From the CEO: Why raising the profile of risk is so important

John Hurrell, Airmic chief executive, looks forward to another record-breaking conference, and explains why Airmic is doing its part to move risk up the corporate agenda and into the c-suite.

With just two weeks to go until Airmic's annual conference, we're very excited about welcoming our members to Liverpool in what promises to be our most exciting conference yet. Delegate numbers are on track to beat last year's record, and with our largest exhibition hall to date and a programme brimming with educational and social events, I challenge anyone to be bored!

But first, a word on our conference theme Raising the Profile of Risk. This theme was quite specifically chosen to reflect the fact that risk needs to - and indeed is - moving up the corporate agenda.

Boards are increasingly waking up to risk. This is partly the result of regulation, but also a reflection of a growing vulnerability: globalisation, technological changes and 24-7 media are major challenges for today’s c-suites.

This has thrown the spotlight on risk management which is a good thing for both businesses and risk professionals. At the same, it raises the bar for the risk community who must now demonstrate they can contribute to the success of their businesses.

With this in mind, we have been preparing a series of reports and guides to be published at or just before the conference. They cover topics which are important in their own right but they also come under the wider umbrella of raising the profile of risk - either by educating executive boards on the value of effective risk management, or by providing support to our members on how they can align the risk agenda with their board's needs.

So while you're at the conference, look out for our series of new guidance papers on topics including reputational risk, the changing world of risk management, business-critical insurance and tomorrow’s risk leaders. These are all designed to contribute to the wider need to elevate risk management.

A recent survey of our members showed that almost 70% believe that risk management has become more important within their companies over the last five years. This is excellent news. It is nevertheless a process that will take time, but a more sophisticated understanding of risk at board level will be of huge benefit: to businesses as well as the risk and insurance communities.

Whatever you wish to get out of your Airmic conference, we hope that you have a very enjoyable three days - and we look forward to seeing you in Liverpool!

John Hurrell - Airmic CEO