A recent conversation reminded me of something uncomfortable—but important. Experience, which we often wear as a badge of credibility and honour, can quietly become a barrier to new thinking. Which got me thinking. In risk management, experience is invaluable. It sharpens judgment, builds pattern recognition, and helps us anticipate issues before they materialize. But it …
Category archives: Leadership for Risk Managers
Lending Your Reputation as a Compliance Officer
Recently, I received notice of a registrant that admitted to supervision failures and paid a significant regulatory fine. It prompted me to revisit an experience from a few years ago — an interview process that, in hindsight, reinforced one of the most important lessons for any compliance or risk professional: we do not just take …
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Is it time we stopped asking CCOs and CROs to “stay in their lane” — and instead re-draw the map?
Are Pre-Conceived Notions About the CCO and CRO Roles Holding Back Better Governance? I came across a social media post recently that listed the regulatory fines paid by a large Canadian bank in 2025. Included were supervisory failures, compliance breakdowns and anti-money laundering deficiencies. The total dollar amount was staggering — not because fines are …
Is now the time to ask: How Close Is Too Close?
I guess what I’m asking is should we be rethinking the CRO and CCO’s Proximity to the Front Line. The traditional “three lines of defense” model has long provided a clear and logical framework for risk management and compliance. Tier 1 owns and manages risk, Tier 2 oversees and challenges, and Tier 3 independently assures. …
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Asking the Question: Respect – Is It an Overlooked Attribute of Success?
The month of December was a good month, not because it was the Christmas season, but because there was several moments of self reflection on Christmas’s past and how the seasons have evolved personally over the years. Yet this reflection was also about the year 2025 and the highs and the lows personally and professionally. …
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