When you’re trying to influence at board level, it’s not enough to talk risk in your language, you’ve got to speak theirs. Ben Cooney joins me to unpack how risk professionals and safety leaders can get real traction by shifting their approach from technical to strategic, from problems to value. We get into the realities of insurance, bust some common myths, and explore how safety, risk, and finance can better collaborate to reduce harm and boost performance.

Whether you’re new to risk or have been in the trenches for years, this conversation is full of useful perspective, insight, and advice to help you step up your game.

Episode Highlights

• Senior leadership and risk: Perception is changing, awareness is rising
• Risk vs opportunity: Set clear guardrails, enable smarter decisions
• Making the case for investment: Lead with value, not fear
• Total cost of risk: It’s far more than just your insurance premium
• Safety + risk + insurance: Why collaboration beats working in silos
• Insurance misconceptions: Why policies don’t fail — but communication does
• Risk management bursaries: Useful tool or inefficient workaround?
• From fires to facial recognition: Real-world examples of risk done right

Actions:

• Sign up for a future Safety Roundtable: https://safetyroundtable.co.uk/ 
• Connect with Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencooney/
• Connect with Christian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-harris-slip-safety/