The Speed of Risk: Controls and Decision-Making with Hermann Suter

Recorded live at the Risk-!n Conference 2026, this episode of Risk Is Our Business features Hermann Suter, Head of Group Enterprise Risk Management at Barry Callebaut Group, in a conversation on how risk management must evolve in an environment where the speed of change is accelerating faster than many organizations can absorb. Hermann and Captain Michael Rasmussen begin with a deceptively simple question. If organizations claim to have an enterprise-wide view of risk, shouldn’t they also have an enterprise-wide view of controls? From there, the discussion turns to what actually keeps risk leaders awake at night. Not just specific threats, but the sheer pace and velocity of risk itself. They unpack what bad risk and control management looks like. In contrast, they argue that effective risk management starts with understanding that every meaningful decision already contains a form of risk analysis, whether organizations recognize it or not. The conversation also explores how to align risk with business culture rather than impose it from the outside, how Swiss and broader European perspectives influence approaches to governance and controls, and where technology is genuinely helping modern ERM programs. They close by discussing what excited them most at the conference itself, including the growing focus on interconnected risk, operational resilience, and the future direction of enterprise risk management.