Taking place on March 12 and 13 at Park Plaza, Riverbank, London, PrivSec & GRC Connect London provides a platform for organisations to address the cumulative nature of risk.

PrivSec & GRC Connect London’s comprehensive agenda is led by subject matter experts, business chiefs and industry leaders, giving attendees a deep-dive into challenges and solutions on the rapidly evolving GRC landscape.

Event speaker, Funmi Dele-Giwa is General Counsel & Head of GRC at MFS Africa. A Nigerian and British citizen currently living in the UK, Funmi is qualified to practice law in Nigeria and in England & Wales, is a Chartered Secretary and Chartered Governance Professional.

Funmi has a strong academic foundation, a Bachelor of Laws from University of Lagos, Nigeria and a Master of Laws with Distinction in International Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation from University of Warwick, United Kingdom.

Funmi will be at PrivSec & GRC Connect London to shed light on what the risk factors are at the forefront of Chief Risk Officers’ minds today. Below, Funmi answers questions on her professional journey and introduces the key issues.

Could you outline your career pathway so far?

I am a dual-qualified lawyer and a chartered secretary by training and the first part of my career was spent in private practice in law firms here in London and in Nigeria.

When I decided to move in-house, my focus and responsibilities expanded beyond legal, and I began to cover the entire governance, risk and compliance (GRC) spectrum. Over the last nearly 10 years, I have been involved in and responsible for organisations’ approach to GRC and I have had the opportunity to work in both large, structured, and highly regulated banks, and more early-stage growth companies who require a degree of shaping and designing of their GRC approach and framework.

What are the major themes on CROs’ risk radars so far in 2024?

The world is generally in a state of instability at the moment, as a result of the post-Covid pandemic impact, high inflation environment and high cost-of living crises, the wars in Ukraine and in Palestine, to name a few. As a result, the risk radar has lit up as we enter 2024.

Specific risks facing companies will vary and are dependent on the industry and geography they operate in, and the stage of maturity of the company. There are, however, a few overarching risk themes which every company should be cognisant of and safeguard against:

Geopolitical instability

Every CRO should assess how the current geopolitical environment may impact their business.

 

Cybersecurity threats

Cybersecurity threats are only increasing and should always be high up on the radar of any CRO.

 

Challenging investment climate

Most companies require funding (either public or private) for continued growth and sustainability. The current challenging investment climate should be carefully considered by every CRO.

 

Elevated inflation

High inflation rates are a threat to the global economy and CROs should understand how a high-inflation environment may negatively impact their business.

 

Talent shortage

Depending on the geography and industry this risk may be more or less pronounced, but for many companies, finding the right talent is becoming more difficult and CROs must be mindful that this could open the organisation up to risks.

 

Remote working and worker demands

Post Covid-19 pandemic, many talented workers are not interested in, nor open to the idea of, returning to a physical office five days a week. Yet, many companies believe that productivity is better and collaboration is enhanced when people are back at the office and are therefore pushing for this. CROs should assess the risk to their organisation and what impact such a push to return to the office could have on the overall business and morale.

 

ESG

Risks associated with a company’s ESG approach are only growing. The issue is becoming more pronounced as customers, investors, regulators, and employees are becoming more ESG-conscious and want to know where an organisation stands on tackling climate change, social injustices, and generally doing good in the world.

What are some of the established and emerging strategies that CROs are embracing to mitigate risk and promote resilience for the future?

This obviously varies greatly on the industry and geography and also on the maturity of the organisation. But there are a few overarching approaches which are taking shape and being introduced more broadly, namely:

 

Enterprise Risk Management

More and more companies (whether large or small) are embracing a holistic and all-encompassing approach to risk management, and are proactively looking at risk across all risk types and areas.

 

Risk Appetite Statements (RAS)

Once only the purview of large financial institutions, the RAS approach is now gaining traction in many companies and used by Boards and senior management across different industries.

 

Technology, AI, and machine-learning

The use of technology to identify, mitigate, manage, and report on risks is growing in acceptance and use.

 

Elevation of the risk function

Although we are still not where we need to be, it seems to me that risk management is continuing to gain traction and being elevated in many companies, and that is surely a good thing.