionalism and corporate profile in recent times.

As elsewhere in Europe, the onset of Covid-19 followed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, against the backdrop of climate change and worsening natural catastrophe risks of all types, has certainly pushed risk management up the corporate agenda in Italy.

Protiviti’s survey found that this is particularly the case within larger multinational companies, and notably those in the financial services sector and energy and utilities, closely followed by the industrial and construction sector.

Unfortunately, the concept of structured risk management in medium and small companies, with fewer than 49 employees, remains rare.

Overall, however, Roberto Rentocchini, head of integrated industrial risk at Italian multinational energy giant ENI, said he was encouraged by the findings of the survey, which suggest a bright future for the profession in Europe.

“The results of the questionnaire are encouraging and create expectations in terms of further development and influence of the figure of risk manager in companies,” said Rentocchini.

“For this reason, the ability to implement a risk management process, on an enterprise-wide basis covering all risk areas and ‘proactive’ to support business decisions, is key to enabling the figure of risk manager,” he added.

Pietro Guzzi, quality and supply chain manager at Kolektor Microtel, the Italian arm of Slovenian electronics, motor and construction group Kolektor, said he believes operational risk management is a great “enabler” for the risk management profession.

But Guzzi stressed that the focus needs to be on the proactive use of the discipline in true decision-making rather than simple tick-box style compliance.

“In my experience as a quality manager, the area with the greatest possibility of influence is the operational one. The great challenge remains to move away from simple compliance led by the requirements of mandatory standards or voluntary standards, and move instead to having a risk management approach that drives the individual processes,” he said.

Silvia Stefini, chair of the audit and risk committee at Italy-based Renantis, the global designer, producer and manager of onshore and offshore wind farms, also stressed the importance of raising risk management out of the operational sphere and into the strategic.

“I really enjoyed participating in this round table because it highlighted the current problems in designing a risk management function that is effective for the organisation, and that is a point of collaboration and dialogue with the top management,” she said.

“We are going through increasingly difficult times where there are important challenges to be faced and where a strategic vision of risk management must be the foundation,” added Stefini.