Season 1, Episode 3: Alexander Larsen continues his conversation with Gregory Irgin in the UAE

In this series of Risk Managers Getting Coffee, we’ll be meeting with seven Risk Managers to gain insight into their risk experiences, areas of expertise and to learn more about risk management in the country they work in.

Gregory shares his exciting stories of working in the Middle East and Africa and his views on Risk, Strategy and Audit, whether or not Industry experience is crucial to the risk managers role and the importance of logic and reason.

Episodes will be released every few weeks here on the Risk Guide website and via our LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/risk-guide) and YouTube pages (https://www.youtube.com/c/riskguide).

Episode 3 Overview:

01:31 Risk, Strategy and Audit: Gregory discusses how Strategy, Audit and Risk need to speak the same language and feel comfortable working together focusing on strengths. Alexander brings up some examples of how to get people out of their silos and into a more open and sharing mood.

3:02 Importance of Information: Alexander and Gregory discuss the power of social media and how those who hold attention through shock value or entertainment tend to be heard over facts and that Media has become a headline and this causes confusion and a lack of context and a lot of decisions are being made without quality information. This is where Gregory feels the importance of a Risk Manager in a leadership role who can analyse information and communicate it becomes vital.

5:08 Risk Managers – Industry Experience Important?: Gregory focuses on Risk Management skillsets being the critical aspect of a successful risk manager. Industry experience is important but the skillsets of risk are critical.

6:11 Importance of Logic and Research: Gregory shares stories of the Russian doll, Kilt wearing and bagpipes and how they may have travelled through the world before getting to their end destination. This is deduced through logical thinking. Unfortunately people are losing this skill.

8:13 No Risk Framework is the same: Alexander mentions that no Risk Management Framework will ever be the same. Structure, culture, industry and Time plays a key part. It is this that the Risk Manager needs to navigate. The Risk Manager should never be at their desk and instead should be focused on getting out into the business and selling risk, developing a positive risk culture.

In this episode, Alexander Larsen met Gregory Irgin in the UAE. Gregory influences and drives integrated risk management – enterprise risk management, insurance, resilience (business continuity management and crisis security management) – resulting in shareholder protection and return on investment. He has worked across the Middle East and Africa and has exciting stories to share around geopolitical risks.

Introduction: Gregory is Head of Group ERM and Insurance within the aluminium and smelting sector in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, producing and selling aluminium in its 100% form. His customers are all over the world including big companies such as BMW. A mine coming online in Guinea and sales offices are based in America, Europe and China.