Top risk management prizes for two Airmic members
Two Airmic members came away with top prizes at last month's European risk manager awards organised jointly by FERMA and Commercial Risk Europe. Danielle Wishart, senior business assurance manager at the online fashion retailer ASOS, was named Rising Star of the Year, whilst George Ong of Northern Ireland Water was recognised for innovation.
Danielle Wishart has been in the risk management profession for four years, and she has achieved a lot in this short space of time, according to the judges. They recognised her wide range of technical and interpersonal skills and for her continuing determination to improve her risk management skills and education.
"Risk Management is the one area where you truly interact with the entire business, something I enjoy and find really interesting. I didn't realise at the start of my career how valuable growing your network is, not only within your organisation but within the industry too and Airmic has played a fundamental part in that through their annual conference and forum. My advice to anyone new in the industry is to get to know your peers, it's fantastic for information share.
"Building a department and team with which the business interacts to the extent that it does is something I'm particularly proud of and I will always be grateful for the opportunity and support from ASOS. What an amazing time to be a risk manager, to play such a pivotal, influential and high impact role in a fast-paced environment is something that continues to excite me."
George Ong, head of governance and chief risk officer, oversaw the implementation of an integrated risk and resilience framework for Northern Ireland Water to manage threats and opportunities in current and future risk exposures. One of the many successful outcomes of this project in managing opportunity is the way that the organisation has transformed its perception of mental health and its impact on sickness absence into positive colleague engagement and support.
George explained his innovation: "We live in an interconnected world with increasing risk exposure to 'external risk factors' such as climate change, geopolitical uncertainties, opportunities and threats relating to digital transformation, complexity of supply chain risk which are not all within our control. The 'Integrated Risk and Resilience' framework brought about a cultural change in how we manage external threats and create opportunities by working in partnership our business partners and local community to significantly improve on our resilience."
(For more on NI Water's achievements, see our August Airmic News article).
"We are thrilled by the success of Danielle and George, and of course Airmic congratulates them wholeheartedly on their achievement," said deputy CEO and Technical Director Julia Graham. "They both illustrate how proactive risk management can benefit organisations, and they demonstrate how the profession is moving forward."
Based in Brussels, FERMA is a pan-European federation of risk management associations.