In his latest article, Ayoub Fandi breaks down how organisations can overcome fragmented risk and compliance systems by building a unified central data layer. He explains how this approach enables consistency, clarity, and smarter decision-making across modern GRC ecosystems that are too often siloed by tools and disconnected data.
If 2024 reminded us of anything, it’s that the threat landscape never stands still. In every breach headline, there’s a familiar pattern: an organization falls not because of its own failure, but because a trusted partner left a back door open.
AI adoption continues to accelerate across industries, promising efficiency gains, enhanced decision-making, and new revenue streams. However, organizations are increasingly exposed to operational risks that, if unmanaged, can result in financial losses, regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and ethical violations. These risks are not confined to deployment—they permeate every stage of the AI lifecycle, from data collection to continuous monitoring. Effective AI governance requires a holistic understanding of these risks and the implementation of proactive risk management strategies.
In this candid and thought-provoking piece, Norman Marks challenges conventional definitions of risk and risk management, arguing that most frameworks fail to resonate with how real-world decisions are made. Drawing from his decades of executive experience and referencing the ideas of Grant Purdy and Roger Estall, Marks reframes “risk” as simply “what might happen”, a practical, plain-English approach that bridges the gap between theory and management reality.
It was supposed to be a step toward global unity. The G7’s Hiroshima AI Process was meant to signal the dawn of an international consensus on how to govern artificial intelligence. Instead, it’s become a reminder that the world’s biggest powers are not building one system of AI governance, but several. Each reflects a different philosophy of risk, control, and trust. And for compliance and risk leaders, that’s where the real work begins.
Technology does not create good risk management. Strategy does. Risk, by its nature, is not the enemy. As I often remind listeners on the Risk Is Our Business podcast, the company that avoids risk altogether is already obsolete. The task isn’t to eliminate uncertainty, it’s to orchestrate it. To take the right risks, at the right time, with purpose, visibility, and confidence.
When Delaware’s Chancery Court reminds directors that they have a fiduciary duty to oversee mission critical risks, it’s diagnosing a deeper governance disease, not just offering abstract legal theory.