Risk Management Recommendations for Potential Crises in 2025

From geopolitics events to violence here at home, recent events have reinforced the difficulty of anticipating business risk. In fact, 70% of respondents to HR Policy Association’s poll on executive security strategies identified the evolving threat landscape as the biggest challenge in implementing or maintaining an executive security program. 

Governance insights for 2025: A recent Deloitte article discussed the need for Boards to engage in crisis scenario planning to address emerging risk categories associated with technology including privacy breaches, geopolitics, and natural disasters. 

Successful risk assessment and scenario planning requires integration with the company’s business strategy.

• For example, “… if a company has a longer-term strategy to expand in certain international regions, scenario planning that addresses the challenges involved in such an expansion may be more successful,” writes Deloitte.

A similar approach is recommended for CEO security assessments. In an article on preparing for a crisis scenario involving the CEO, Forbes reached out to several security management experts who recommended conducting “a thorough security risk assessment to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities specific to the CEO’s daily routines, public appearance, and travel schedules.”

• CHROs and the Board should prioritize emergency succession planning. Ensuring the Board has identified the right successor candidate based on the particular emergency the company is experiencing is recommended as a key consideration in emergency CEO successions.

The bottom line: With various threats and potential crises in the coming year, “scenario planning can surface unidentified risks and vulnerabilities,” according to Deloitte. Board engagement in scenario planning and developing an agile emergency succession plan will enhance enterprise risk management.