FERMA President calls for future-focused risk management
In an increasingly interconnected and rapidly evolving risk landscape, risk managers must not only confront the challenges it presents but also uncover the opportunities it offers, Charlotte Hedemark (pictured), President of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA), told attendees at the Federation’s general assembly in Brussels.
“At a time of constant change and rising complexity, foresight is a vital complement to traditional risk management to navigate uncertainty and emerging threats,” Hedemark told attendees. “At FERMA, one of our priorities is to inspire and equip risk managers to become future-focused enablers within their organisations – champions of opportunity in an ever-changing risk landscape.”
In May, FERMA launched the New Exposure Trends (NeXT) report which identified four global interconnected, and potentially systemic risks – geopolitical shifts, technological acceleration, climate change and human capital. Hedemark highlighted how the report made clear “the need to find ways to anticipate how these risks might evolve and affect our organisations and our society in the future.”
In this context, she drew attention to the findings of FERMA’s Risk Manager Survey 2024, which for the first time extended beyond Europe to capture the views of the global risk management community. With over 1,000 respondents from 77 countries, making it the most comprehensive study of its kind, she said it “demonstrates how our profession is continually adapting to the fast-moving global risk environment.”
“This work,” she added, “alongside the NeXT report, gives us insights into risks across time horizons, and the need to adopt more integrated and unified risk management frameworks to manage such a spectrum of threats across multiple different timeframes.”
"It is clear that strategic foresight is essential for building organisational resilience and long-term value, as our work has shown,” Hedemark continued. “Risk managers must take the lead in cultivating a forward-looking culture, expanding risk horizons, and challenging cognitive biases that limit ambition and restrict opportunity.”
Highlighting the need for more effective integration of capabilities such as scenario planning, trend analysis, and horizon scanning into decision-making, she urged companies to “adopt a more holistic, future-ready approach to risk, if you are to navigate the increasing scale of uncertainty that we are facing with greater confidence and contribute to achieving more sustainable outcomes."
Her presentation outlined the ongoing efforts of the ERM Committee to define a clearer role for the ERM function within organizations and to eliminate barriers to its involvement in strategic decision-making.
“The Shaping the Future: The Crucial Role of the Corporate Risk Manager consultation document represents a significant step toward repositioning the ERM function to enhance its impact on organisational strategy,” Hedemark noted. “This evolution is essential to our broader goal of future-proofing businesses against the long-term, emerging risks we have identified.”
Hedemark also took the opportunity to promote the extensive activities currently being undertaken by the Sustainability, Digitalisation and Captive committees within FERMA. She highlighted several reports and guidance documents due for release later this year, including the CSRD Implementation Report – First Year Lessons, the Cyber Insurance Protection Gap Paper, and guidelines for risk managers to develop captive insurance strategies designed to support ESG initiatives and objectives.
Marking her final general assembly as President, Hedemark looked back on her work to date. “It has been a very fulfilling and rewarding two years,” she told attendees. “I would like to thank all the committee chairs for their hard work and support. Although I am stepping down as President in October, I will remain actively involved in the work of this dynamic federation and continue to support our profession in our aim to connect, influence and empower.”
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