September 2022 E-Newsletter

A Message from our Executive Director

Welcome to the September E-Newsletter,

The CRO Forum on Managing Disruption in Financial Services was successfully relaunched in person this month. There was a full house to hear APRA Chair Wayne Byres’ final address to RMA Australia, during which he promoted the advantages of having a high quality risk profession working actively in financial institutions. Special thanks to Wayne for always taking the time to address RMA Australia’s premier Forum during his tenure as APRA Chair from 2014 – 2022.

I also thank EY’s Doug Nixon, Megan Holt and Diana Quinn for their outstanding efforts in making the 2022 RMA Australia CRO Forum a huge success. Ninety CROs attended the event, which was filled with networking opportunities.

A new networking opportunity for senior industry professionals within RMA Australia is our Emerging Risk Professionals Group (ERP) initiative called Connect Roulette. Participants that are new-to-industry or new-to-risk, classified as ’emerging’ risk professionals, will be matched with a senior industry professionals to organise a once-off 30 minute catchup. Read more below.

From an events perspective, we will host our annual Economic Update with Bill Evans in October. In November, Macquarie will host a webinar on Sustainable Finance and Protiviti will host their rescheduled webinar on Practical insights and reflections on transforming through cloud. This event was rescheduled due to the National Day of Mourning for the late Sovereign, Elizabeth the Second.

This month we spotlight Dr Hilary Lewis from QBE. Hilary gives us valuable insight into the challenges for risk professionals as we move into 2023.

FOLLOW RMA AUSTRALIA on LinkedIn to stay up to date with the latest industry, networking, ERP podcast and event information.

Richard Gilbert

Executive Director

SPOTLIGHT ON: Dr Hilary Lewis

 

This month, we spotlight Dr Hilary Lewis, Group Head of Conduct and Risk Culture, QBE Insurance.

 

What are the 3 – 4 primary tasks of your role, Group Head of Conduct and Risk Culture, QBE Insurance?

My role is to firstly ensure the ‘Top of House’ governance infrastructure for Risk Culture and Conduct Risk is fit for QBE’s purpose as a Global Insurer. Secondly, to see that QBE has the tools and mechanisms to embed QBE’s target risk culture, which includes the skills and behaviours to deliver this, are mature enough to drive the desired outcomes. I also lead the Group Ethics and Reportable Concerns function – more commonly known as the ‘Whistleblowing’ function.

How long have you worked in Risk Management?

In the early 2000s, I began working with young engineers, supporting the UK Government, who were keen to develop an entrepreneurial skill set as a growth driver in the engineering industry. A large part of being a successful entrepreneur is understanding the risks of your design business model. Over a number of years, across a large number and variety of business models, I became very familiar with many types of approaches to managing Risk. The 2008 Global Financial Crisis brought sharp focus to the non-financial risks, which is when I began to specialise in Risk Culture and, after that, Conduct Risk, which is closely connected.

What are some of your greatest career achievements in Risk?

– Bringing practical and impactful approaches to understanding and assessing Risk Culture and Conduct Risk within large, complex organisations. Some are still supporting the business activities of those organisations today.

– Writing a practical Construction Industry Guide to take a holistic and systems-thinking approach to Risk – essentially how to recognise the complexity and then simplify it.

– Building teams of great operators and subject matter experts that are also great people to work and have fun with.

What do you like most about being an RMA Australia Events Sub Committee member?

Firstly, there is great energy in the team on how best to bring interesting and expert views to the Risk community in Australia and secondly, there is a breadth of talent in the Committee, so no one interest dominates. We get a good selection and number of topics covered by leading and international speakers.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges facing Risk professionals in our industry as we head into 2023?

With many industries, and the firms that reside in those industries becoming more complex, there has never been a more pressing requirement for the independence and challenge of risk professionals.
However, there is a nuanced skill set that goes with maintaining independence and respectful challenge, especially in the face of strong pushback. This skill set needs to be better understood, nurtured, and safeguarded in organisations.

 

Connect Roulette

Looking for an opportunity to connect with other RMA Australia members, expand your network and share ideas and experiences with industry colleagues? RMA Australia is pleased to announce a new “Connect Roulette” initiative by the Emerging Risk Professionals (ERP) Committee.

Participants that are new-to-industry or new-to-risk, classified as ’emerging’ Risk professionals, will be matched with senior industry professionals to organise a once-off 30 minute catchup. You can “connect” via zoom, phone, over coffee or on a short walk – whatever works best for you. There are no rules, but we encourage you to keep an open mind and come prepared with questions to inspire conversation.

For emerging professionals, this will allow you to gain a wealth of insights from experienced leaders and grow your understanding of Risk. For senior professionals, this will provide a different outlet to hone your mentorship skills whilst forming relationships with motivated professionals that may form an integral part of your team in the near future.

To participate, please email forums@rmaaustralia.org with:

a) Your full name, email address and mobile number

b) Whether you are an emerging risk professional (under 10 years experience in Risk) or senior industry professional (10+ years experience in Risk).

Upcoming events

OCTOBER

Economic Update with Bill Evans I Thursday 20th October | 4 – 5pm (AEDT) I Hosted by Westpac.

NOVEMBER

WEBINAR EVENT I Sustainable Finance I Wednesday 2nd November| 4 – 5pm (AEDT) I Hosted by Macquarie/EY.

WEBINAR EVENT I Practical Insights and Reflections on Transforming through Cloud I Monday 7th November | 4 – 5pm (AEDT) I Hosted by Protiviti.

*REGISTER VIA OUR WEBSITE*