Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Working Knowledge
Business Research for Business Leaders
  • Browse All Articles
  • Popular Articles
  • Cold Call Podcasts
  • About Us
  • Leadership
  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Entrepreneurship
  • All Topics...
  • Topics
    • COVID-19
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Finance
    • Gender
    • Globalization
    • Leadership
    • Management
    • Negotiation
    • Social Enterprise
    • Strategy
  • Sections
    • Book
    • Cold Call Podcast
    • HBS Case
    • In Practice
    • Lessons from the Classroom
    • Op-Ed
    • Research & Ideas
    • Research Event
    • Sharpening Your Skills
    • What Do You Think?
    • Working Paper Summaries
  • Browse All
    • COVID-19 Business Impact Center
      COVID-19 Business Impact Center
      Business Summit: Enterprise Risk Management
      09 Jun 2009Research Event

      Business Summit: Enterprise Risk Management

      Risk management is a key to sustained firm growth, says professor Robert S. Kaplan. Key ingredients to a successful risk management program include the proper culture, clear parameters, discipline, measurement, and accountability.
      LinkedIn
      Email

      Editor's Note: This is a summary of an HBS Business Summit presentation. View a full summary and video of the event on the HBS Centennial Web site linked below.

      Date of Event: October 14, 2008
      Moderator: Robert S. Kaplan, HBS Faculty
      Speakers: James Colica, Senior Vice President, GE Capital Services
      M.D. Ranganath, Chief Risk Officer, Infosys
      Barry Zubrow, Chief Risk Officer, JP Morgan Chase

      The global companies profiled in this session—Infosys, GE Capital Services, and JPMorgan Chase—highlight effective yet different approaches to risk management.

      The common elements that panelists mentioned include: having top management lead risk management; creating a culture of risk management where it is part of all decisions; setting clear risk parameters and having them broadly adhered to; having the discipline to make risk management a priority in good times and bad; and setting clear measurements for risk management and making managers accountable for these measures.

      Professor Robert S. Kaplan began the session by providing his perspective on why risk management plays an important role in firm performance.

      Key concepts include:

      • There is great value in understanding risk management at the firm level.
      • Risk management is a key to sustained firm growth.
      • At Infosys, the most significant risks faced are scaling the company and staying relevant to customers.
      • At GE, effective risk management is based on strong management processes and controls.
      • At JPMorgan Chase, the key elements of risk management are structure and culture, incentives, risk strategy and analytics, and "plumbing."

      Read the in-depth summary

      For more coverage and video:
      http://www.hbs.edu/centennial/businesssummit/global-business/enterprise-risk-management.html

          Trending
            • 19 Jan 2021
            • In Practice

            Leadership Advice for Biden: Restore a Sense of Calm

            • 29 Oct 2020
            • Research & Ideas

            The COVID Gender Gap: Why Fewer Women Are Dying

            • 13 Jul 2020
            • Research & Ideas

            Merck CEO Ken Frazier Discusses a COVID Cure, Racism, and Why Leaders Need to Walk the Talk

            • 18 Jan 2021
            • Book

            How Thinking Like a Startup Helps Governments Solve More Problems

            • 25 Feb 2019
            • Research & Ideas

            How Gender Stereotypes Kill a Woman’s Self-Confidence

        Robert S. Kaplan
        Robert S. Kaplan
        Senior Fellow, Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Emeritus
        Contact
        Send an email
        → More Articles
        Find Related Articles
        • Change Management
        • Leading Change
        • Performance Effectiveness

        Sign up for our weekly newsletter

        Interested in improving your business? Learn about fresh research and ideas from Harvard Business School faculty.
        ǁ
        Campus Map
        Harvard Business School Working Knowledge
        Baker Library | Bloomberg Center
        Soldiers Field
        Boston, MA 02163
        Email: Editor-in-Chief
        →Map & Directions
        →More Contact Information
        • Make a Gift
        • Site Map
        • Jobs
        • Harvard University
        • Trademarks
        • Policies
        • Digital Accessibility
        Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College