In an era of black swan events, economic volatility, and rapid technological change, leaders must balance growth with governance to build organizations that endure.

In this episode of CIO Talk Network, Dr. Ramesh Gopal, Chief Risk Officer for UAE & Saudi and Head of Credit Risk at CEEMEA for Deutsche Bank, joins host Sanjog Aul to share lessons from past crises, strategies for aligning agility with control, and ways to embed a risk-first mindset across the enterprise.

Topics Covered: 00:00 – Introduction 02:49 – When assumptions fail: Lessons from 2008 07:12 – Thresholds, policing, and human bias in risk 10:09 – The biggest illusion of preparedness 13:05 – Appetite, tolerance, and execution 16:54 – Bridging the GRC–business gap 20:51 – Real-time, modern risk management 24:04 – Risk in the citizen development era 27:20 – Decentralizing risk ownership 33:29 – Challenges in building a risk-aware culture 36:08 – Blueprint for future-ready risk management 40:30 – An appeal to business & tech leaders 43:16 – G² + R²: Good growth and right risk

About CIO Talk Network: CIO Talk Network (CTN) is a global, peer-led platform where enterprise business and technology leaders think out loud—without pitch or fluff. Hosted by Sanjog Aul, CTN delivers authentic, experience-driven insights that challenge conventional thinking. Follow CIO Talk Network: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/cio-talk-network X (Twitter): twitter.com/ciotalknetwork Website: ciotalknetwork.com

 #Leade#RiskManagementrship #BusinessResilience #CIOLeadership #CTNTalks

In an era of black swan events, economic volatility, and rapid technological change, leaders must balance growth with governance to build organizations that endure.

In this episode of CIO Talk Network, Dr. Ramesh Gopal, Chief Risk Officer for UAE & Saudi and Head of Credit Risk at CEEMEA for Deutsche Bank, joins host Sanjog Aul to share lessons from past crises, strategies for aligning agility with control, and ways to embed a risk-first mindset across the enterprise.

Topics Covered: 00:00 – Introduction 02:49 – When assumptions fail: Lessons from 2008 07:12 – Thresholds, policing, and human bias in risk 10:09 – The biggest illusion of preparedness 13:05 – Appetite, tolerance, and execution 16:54 – Bridging the GRC–business gap 20:51 – Real-time, modern risk management 24:04 – Risk in the citizen development era 27:20 – Decentralizing risk ownership 33:29 – Challenges in building a risk-aware culture 36:08 – Blueprint for future-ready risk management 40:30 – An appeal to business & tech leaders 43:16 – G² + R²: Good growth and right risk

🎧 Listen on your favorite platform: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1109100382 Full Transcript & Episode Details: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/how-risk-aware-leaders-build-what-lasts/ Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/how-risk-aware-leaders-build-lasts/id1089793150?i=1000722274046

About CIO Talk Network: CIO Talk Network (CTN) is a global, peer-led platform where enterprise business and technology leaders think out loud—without pitch or fluff. Hosted by Sanjog Aul, CTN delivers authentic, experience-driven insights that challenge conventional thinking. Follow CIO Talk Network: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/cio-talk-network X (Twitter): twitter.com/ciotalknetwork Website: ciotalknetwork.com Guest Bio: Dr Ramesh Gopal Expert Insights and Contribution

#RiskManagement #Leadership #BusinessResilience #CIOLeadership #CTNTalks

Low-code systems democratize artificial intelligence tools, allowing nontechnical staff members to produce data-driven apps independently. This movement creates questions about governance, security, and quality control even while it gives innovators agility and speed. How can companies enable low-code tool-equipped business units to provide strong security and governance? Are there best practices for juggling autonomy with control in democratized AI systems? What unanticipated difficulties might result from this move toward general AI availability? Guest: Udit Pahwa, Chief Information Officer at Blue Star Limited

Guest Bio: Udit Pahwa

More on this Episode: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/low-code-ai-apps-enabling-innovation-ensuring-control/

More on AI & ML: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/topics/artificial-intelligence-machine-learning/

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The pressure to move fast has never been greater—leaders must accelerate digital transformation, deploy AI-driven efficiencies, and launch new business models faster than ever. But unchecked speed can create strategic drift, unmanaged risk, and operational chaos. How do leaders ensure velocity without recklessness, and what structures should be in place to prevent scale from turning into instability?

Guest: Alejhandro Martinez Galindo, Chief Information Officer at Fortrea

Guest Bio: Alejandro Martinez Galindo

More on this Episode: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/the-paradox-of-speed-scaling-innovation-without-losing-control/

More on Leadership: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/topics/leadership/

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The pressure to move fast has never been greater—leaders must accelerate digital transformation, deploy AI-driven efficiencies, and launch new business models faster than ever. But unchecked speed can create strategic drift, unmanaged risk, and operational chaos. How do leaders ensure velocity without recklessness, and what structures should be in place to prevent scale from turning into instability?

Guest: Alejandro Martinez Galindo, Chief Information Officer at Fortea.

More on Leadership: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/topics/leadership/

Visit CIO Talk Network Website: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/

Enterprise AI is rapidly evolving from a decision-support tool to an autonomous decision-maker, fundamentally changing how businesses operate. Just as human metabolism regulates energy for sustainable growth, AI has its own metabolism of knowledge—continuously consuming, processing, and acting on data at unprecedented speed and scale.

But without governance, this self-directed AI evolution can reinforce biases, create decision loops beyond human oversight, and introduce systemic risks—leading to operational inefficiencies, compliance failures, and reputational damage. How do enterprise leaders ensure AI remains explainable, aligned, and controllable—before it starts making critical business decisions on its own?

Guest: Vince Kellen, Chief Information Officer, University of California, San Diego.

Guest Bio: Vince Kellen Expert Insights and Contribution

More on this Episode: The Metabolism of Knowledge in Agentic AI: Governing AI Before It Governs US

More on Healthcare:  https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/extracting-value-from-genai/

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Business agility is about adapting services, people, processes and finances to the changes in business environment. But, in many cases, it is attempted in a fragmented and opportunistic way thus undermining its full potential. How can we define and adopt ONE approach to managing data, architecture, security, and customer community across the enterprise towards best outcome?

Guest 1: John Lambeth, Chief Information Officer, PAE

Guest Bio: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/contributor/john-lambethh/ More on this Episode: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/steps-to-boosting-business-agility/

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In an era where cybersecurity threats are becoming more sophisticated, the claim of integrated security solutions offering superior protection is under scrutiny. Tech Mahindra and Microsoft, as partners, assert that their strategy to unify critical security domains—data protection, threat management, identity management, and compliance—into a single operational framework significantly enhances security, operational efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.

So, what proof do they offer to justify that their proposed integrated cybersecurity toolset wins over specialized, best-of-breed, standalone solutions? Do the potential benefits of consolidating cybersecurity platforms truly outweigh the associated inherent risks? Does this unified model deliver on its promises of improved enterprise agility and reduced complexity? Guest: Anand Dutta, SVP & Global Head - Cybersecurity Solutions & Alliances, Tech Mahindra

Guest Bio: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/contributor/anand-dutta

Guest: Nitin Sharma, Global Director, Partner Business Development, Microsoft Guest Bio: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/contributor/nitin-sharma

More on this Episode: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/integrated-cybersecurity-solutions/

More on Cybersecurity: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/topics/cybersecurity/

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As AI reshapes industries, businesses find that preparing data for AI presents challenges that traditional analytics have yet to encounter. AI's complexity requires a new approach to data management involving careful alignment of architecture, governance, and stakeholder participation. Inadequate preparation can swiftly undermine AI projects, creating risks that leaders must identify and mitigate. Therefore, a solid data preparation strategy is essential to unlock AI's potential while minimizing its inherent risks.

What specific challenges arise when preparing data for AI? How can organizations ensure they have the tools and frameworks to create a robust, adaptable data architecture? And what ethical and strategic guardrails should be in place to support the evolving role of AI in decision-making? Guest: Nitin Sharma, Global Director, Partner Business Development, Microsoft

Guest Bio:https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/contributor/nitin-sharma/

Guest: Saurabh Jha, SVP & Global Head - Data & Analytics, Tech Mahindra

Guest Bio: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/contributor/saurabh-jha/

More on this Episode: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/preparing-data-for-ai/

More on AI : https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/topics/artificial-intelligence-machine-learning/

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Artificial Intelligence is transforming predictive healthcare with tools for early disease detection and personalized treatment. As healthcare IT leaders strive to harness this potential responsibly, they face challenges such as privacy protection and compliance with standards like HIPAA. Effective deployment of AI involves not only technological integration but also ensuring that treatments are equitable across all patient demographics by addressing biases in AI applications.

Guest: Cherodeep Goswami, System Vice President and Chief Information and Digital Officer, UW Health System.

Guest Bio: Cherodeep Goswani's Expert Insights and Contribution

More on this Episode: Strategic AI Deployment in Healthcare: Navigating Ethical Frontiers in Predictive Care | CIO Talk Network

More on Healthcare: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/topics/healthcare/

More on Leadership: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/topics/leadership/

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