RiskMasters

RiskMasters Join Julien Haye on meaningful conversations that unravel the complexities of risk management

20/06/2026

Most compliance frameworks are designed to define what “good” looks like.

They set out rules, controls, and escalation paths.

What they do not define clearly is how those rules are applied in real decisions.

In this week’s RiskMasters, Jennifer Geary and Natalie McManus-Barnett, FCCA, F**A discuss this in the context of their book, How to Be a Chief Compliance Officer.

One point from the conversation stood out.

Compliance rarely breaks at the level of policy.

It breaks in how trade-offs are made under pressure.

• A decision is accelerated to meet a deadline
• A control is interpreted differently to maintain momentum
• A concern is acknowledged, then deprioritised

Each action is defensible in isolation.

Taken together, they shape outcomes that no framework explicitly intended.

This is where the role of the Chief Compliance Officer becomes critical.

Not in defining the rules.

In influencing how they are applied.

As Natalie McManus-Barnett puts it:
“Compliance is not about rules first. It starts with understanding harm.”

That shifts the focus.
→ From compliance as a checkpoint
→ To compliance as part of the decision itself
→ From monitoring activity
→ To shaping behaviour in real time

This is where many organisations struggle.

Signals do not arrive neatly packaged.

They sit across teams, contexts, and competing priorities.

Acting on them requires judgement, credibility, and persistence.

🎓 In this episode, we explore:
• What the Chief Compliance Officer role looks like in practice
• How compliance influences real business decisions
• Where frameworks lose traction under pressure
• The IMPACT Wheel and how it connects compliance activities
• The capabilities shaping modern compliance leadership

The question is not whether the framework is robust.

It is how consistently it holds when decisions become difficult.

💬 How does that play out in your organisation?

21/05/2026

Most organisations believe that if a serious issue is developing, it will become visible. That there will be a moment where the situation is clear, ownership is defined, and action can begin.

In practice, it rarely works that way.

In this RiskMasters conversation with Bruce McIndoe, one point stands out clearly:

Organisations do not fail because signals are absent. They fail because signals are fragmented.

🔹A geopolitical shift sits with one team.
🔹A supplier issue sits with another.
🔹A cyber anomaly appears elsewhere.

Each is assessed in isolation.

None appears decisive.

What is missing is not information.

It is the ability to connect it early enough to act.

This is where the gap between risk management and operational resilience becomes visible.

Most organisations invest heavily in reporting, governance, and control frameworks. These provide structure and comfort, and they serve an important purpose.

They do not, however, determine how the organisation behaves when conditions start to change.

As Bruce put it:
“Resilience cannot be delegated, and it cannot be faked.”

It shows up in how quickly teams can share information, challenge assumptions, and make decisions before the situation is fully understood.

This is also where many organisations struggle.

Early signals are rarely clear. They are ambiguous, incomplete, and often sit between functions. Acting on them requires judgement, coordination, and a willingness to move without full certainty.

That is not a framework problem. It is an operating model and leadership problem.

🎙 In this episode, we explore:
• Why operational resilience is not a reporting outcome
• How fragmented signals create hidden operational risk
• Why organisations struggle to act on ambiguity
• How crisis management depends on coordination, not plans
• What fragmentation reveals about real resilience capability

The question is not whether the signals exist. It is whether your organisation is structured to connect them in time.

💬 Where does that connection break down in your organisation?

28/04/2026

"Your culture is not tested in a crisis. It is tested in your weekly leadership meeting.

When a decision should be taken, but gets deferred.

When ownership is discussed, but not confirmed.

When no one challenges, and the room moves on.

Nothing escalates.

Nothing breaks.

Yet control has already started to weaken.

In this week’s RiskMasters, I’m joined by Leroy Roberts to unpack why these moments are not minor inefficiencies.

They are early indicators of risk building inside the organisation.

Most organisations manage culture through values, engagement, or communication.

That feels constructive. It is also where the signal gets lost.

“Culture is not a values exercise. It is a control mechanism.” — Leroy Roberts

Culture is visible in how decisions are taken when pressure is real.

It determines whether issues are surfaced early or carried forward.

It shapes whether people challenge with clarity or choose silence.

This is not about tone or messaging.

It is about how the organisation actually operates when it matters.

What makes this difficult is that the signals do not look like risk.

They look like normal work.

A slower decision.

A second meeting.

A point left unchallenged.

Until the consequences surface somewhere else.

🎙 In this episode, we explore:
• Why decision drag is an early signal of weakening control
• How risk culture shapes decision-making and operational risk outcomes
• Why silence reflects perceived risk, not alignment
• What ownership clarity reveals about governance effectiveness
• How boards can move from culture narratives to measurable signals
• Why leadership behaviour determines whether risk is surfaced or suppressed

The real risk is not what escalates. It is what never gets challenged early.

💬 Where do you see this playing out in your organisation?

14/04/2026

"“Risk management is not about colors and matrices. It’s about people.” – Horst Simon

In this episode of RiskMasters, I sit down with Horst Simon, global risk advisor and founder of Risk Culture Builders, to talk about the human side of risk where frameworks fall short and culture takes the lead.

We explore:
🔹 Why the Three Lines of Defense model is due for a rethink
🔹 How to build real risk ownership through culture, not control
🔹 The role of psychological safety in driving risk transparency
🔹 Why cultural worldviews shape how risk is seen—and acted on

It’s a must-listen for anyone serious about leading change in risk governance, culture, and resilience.

👉 Listen to the full episode: link in comments

Is your risk culture built for checklists or for decision-making? Are your teams just reporting risk or truly managing it? 👇

23/03/2026

Many risk leaders are promoted to CRO because they are strong operators.

They understand frameworks.

They know how to assess, challenge, and control.

They have credibility built on technical depth and ex*****on.

That is precisely what makes the transition difficult.

In this week’s RiskMasters, I’m joined by Jennifer Geary to explore what really changes when stepping into the C-suite, and why many capable leaders struggle to adapt.

The instinct is to do more of what worked before.

To stay close to the detail.

To rely on technical expertise as the primary source of value.

At CRO level, that approach quickly reaches its limits.

“The very skills that got you into the C-suite can become constraints once you’re there.” — Jennifer Geary

The role shifts from assessing risk to shaping decisions.

From providing answers to creating alignment.

From technical depth to organisational influence.

The challenge is not capability.

It is repositioning how that capability is applied.

A CRO is no longer effective by being the most technically proficient person in the room.

They become effective when they can align executives with different priorities, create clarity under uncertainty, and ensure that risk is embedded in how decisions are made, not reviewed after the fact.

What stood out in this conversation is how often this shift is underestimated.

Not because it is complex.

Because it is counterintuitive.

🎙 In this episode, we explore:
• Why high-performing leaders often struggle in their first C-suite role
• The shift from ex*****on to orchestration
• How to lead effectively when you are not the expert
• Why relationships become the core operating mechanism
• How psychological safety shapes decision quality under pressure
• What differentiates effective executive teams

The real risk is not getting the promotion.

It is stepping into the role without changing how you operate.

💬 For those who have stepped into a CRO role, what changed most in how you lead?

01/03/2026

"Most companies treat fraud prevention as a 'no' button. They're losing revenue because of it.

In this week’s RiskMasters, I’m joined by Iremar Brayner, Head of Fraud Prevention at G2A, to challenge a common assumption:

That fraud prevention is a back-office control function.

It isn’t.

It’s a strategic design decision that shapes customer experience, conversion, and trust.

“Identity is no longer a single checkpoint. It’s a journey.” — Iremar Brayner

Across 17 years in payments, fintech, ride-hailing, and digital marketplaces, Iremar has seen fraud evolve from rule-based monitoring into layered identity strategies embedded across the user lifecycle.

The real question is not whether fraud exists.

It’s how intelligently you design for it.

🎙 In this episode, we explore:
• Why fraud is never one-size-fits-all
• How identity verification has become a strategic control layer
• The hidden cost of false positives
• Why fraud teams should operate as product partners
• How to balance protection with customer experience

Fraud prevention is not just about reducing loss.

It’s about consciously managing the trade-off between friction and growth.

🎧 Listen & Learn:
RiskMasters EP20 – Fraud, Identity & Risk Management: Building Trust Without Friction

💬 How does your organisation balance fraud control and customer experience? Who owns that trade-off?

17/01/2026

When Risk Transformation Becomes Too Process‑Driven, We Lose the Outcome

In this week’s RiskMasters, Samantha Regan challenges a quiet assumption in many organisations: that risk transformation is about new frameworks, new tools, or new operating models.

It isn’t.

It’s about clarity, culture, and how people actually make decisions when change arrives.

“You can build the parts — but without mindset change, it fails.” — Samantha Regan

Across more than two decades advising global financial institutions, Samantha has seen transformation succeed and stall. The difference is rarely technology.
It’s whether leaders understand what they are trying to change, why it matters, and how people experience that change day to day.

🎓 In this CPD‑accredited episode, we explore:
• Why risk transformation must start with outcomes, not tooling
• How Generative AI can unlock capacity in compliance without losing control
• Why culture and mindset are the hardest — and most decisive — levers
• What a future‑ready risk function actually looks like in practice
• How leaders can reskill teams for judgement, adaptability, and foresight

Risk transformation is not a digitisation exercise.

It’s a leadership discipline that connects trust, behaviour, and decision quality under pressure.

🎧 Listen & Learn:
RiskMasters CPD EP19 – Risk Transformation, AI & Cultural Change
with Samantha Regan, Managing Director & Risk Transformation Lead at Accenture

👉 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6MzLcy1GXd6NCRPjjNLAjR?si=NNkNlWLLS7mkvYiwjK-HMg&nd=1&dlsi=9d43427e8c0d4349

👉 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/risk-transformation-ai-cultural-change-in-risk-management/id1709495792?i=1000744571784

Full show notes, recap, and CPD certificate:
🔗 https://www.aevitium.com/post/samantha-regan-on-riskmasters

💬 If you were redesigning your risk function for 2026, what would you simplify, retire, or fundamentally rethink?

01/11/2025

"When Risk Leadership Became Too Technical, We Lost the Point

In this week’s RiskMasters, Jeff Simmons reminds us that the real craft of risk isn’t science.

It’s judgement, trust, and courage. The things no model can replicate.

“Good CROs aren’t good scientists. They’re good business leaders who understand risk.” – Jeff Simmons

Across two decades in banking and regulatory transformation, Jeff has seen the profession evolve and drift.
From the global financial crisis to Brexit, he’s led through upheaval and watched risk management redefine itself under pressure.

What he learned is simple: governance without culture fails, and compliance without trust creates fragility.

🎓 In this CPD-accredited episode, we explore:
• How risk governance earns trust through delivery, not paperwork
• What regulators really value — and how transparency changes the dialogue
• Why strategy, appetite, and ex*****on must move in sync
• How psychological safety and tone from the top shape foresight
• The next frontier: reconnecting risk and finance to drive performance

Risk is not a reporting function. It’s the bridge between ambition and assurance — and its strength lies in people, not process.

🎧 Listen & Learn: RiskMasters CPD EP18 – The Evolving Role of Risk Leadership with Jeff Simmons, Head of Advisory at ALBA Partners and former CRO at MUFG Securities Europe

👉 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ohPfmsen7lihZ4UWqoFnY?si=AXfuQjIkRWWwqmDtlXWxVQ
👉 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/riskmasters-trailblazing-risk-leadership/id1709495792?i=1000733432286

Full notes + CPD certificate:
🔗 https://www.aevitium.com/podcast/jeff-simmons-on-riskmasters

💬 Where do you think risk leadership has lost the most ground: in culture, governance, or decision-making confidence?

"

A behind-the-scenes moment with the fantastic Britta Achmann, recorded back in August 2023, when RiskMasters was still i...
13/08/2025

A behind-the-scenes moment with the fantastic Britta Achmann, recorded back in August 2023, when RiskMasters was still in its early days. This was only my second interview, and it remains one of my favourites.

I first met Britta in 2010, and over the years, we’ve stayed in touch. She has always impressed me with her ability to see around corners and connect the dots in risk management long before most of us catch on.

Our conversation was both personal and thought-provoking. Britta explored the future of risk management and what happens when technology fundamentally reshapes how trading and risk oversight work.

One line in particular still resonates:

📍 “If it ever gets to that point, we probably have to rethink it because we won't have traders and risk managers anymore. We'll have these integrated quant teams.” – Britta Achmann

🎧 Full episode:
https://www.aevitium.com/post/coding-the-future-digitalisation-and-ai-in-risk-management-and-trading-with-britta-achmann

Also on:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/riskmasters/id1709495792
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/26wLJIg01ITFIalfHu9VXo?si=b880bbf08eaf4b45
Amazon: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/f27dc4ce-cf1e-4bb2-8bac-ba0ee69abd67/riskmasters

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