Article

Balancing crisis management with long-term resilience is essential

Multinational organizations shouldn’t let short-term risks and crisis management overshadow the consideration of long-term risks and implementation of measures that strengthen resilience and sustainability, according to Marsh McLennan Europe Chief Commercial Officer, Carolina Klint.

“We are very good at focusing on what is right in front of us,” she said in a keynote speech at Commercial Risk’s “Global Programmes Europe 2025” conference in London recently.

For example, the 2025 Global Risks Report ranks misinformation and disinformation as the top short-term risk. This reflects geopolitical tensions and the threat of companies being drawn into hybrid warfare — where traditional military tactics are combined with irregular methods like cyberattacks — an approach made easier by AI. Meanwhile, the uncertain adverse outcomes of AI technologies are ranked as a longer-term risk, signaling that leaders are still unsure about the nature of these risks and how to manage them.

Multinational organizations also must contend with the increasingly interconnected nature of risk and unique complexities, as they operate across various borders and jurisdictions. One risk can aggravate and accelerate another, making the job of risk managers more difficult and at the same time more relevant.

While this risk landscape is complex, Carolina noted that the silver lining is that any efforts to build resilience and strengthen an organization’s sustainability will likely have a positive spillover effect on risks that risk managers did not see coming. For example, companies with well-developed plans for flooding at office locations were better prepared when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, as they could quickly transition their workforce to remote working.

To prepare for the risks they face, multinational organizations need to leverage a holistic and diverse view of risk. Leaders can invite people who have not traditionally been part of the risk conversation to the table to bring new perspectives and ideas.

She shared that some organizations, for instance, have established a “shadow” risk committee made up of young talent or an international group to provide additional viewpoints on risks they may not have anticipated. One such blind spot has been digital risk. However, with the rise of digital connectivity — including the Internet of Things — and the interconnected world, this risk has become impactful and demands much greater attention.

Collaboration is also needed to protect businesses around the world, and can take place at a country level or begin on a smaller scale within an organization. She stressed that company leaders should actively seek opportunities to collaborate. Additionally, they should leverage the risk management resources that are available, such as the Global Risks Report or the AI risk repository, developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to collect and categorize examples of AI-related risks.

Furthermore, leaders need to be empowered to lead. By providing them with a clear North Star — a sense of what needs to be done — organizations can help ensure things run smoothly when things go haywire.

Often when an organization faces a crisis, a key risk is that its leadership becomes completely absorbed by the emergency, disappearing from day-to-day business, as everyone scrambles to solve the situation.

The key, according to Carolina, is to connect people, risk, and strategy. Organizations that do so are far better positioned to face the risks of the future.

For further exploration of challenges confronting risk managers of multinational companies, read our upcoming articles covering the conference sessions and our summary of the event on marsh.com.

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