In this episode of Risk Is Our Business, Captain Michael Rasmussen welcomes aboard Mark Heywood, writer, presenter, creative director, novelist, screenwriter, and former global crisis-management leader, for a conversation that travels well beyond the neutral zone of traditional risk models. Together, they explore why risk and resilience can’t be governed by left-brain logic alone, and why the future of the discipline requires imagination, narrative, and the kind of storytelling that has steered starships and boardrooms alike.

Mark draws from his dual life in operational resilience and the arts to explain what happens when organizations rely solely on spreadsheets, heat maps, and linear thinking. They discuss how right-brain capabilities (creativity, empathy, narrative framing, and world-building) are essential for helping leaders actually understand risk, not just document it. From micro-simulations and tabletop exercises to gamification and immersive storytelling, Mark outlines how to design experiences that engage decision-makers emotionally as well as analytically.

The episode charts a course into the future where logic and imagination operate in tandem, where resilience teams think like screenwriters, and where storytelling becomes a strategic asset for preparing organizations to face the unexpected at warp speed.

In this episode of Risk Is Our Business, Captain Michael Rasmussen welcomes aboard Reshad Alam, Vice President of Information Systems Security at Regal Rexnord, for a conversation about navigating risk at enterprise scale, and why the greatest threat is often the one you can’t see coming.

Reshad describes the sheer scope of Regal Rexnord’s global footprint, and with it, the vast digital surface he’s responsible for protecting. What keeps him up at night isn’t any single threat vector, but the unknowns—the blind spots, the emerging risks, the things security leaders can’t yet quantify. From there, the discussion expands into the evolving nature of the CISO role, which Michael sees not as security’s gatekeeper, but as the enterprise’s digital risk and resiliency officer, a creator of digital trust.

Together they explore why a company unwilling to take risks is a company on the path to irrelevance, and why the job of security is not to say “no,” but to help the business take the right risks for the right reasons. They discuss the art of engaging the business on security, shifting away from fear-based messaging and toward shared objectives, shared language, and shared accountability.

The episode also looks ahead at where the CISO role is heading, and of course, no future-focused conversation would be complete without AI. Reshad shares whether it excites him or worries him, and why, despite the threats, he’s far more energized by the potential of AI to strengthen defenses, accelerate detection, and enhance digital trust across the enterprise.

For security and risk leaders charting their own course through uncertainty, this episode is a reminder that the mission isn’t to eliminate the unknown, it’s to navigate it with confidence, clarity, and a willingness to boldly go where the future demands.

In this episode of Risk Is Our Business, Captain Michael Rasmussen beams aboard Ernest Legrand, CEO, technologist, and author of Guardians of Uncertainty: The Making of Influential Risk Managers in the Modern World, to explore what it really means to lead through volatility.

Drawing on lessons from his book and decades of experience across insurance, AI, and geospatial technology, Ernest discusses how elite risk managers transform uncertainty into strategy. Together, they chart the evolution of risk leadership, from compliance and insurance frameworks to dynamic decision-making built on data, foresight, and empathy.

From the human side of decision-making to the architecture of trust, Ernest shares lessons from the world’s top risk leaders, those who turn unpredictability into opportunity, and governance into a living, adaptive system.

For executives, risk professionals, and board leaders alike, this episode offers a reminder that uncertainty isn’t a void to avoid, it’s the terrain of leadership itself.

In this episode of Risk Is Our Business, Captain Michael Rasmussen welcomes Richard Chambers, Senior Advisor at AuditBoard and one of the most influential voices in internal audit and assurance, to discuss how risk, audit, and compliance have evolved in a decade defined by unprecedented velocity and volatility.

Richard reflects on the shifting mindset across GRC—from static frameworks and predictable cycles to a world where risk signals move fast, interdependencies compound, and organizations must adapt with greater speed and clarity than ever before.

The conversation draws a sharp distinction between good and bad audit in this environment. Bad audit is adversarial, a corporate police force focused on fault-finding and paperwork. Good audit is a value protector, a trusted partner helping management navigate uncertainty, make sound decisions, and keep the organization moving toward its objectives. If the business fears internal audit, something fundamental is broken.

They then examine modern risk management, emphasizing that effective programs are grounded in realistic assessments of likelihood and materiality, not abstract heat maps or theatrical risk registers. Risk is not something to be avoided; it is something to be understood so the organization can move with intention.

Compliance enters the discussion as well, particularly the cultural divide between the U.S.’s checkbox-heavy approach and Europe’s more risk-based, integrity-oriented model. Compliance, Richard argues, is ultimately about who the organization chooses to be.

The episode closes by looking ahead five years—where AI, automation, and intelligence-driven assurance will shape the role of audit, risk, and compliance. The mission remains the same, but the tools and tempo of the work are changing at warp speed.

In this episode of Risk Is Our Business, Captain Michael Rasmussen beams aboard Ana Valdez Rodgers, VP of Internal Audit, and Melissa Pici, Global Director of Governance, Risk & Compliance, of Syniverse to talk about what really keeps GRC leaders up at night.

They dive into how GRC isn’t about ticking boxes but about aligning governance, risk, and compliance with the organization’s purpose and strategy. Drawing on Syniverse’s experience, Ana and Melissa share how their Risk and Assurance Council helps shape culture, break silos, and make GRC part of everyday decision-making, not just a quarterly ritual.

They also reflect on Syniverse’s GRC Trailblazer Award, what it took to earn it, and why lasting success starts with strategy and process before technology ever enters the room. Because GRC isn’t something you buy, it’s something you do.

As the conversation turns forward-looking, they chart where Syniverse’s GRC program is headed next, envisioning a future where alignment, automation, and purpose drive risk strategy. Because as Captain Kirk once said, risk is our business, and as this episode reminds us, a business that doesn’t take risks is a business out of business.

In this episode of Risk Is Our Business, Captain Michael Rasmussen beams aboard Renee Murphy, independent analyst, storyteller, and founder of The Storyteller’s Circle, to reflect on insights emerging from a recent workshop they led together. One theme rose quickly to the surface: are risk registers keeping pace with reality, or are many organizations still flying with decade-old assumptions?

They explore how today’s emerging risks, from AI misuse and deepfakes to data poisoning and automated misinformation, demand more than recycled top-10 lists and stale heat maps. If the world is shifting at warp speed, risk management must evolve its star charts too.

From there, the conversation jumps to the bridge of the Enterprise (naturally). Renee and Michael unpack the risk postures of Starfleet captains and how every organization needs the right mix of boldness and restraint to navigate uncertainty without flying the ship into a spatial anomaly.

They round out the episode exploring the fear and promise of AI—not as a looming replacement for the crew, but as a co-pilot that enhances perception, speeds analysis, and reveals risks before red alerts sound.

Because great risk management doesn’t just brace for the unknown, it boldly goes toward it with intelligence, imagination, and the right crew at the helm.

In this episode of Risk Is Our Business, Captain Michael Rasmussen beams aboard Richard Anderson, Chair, Non-Executive Director, and host of The Risk Appetite Podcast, to explore what separates bad risk management from good, and why so many organizations still get it wrong.

Together they chart the difference between process-driven compliance and purpose-driven risk. Bad risk management, they argue, is obsessed with heat maps, registers, and rituals; good risk management understands context, links to objectives, and drives intelligent decision-making.

The discussion turns to the UK landscape, where Richard and Michael assess whether organizations are truly getting risk management right. The answer, as ever, depends, on sector, circumstance, and above all, personality. From there, the conversation warps into the heart of governance i.e., risk appetite—not as a box-ticking exercise, but as a compass defined by context and aligned with objectives.

They close by examining risk culture and communication, emphasizing how scenario planning and storytelling can help leaders make sense of uncertainty. For anyone trying to bridge the gap between compliance and comprehension, this episode is a navigational chart for risk done right, because every enterprise, at warp or impulse, needs to know just how much uncertainty it can handle.

In this episode of Risk Is Our Business, Captain Michael Rasmussen beams aboard Renee Murphy, independent industry analyst, storyteller, and one of the most recognizable voices in GRC, to tackle one of the most misunderstood dimensions of risk: reputation.

Renee explains why reputational risk remains so elusive for many organizations, and why ERM frameworks often have metrics for finance and operations but almost none for reputation, customer experience, or employee experience. Together, they dissect recent examples of brand turbulence (from Cracker Barrel to Anheuser-Busch to Target) and explore why reputational fallout can and should be quantified.

The conversation ventures into ESG and stewardship, showing how environmental and social commitments carry enormous reputational weight and why they can’t be managed in isolation. Renee emphasizes the need for risk leaders to engage with every department, especially sales and marketing, since some of the biggest reputational crises are born from campaigns gone wrong.

For boards, CROs, and GRC professionals, this episode reframes reputational risk not as an abstract concept but as a measurable, manageable force that determines whether your organization is trusted or left adrift in the void.