Global Collaborative efforts-Key to managing risks

In uncertain economic times, countering risk has attained primary importance. With global leaders and pundits alike fearing the emergence of recessionary trends, minimising risk and preparing for a post-crisis world is playing on the minds of thinkers, entrepreneurs and leaders, alike. 

To this end, the All India Management Association organized a conference on Managing Risk - New Approach to Sustainable Growth. The conference brought leading lights from politics, industry and academics under one roof to understand how to manage risk spread across sectors as diverse as Government, finance and strategy formulation. The Conference was organized in collaboration with the St. Gallen Symposium based in Switzerland.

In an interdependent world, where a sneeze in Asia is indicative of the USA catching a cold, according to a modern analogy, understanding the risk involved in globalization, increased connectivity and economic uncertainty is an essential element in managing risks in today’s times. 

High profile speakers at the event included Honourable Union Minister for HRD and Telecom Mr. Kapil Sibal, Mr. Arun Maira, Member, Planning Commission, Government of India, Mr. Sudhir Vasudeva, Chairman & Managing Director, ONGC Limited, Mr. R Seshasayee, Executive Vice Chairman, Ashok Leyland, Mr. Rohit Bammi, Partner, Financial Risk Management, KPMG India,Mr. Johan De la Rey, Partner, KPMG South Africa, IARCS Practice,Mr. Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, Mr. Sudhir Jalan, Co-Chairman, Rieter India Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Philip W Erzinger, Chief Executive Officer, St. Gallen Foundation for International Studies, Ms. Rekha Sethi, Director General, All India Management Association and Mr. Rajiv Vastupal, President AIMA, and Chairman and Managing Director, Rajiv Petrochemicals Pvt. Ltd. amongst others. 

Delivering the keynote address Mr. Kapil Sibal, Hon’ble Union Minister of Human Resource Development and Communication & Information Technology, Government of India said, “We live in an interdependent world where not just the financial sectors but many other sectors are dependent on each other. To deal with the risk of interdependence, the need of the hour is to be globally collaborative to face the challenges that confront us. The corporate world must manage risks not just at their level but also in the dealings with entrepreneurs and entities outside of the country so that it is beneficial to both”

On the occasion Mr. Rajiv Vastupal, President AIMA, and Chairman and Managing Director, Rajiv Petrochemicals Pvt. Ltd. said, “Risk management has become a critical task in the backdrop of global financial and economic troubles and extreme volatility in the markets. Globalization has emerged as the biggest opportunity and the biggest risk to sustainable growth. This conference by AIMA will explore ways to access and tackle risks that threaten the sustainability of institutions and embrace risks in order to progress. The uncertainty in today’s times allows the entrepreneurs to think afresh and place their bets on a different future”

Mr. Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi enthralled the audience with his speech and anecdotes. He said, “Managing risks is like a surfer riding the waves. You have to be fast and flexible to catch a wave, ride on it with courage and have the intuition to get off it at the right time and jump onto the next wave and conquer it. It is essential to manage risks in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous world that we live in today. A sustainable way to manage a risk is to turn it into a challenge and embrace it. An unreasonable power of creativity and ideas will drive the leaders of tomorrow and create winners. It is not about one big idea but a lot of small ideas being implemented. Leaders of today need to reframe constantly to manage the potential risks” 

The session on Risk Consideration in Strategy formulation saw big-wigs discuss and debate the importance of risk assessment being an integral part of any organization. Speaking in this session, Mr. Arun Maira, Member, Planning Commission, Government of India said, “In today’s times, Business is not about calculating what the future holds, but about having the capacity of intuition and leaders who can venture into the unknown and take risks. System planning as a function must become an integral part of any organization. The need of the hour is a completely different paradigm of management to shape the future”

Mr. Sudhir Vasudeva, Chairman & Managing Director, ONGC Limited added, “In a global economy, we as corporates focus on the ways to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth. Managing risks thus attains utmost importance in this scenario. With global volatility at its peak and many challenges faced by the world economy, a new and innovative approach to manage these risks is the only way out. Inclusion of research management is essential for optimising the outcome of any organisation.”  

Mr. Johan De La Rey, Partner, KPMG South Africa, IARCS Practice said, “Every organization should formulate optimal strategy by integrating risk into decision making. It is essential to understand the strategy goals which are more threatened and identify the risks involved top-down and bottom-up. Risk assessment before strategy formulation helps in augmenting the strategy, the implementation thereafter and monitoring via an effective risk management process”

The annual conference brought together over 250 industry leaders, distinguished political leaders, domain experts, decision makers, distinguished academicians and delegates from across the country provide an ideal platform for knowledge exchange.