In this conversation, Julien Haye is joined by Jeff Simmons, Head of Advisory Group and Risk & Compliance Lead at ALBA Partners, and former Chief Risk Officer at MUFG Securities Europe. With over two decades in global banking and regulatory leadership, Jeff shares candid reflections on how risk management must reconnect to purpose, people, and performance.

“Good CROs are not good scientists. They’re good risk managers who understand business.” – Jeff Simmons

In this edition of RiskMasters, you will learn:

• How regulatory relationships built on trust can become a strategic asset

• Why effective governance depends on proportionate execution and delivery discipline

• The cultural shifts needed to close the gap between strategy, appetite, and action

• How to educate boards and teams to make confident decisions with imperfect data

• Lessons from Brexit, DORA, and regulatory divergence on sustaining resilience

⏱️ Episode Highlights

00:02 – From CRO to advisor: why Jeff redefined his purpose
00:14 – Lessons from the financial crisis and the evolution of the risk function
00:31 – Building trust and transparency with regulators
00:44 – Making governance practical: from plans to delivery
00:57 – Culture, tone from the top, and psychological safety
01:05 – The future of risk: reconnecting risk and finance

📌 More about Jeff Simmons
Jeff Simmons is a senior advisor and risk governance expert with ALBA Partners, specialising in regulatory transformation, culture, and risk-function effectiveness. A former Chief Risk Officer at MUFG Securities Europe, he has led major licensing and Brexit-related programmes and continues to advise firms on building credible governance frameworks.

👉 Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-simmons-608254a/

🎓 Continue your learning: Enrol in the Risk Leadership CPD Masterclass.

📝 Related Resources:
• Appetite as a Strategic Capability – Framework linking ambition, capacity, and governance to strengthen decision alignment.
• The Hidden Constraint Behind Strategy and Governance – Understanding risk capacity as the foundation of credible board oversight.
• Guiding Principles for an Effective Control Environment – Twelve principles for designing ownership-driven, performance-oriented controls.
• Building Trust with Regulators – Turning supervisory dialogue into a partnership that improves governance credibility.
• Psychological Safety in Risk Management – How leadership tone and escalation culture shape foresight and resilience.
• From Approval to Impact: Repositioning Risk Appetite as a Board Tool – Practical steps to embed appetite into strategic execution.
• Change Management Risk Assessment Framework – A step-by-step guide for aligning transformation programmes with risk capacity and tolerance.

🎓 Download your CPD certificate:
The CPD Group – Accreditation #800148

Episode Credits:
Produced by Aevitium LTD
Edited by Julien Haye
Design: Julien Haye

In this CPD-accredited episode of RiskMasters, host Julien Haye is joined by Søren Agergaard Andersen, Chief Risk & Compliance Officer at Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. With over two decades in banking, pensions, and asset management, Søren shares his insights on risk management leadership and the integration of ESG in long-term infrastructure investments. The conversation dives into the importance of building a robust risk culture and the role of psychological safety in facilitating effective risk leadership.

Discover how embedding risk as a business language enhances decision-making and why ESG has shifted from a compliance checkbox to a vital element of strategic risk management. You'll learn actionable strategies for aligning organisational culture with risk frameworks, ensuring that teams feel safe to express concerns and surface challenges.

Additionally, Søren discusses the potential of AI and data integrity in navigating evolving risk landscapes while maintaining human oversight in decision-making. Tune in to explore how empowered risk leaders can foster resilience and foresight within their organisations, transforming risk management into a pathway for success.

“You can build the best framework in the world, but if the culture isn’t there, it won’t matter.” – Søren Agergaard Andersen

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow, review, and share RiskMasters. Your support helps bring more forward-thinking conversations to the risk community.

In this edition of RiskMasters, you will learn:

🔹 Why Risk Must Be a Business Language: How Søren turns risk appetite into a practical tool for executives and boards, embedding it in decision-making, not just policy documents.

🔹 ESG as a Strategic Dimension: Why ESG is no longer a “box” in the taxonomy but a lens shaping every investment, from greenwashing risk to stranded assets and policy volatility.

🔹 Risk Culture & Psychological Safety: How culture and trust determine whether frameworks succeed, and why risk leaders must become business partners rather than gatekeepers.

🔹 AI & Data Integrity in Risk Management: Where Søren sees opportunities for AI in risk reporting, regulation mapping, and scenario planning—while keeping “human judgment in the loop.”

🔹 Leadership for Resilient Teams: Why delegation, curiosity, and broad business understanding are the cornerstones of high-performing risk teams.

More about Søren Agergaard Andersen

Søren is Chief Risk & Compliance Officer at Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, where he oversees risk, compliance, and ESG across global infrastructure investments. A former CRO at Nordea Asset Management, he has built and transformed risk frameworks across financial services and is a frequent speaker on risk leadership, ESG, and the future of compliance.

📌 Connect with Søren Agergaard Andersen on LinkedIn

🎙 Tune in now to explore how today’s leaders can embed resilience and foresight into every layer of decision-making.

Related Articles:

• Risk Tolerance Governance: Turning Boundaries into Strategic Advantage
• From Approval to Impact: Repositioning Risk Appetite as a Board Tool
• Building Psychological Safety in Risk Management: A Practical Guide to the Four Stages
• Mastering the Art of Risk Taking: The 7 Core Attributes of Success

🎓 Download your CPD certificate:
The CPD Group – Accreditation #800139

What does real risk leadership look like when the pressure is on? In this debut episode of The Download — the short-form companion to RiskMasters — host Julien Haye dives deep into risk management and crisis leadership with Brenda Boultwood. Join us as we extract three transformative lessons from her vast experience in banking, energy, and governance.

Learn how to build an effective risk management framework that prioritises culture and clarity, shaping resilience long before a crisis hits. From navigating the 2008 financial crisis at Constellation Energy to redefining risk visibility in the C-suite, this episode reveals how strategic risk and governance can be leveraged as key strengths in leadership.

💡 In this episode:

• Understanding the moral and strategic dimensions of risk leadership in times of crisis
• Brenda’s “sombrero view” — why risk culture is a vital leadership platform for the future
• Insights from Jamie Dimon’s favourite meeting highlighting the essence of lived governance
• Lessons from Aevitium’s work on how risk management contributes to corporate resilience and fosters conversations in governance

🧭 Reflection prompt:

If your organisation faced a near-death experience tomorrow, would risk be viewed as the problem — or the solution to survive?

🎧 Listen to the full episode and more: https://www.aevitium.com/post/brenda-boultwood-on-riskmasters

🎙 On Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/riskmasters/id1709495792?i=1000710473825

🎙 On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/39kvq1RN8Am7NaPLw1Dbox?si=xj_ktMyGSdm8HYa6rLLzIg

🔔 Subscribe now and stay ahead in the world of risk.

In this episode of RiskMasters, explore strategic risk, psychological safety, and AI’s role with expert Brenda Boultwood.

"I don’t think risk management is about compliance anymore. I think it’s about enabling a business and enabling a strategy." – Brenda Boultwood

In this CPD-accredited episode of RiskMasters, host Julien Haye welcomes Brenda Boultwood, a seasoned Chief Risk Officer (CRO), economist, board advisor, and tech executive, to explore the evolving nature of risk leadership across industries and geographies. Brenda brings a unique perspective from her work across finance, energy, academia, the IMF, and Silicon Valley.

Together, they explore what it takes to build strategic, future-ready risk frameworks that embrace uncertainty, promote psychological safety, and make space for innovation. Brenda reflects on the limitations of traditional models, the risks of ignoring cultural dynamics, and the transformative potential of AI in governance, risk, and compliance.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to like, follow, and leave a review! Your support helps us bring more thought-provoking conversations to the RiskMasters community.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by Brenda Boultwood in this episode are her own and do not reflect the official position of any institution or university with which she is affiliated.

In this edition of RiskMasters, you will learn:

🔹 Why Tone at the Top Is a Strategic Risk Lever
Brenda explains how leadership behaviour, especially during crises, shapes organizational resilience, cultural trust, and board engagement.

🔹 How to Create Psychological Safety for Better Risk Outcomes
Explore real-world examples of how safe, candid conversations improve governance and why fear-based cultures lead to paralysis, not protection.

🔹 AI and the Next Frontier of Risk Management
Discover how Brenda’s work in tech startups is shaping the future of risk intelligence, and what risk professionals need to understand about AI's capabilities and limitations.

More about Brenda Boultwood:

Brenda is a former risk executive and transformation leader with a career spanning global financial institutions, the U.S. Department of Energy, AI tech firms, and the International Monetary Fund. She serves as a board member, governance advisor, and mentor to the next generation of risk leaders. Brenda brings a data-driven, human-centred approach to strategy, cultural change, and innovation in the risk profession.

📌 Connect with Brenda Boultwood on LinkedIn for insights on risk leadership, AI, and strategic governance.

🎙 Tune in now to explore how today’s leaders can embed resilience and foresight into every layer of decision-making.

Related Articles:

• From Signals to Systems: Embedding Trust in Risk Governance
• Psychological Safety in Risk Management
• Leading Through Uncertainty: Decision-Making in a Nonlinear World
• The Quiet Risk in Your Risk Function: Leadership Blind Spots

🎓 Download your CPD Certificate:
Link: ⁠https://thecpd.group/podcast/
Accreditation number: #800123

Join us in RiskMasters to delve into risk culture and people risk quantifications with Horst Simon.

"Risk management is not about colors and matrices. It's about people." – Horst Simon

In this CPD-accredited episode of RiskMasters, host Julien Haye welcomes Horst Simon, veteran risk management expert and pioneer of people risk and risk culture. Drawing from decades of experience across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, Horst shares his journey, his challenges to outdated risk practices, and his vision for the future of risk management.

As organisations face an unpredictable world shaped by interconnected threats and rapid change, Horst argues that the real competitive advantage lies not in more controls or more reports — but in empowering every employee to be a risk manager.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to like, follow, and leave a review! Your feedback helps us bring more thought-provoking insights from industry leaders.

In this edition of RiskMasters, you will learn:

🔹 Why Risk Culture Starts with People, Not Policies: Horst shares how true risk resilience depends on embedding risk thinking into every employee’s mindset — and why outdated models like the Three Lines of Defense miss this opportunity.

🔹 How to Rethink Leadership, Reporting, and Risk Strategy: Discover why boards must stop relying on sanitized historic reports, how to measure risk culture maturity meaningfully, and why leadership must move from control to empowerment.

🔹 The Future of Risk Management in an Unpredictable World: Explore the biggest emerging risks for 2025 — including cyber threats, social cohesion risks, and the misuse of AI — and how cross-cultural awareness and proactive risk intelligence will define future success.

More about Horst Simon:

Horst Simon is a recognized global expert in risk culture, operational risk, and people risk. With experience across continents and industries, Horst is the founder of Risk Culture Builders, a network dedicated to helping organizations embed effective, sustainable risk cultures. His non-conformist and practical approach challenges outdated thinking and redefines how organizations should approach risk in a fast-changing world.

📌 Connect with Horst Simon on LinkedIn for insights into risk culture, leadership, and future-proofing risk management.

🎙 Tune in now to learn how you can future-proof your organization by embedding risk thinking into every layer of the business.

Discover related risk management topics:

• Embracing a Dynamic Risk Culture
• Embedding Psychological Safety into Risk Management
• Leading Through Uncertainty: Risk and Decision-Making in a Nonlinear World
• Beyond Checklists: The Human Factor in Risk Management

Download your CPD Certificate:

Link: ⁠ https://thecpd.group/podcast/

Accreditation number: #800117

Join us to learn about strategic foresight and its application in risk management with expert Roger Spitz.

"In a world of deep uncertainty, the ability to adapt is more important than the ability to predict." – Roger Spitz

In this CPD episode of RiskMasters, host Julien Haye continues his conversation with Roger Spitz, global foresight expert and founder of Techistential and the Disruptive Futures Institute.

Building on Part 1, Roger delves deeper into the practical application of foresight in risk management, covering how organisations can integrate scenario planning, anticipate systemic risks, and build resilience against unpredictable disruptions.

In this edition of RiskMasters, you will learn:

• The Limits of Traditional Scenario Planning: Why conventional risk models fail in deep uncertainty and how organisations can develop a more adaptive approach.

• Foresight-Driven Decision-Making: How risk leaders can integrate foresight methodologies to navigate complexity and enhance strategic planning.

• Asymmetry and Uninsurable Risks: The impact of asymmetric risks, why some disruptions cannot be insured, and how leaders can build resilience in unpredictable environments.

• Beyond Resilience – Embracing Anti-Fragility: The critical distinction between fragility, resilience, and anti-fragility—and how organisations can thrive under systemic disruption.

• Leadership and Governance in an Uncertain World: Practical strategies for embedding foresight into risk culture, governance frameworks, and executive decision-making.

More about Roger Spitz

Roger is a leading authority on strategic foresight, systemic disruption, and complexity. As President of Techistential, he advises executives and boards on navigating uncertainty. He is also the author of Disrupt with Impact: Achieve Business Success in an Unpredictable World.

Listen to the full episode on your player of choice:

⁠RiskMasters with Roger Spitz on Apple Podcast⁠

⁠RiskMasters with Roger Spitz on Spotify⁠

⁠RiskMasters with Roger Spitz on Amazon Music⁠

Find out more about Roger Spitz:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogerspitz/

Discover related risk management topics and RiskMasters podcasts:

Building Operational Resilience

How to Scope an Emerging Risk Framework

How to Identify and Manage Emerging Risks?

Anti-Fragile Risk Management: Turning Volatility into Strategic Advantage

Download your CPD Certificate:

Link: ⁠https://thecpd.group/podcast⁠

Accreditation number: #800056