The Risktory Podcast

Coming up on this week’s episode, whatever happened to Wirecard? The German-based payment processor and financial services unicorn that collapsed in August of 2020.

The story, and the lessons learned, from the Wirecard collapse: It’s an exercise of what happens when threat is in plain sight, where the canary in the coalmine is practically comatose, and yet, nothing is done to right the ship. Until it’s too late.

On this week’s episode, the rise and fall of a European darling, Wirecard.

The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.

All rights reserved.

Bibliography
https://www.ft.com/content/03a5e318-2479-11e9-8ce6-5db4543da632
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-wirecard-inquiry-timeline-idUSKBN2B811J
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirecard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirecard_scandal
https://www.regulationasia.com/wirecard-the-biggest-fintech-success-and-failure-story-of-all-time/

So, as many of you would know, in the last week, I became an American Citizen. And with that, I had a lot of questions about our immigration journey from Australia to America. And a lot of suggestions that our immigration journey might be a great episode in terms of personal risk and how we – as a family - balanced the challenges of the unknown with the incredible opportunity that immigration to the US offers.

So, this week, instead of a How They Did It episode, this is a How We Did It episode. From late 2013 when our immigration journey began to Tuesday September 21 2021, when the journey for me, and my boys, finally ended.

Fair warning, this is more of a personal episode so it is a bit longer than the usual Risktory Podcast
episode.

The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.

All rights reserved.

Bibliography
https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-eligibility/green-card-through-the-diversity-immigrant-visa-program

Coming up this week, the story of how the behemouth that is Trader Joe’s all began. The start-up story of Trader Joe’s is the stuff of beautiful, disruptive, opportunistic risk taking. It’s a start of one man, who saw a gap, and chose to innovate that gap, creating a brand that – in the US – is universally loved and cherished.

The startup story of Trader Joe’s has all the hallmarks or characteristics you’d expect from the disruptors: ambition, curiosity, diligence, resilience. A lot of what you will hear today, won’t be new from the perspective of how disruptors disrupt. They have a pattern and you will see that pattern in today’s episode.

But there are lessons in the Trader Joe’s startup that makes its inception, and subsequent, journey, utterly unique. Lessons that have facilitated Trader Joe’s holding multiple competitive advantages that – to this day – have been unable to be eroded.

The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.

All rights reserved.

Bibliography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Coulombe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trader_Joe%27s
https://fonolo.com/blog/2019/03/how-trader-joes-makes-customer-experience-its-competitive-advantage/
https://www.company-histories.com/Trader-Joes-Company-Company-History.html

Coming up on this week’s episode, let’s talk about COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Specifically, the sweeping vaccine mandates announced by President Joe Biden last week week.

Not surprising in modern day America, there are those who are cheering Biden, believing that this is the decisive move America needs to get back to normal.

And there are those who believe this is an unconstitutional grab for power, and the unfortunate start of America’s journey into totalitarianism.

On this week’s episode, I explore vaccine mandates: pros and cons. And I’ll explore some lessons from the past that we all ought to remember.

The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.

All rights reserved.

Bibliography
https://www.whitehouse.gov/covidplan/

Coming up on this week’s episode, whatever happened to Pan Am? King of the American Skies.

Long story short: a lot of things.

Short story long: The collapse of Pan Am was a perfect risk storm. It wasn’t one threat that took out Pan Am. It was a mix of threats, incubating over an extended period of time, that came together.

Creating a risk storm that Pan Am was, simply, unable to either weather and/or recover from.

On this week’s episode, I look at the (very sad) collapse of an American icon.

The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.

All rights reserved.

Bibliography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am
https://guttulus.com/what-happened-to-pan-am-the-decline-of-a-business/ https://study.com/academy/answer/why-did-pan-am-collapse.html https://simpleflying.com/major-airline-decline-1980s/

Coming up this week, let’s go back in time and explore how the Antwerp Diamond Heist was executed. On February 15 2003, a group of five Italian thieves calling themselves ‘The School of Turin’ breached one of the most secure locations in the world – the Antwerp Diamond Center – and stole in excess of $100 million dollars worth of diamonds, gold, silver and other rare gems and jewelry. The largest diamond heist in recorded history. One of the largest robberies ever in recorded history.

And while The School of Turin were caught. Well, bar one member, whose identity remains unknown to this day. While four of the five members were eventually caught, the planning and execution of the Antwerp Diamond Heist is the personification of ISO31000 in real time. The members of the School of Turin, risk masters.

In this week’s episode of The Risktory Podcast, the cracking tale of the Antwerp Diamond Heist.

The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.

All rights reserved.

Bibliography
https://www.scottselby.com/flawless
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antwerp_diamond_heist
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2782305.stm
https://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132401&page=1
https://allthatsinteresting.com/antwerp-diamond-heist
https://www.expatica.com/be/uncategorized/four-jailed-for-diamondstudded-italian-job-82517/
https://crimepulse.com/2020/12/the-legendary-antwerp-diamond-heist/

What a risk gift we have received in the last week, in the form of Trevor Milton, founder of electric vehicle manufacturer – Nikola – being indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of criminal fraud. The US Securities Exchange Commission (the SEC) has also filed a complaint against MIlton

I say risk gift, not because what is happening is wonderful. Milton’s indictment will see thousands of investors lose over the coming weeks. And Nikola leadership will have to steady a ship that is now without a captain.

I say risk gift, because what we are seeing with Milton’s indictment, is threat playing out in real time. For risk practitioners, these moments are rare and – when they happen – we’re almost honor bound to absorb every moment. Because the lessons we will learn are the lessons that make us better practitioners. And make our organizations stronger and more resilient.

On this week’s episode of the Risktory Podcast, I explore just how Milton and Nikola found themselves in this position.

The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.

All rights reserved.

Bibliography
https://hindenburgresearch.com/nikola/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Corporation
https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2021-141
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-nikola-corporation-ceo-trevor-milton-charged-securities-fraud-scheme
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/29/us-prosecutors-charge-trevor-milton-founder-of-electric-carmaker-nikola-with-three-counts-of-fraud.html

So, COVID-19 cases in the US are rising. A second wave is possible. And with that potential second wave, comes a second wave of COVID-19’s partner in crime: panic porn. Breathless social media posts. People cancelling vacations. Politicians calling for additional lockdowns.

And while I understand that the memories of 2020 are still fresh. And that it is natural to feel fear as a result.

I think it’s important that we all understand what is really happening. It’s important to understand that what is happening isn’t surprising, and that it aligns with the trajectory of all pandemics. And I think it’s important that we zero in on what we should be doing to mitigate threat, rather than surrendering ourselves to fear.

The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.

All rights reserved.

Bibliography
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5075021/
https://www.chron.com/news/article/Lambda-variant-cases-of-COVID-19-are-popping-up-16333072.php
https://www.mdlinx.com/article/5-viruses-more-dangerous-than-the-new-coronavirus/7wQzXjJudXjqIZVb8eU6LI
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/graphics/graphic-tracking-coronavirus-infections-us
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr6306a1.htm
https://nypost.com/2021/04/14/cnn-staffer-tells-project-veritas-network-played-up-covid-19-death-toll-for-ratings/

Coming up this week, the story of a group of unlikely risk masters. Female Bootleggers.

When the US ratified the 18th amendment to its Constitution in January of 2019. A move that effectively banned the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages. It unknowingly, or at least unintentionally, created opportunity for bootleggers to ply their trade to customers for whom alcohol was a non-elastic necessity.

The usual shady characters – including organized crime groups – all stepped into the breach created by the 18th amendment. As did women. Ordinary. Everyday. Previously law abiding women.

On this week’s episode, I look at four legendary female bootleggers. How they did what they did.

Why they did what they did. And I explore the risk lessons we ought to learn from Masters of the Bootlegging Risk Universe.

The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.

All rights reserved.

Bibliography
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5044685
https://sallyjling.org/2011/06/28/gertrude-lythgoe-fascinating-women-of-prohibition/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Carter_Sharpe
Parlor of Birdie Brown 'legendary' (greatfallstribune.com)
https://www.unlvpublichistory.com/the-hidden-history-of-women-bootleggers/
http://montanawomenshistory.org/montanas-whiskey-women-female-bootleggers-during-prohibition/
https://ellenbaumler.blogspot.com/2013/03/josephine-doody.html
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/womens-history-month-spot_b_4927284
https://www.homestead.org/homesteading-history/women-bootleggers/
https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/two-female-bootleggers-1921/
https://www.alcoholproblemsandsolutions.org/women-bootleggers-during-prohibition-there-were-many/