Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on Poole Thought Leadership and is authored by Caroline Barnhill.

The days of risk management functioning as a mere “checklist” department are over. Today’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) leaders are working in the center of the storm, tasked with connecting disparate functions and guiding organizations through a landscape where “certainty” is a relic of the past.

This evolution took center stage at the 2026 ERM Roundtable Summit, hosted by NC State’s ERM Initiative in Raleigh. More than 110 practitioners gathered not just to talk shop, but to wrestle with a fundamental question: What does leadership look like when volatility is the only constant?

ERM as the Integrator Across the Enterprise

The day opened with a focus on alignment. In large organizations, risk-related activities often sit across multiple functions, including compliance, internal audit, legal and operations. Without coordination, those efforts often fragment.

Kristy Absher, senior advisor of enterprise risk and global projects for Exxon Mobil Corporation, described a model of “aligned assurance,” where ERM connects these efforts into a unified system. 

Her framework emphasized the importance of clearly defined roles across the three lines of defense, supported by shared visibility into risk priorities. When those elements align, organizations reduce duplication, improve efficiency and focus attention on the risks that matter most.

“ERM is really the people who are connecting the dots and bringing people together,” Absher explained.

It’s less about being a watchdog and more about providing the infrastructure that links high-level strategy to the reality of daily execution.

Operating Inside High-Complexity Environments

For organizations like Westinghouse Electric Company, where engineering risks and global supply chains collide with strict regulatory oversight, integration isn’t just a goal – it’s a survival mechanism.

Chelsea Javorsky Smith, supervisor of ERM for Westinghouse, described a program that has survived years of organizational upheaval by sticking to a simple philosophy: top-down governance fueled by bottom-up insights.

Smith grounded the theory in a real-world crisis: the COVID-19 pandemic. When news of a “rapidly spreading virus” first hit the wires, her team didn’t wait for a report. They triggered a threat assessment that lasted 18 months and engaged eight cross-functional workstreams. They weren’t just looking at the balance sheet; they were asking if employees could safely enter a manufacturing plant and whether the company had the hardware to support a remote workforce overnight.

“That experience shaped how we think about ERM today, and it’s reinforced a few key lessons for our program. We needed early alignment to the strategic planning process and to be where decisions were actually being made, enabling a speak-up risk culture,” she explained.

“Without that, we weren’t getting risks before they became issues. At the end of the day, we needed to make sure that we maintain strong relationships. Now there are times people come up to me and say, ‘Hey, Chelsea, can I get your thoughts on this?’ And if I didn’t maintain those strong relationships, they would never invite me to the table,” Smith continued.

“We needed early alignment to the strategic planning process and to be where decisions were actually being made, enabling a speak-up risk culture.”

The takeaway is operational. ERM must be embedded within the business to remain relevant, particularly where risk and performance are tightly coupled.

Leading When the Answer Isn’t Clear

While the morning sessions focused on structure and systems, the next presentation shifted toward leading when there is no obvious right answer.

Vandana Ram Allman, founder of Avaz Leadership, invited attendees into a highly interactive dialogue, asking them to examine who they become in moments of crisis, complexity and “stuckness.” Leadership, she argued, is “possibly the riskiest thing a human being can do” because it requires sitting at tables without perfect answers, especially at the enterprise level, where uncertainty and ambiguity are the norm.

Allman drew a sharp distinction between technical and adaptive challenges. Technical problems can be solved by expertise and process, like taking a car with worn brakes to a mechanic. Adaptive challenges, by contrast, live in the realm of identity, loss and unspoken expectations – for example, the difficult conversation with an aging parent whose driving habits keep destroying the brakes.

“Most of us are trying to fix an adaptive problem with a technical solution,” she noted, “and then wondering why nothing really changes.”

In these situations, traditional, solution-first approaches fall short. The work of a risk leader is not only to propose a sound technical fix, but also to diagnose what is happening in the human system: whose territory feels threatened, where control or recognition is at stake, and how people are making sense of change.

This reframing places ERM leaders in a distinct position. Rather than being seen solely as problem solvers, they become sense‑makers in environments of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity – helping their organizations see which issues are technical, which are adaptive, and which risks are not just acceptable, but necessary for growth.

Risk as a Driver of Strategic Value

The afternoon brought a CEO perspective that further reinforced this shift. Mark S. Beasley, the Alan T. Dickson Distinguished Professor of Accounting and director of the ERM Initiative, interviewed Jim Roane, CEO of TAASA Luxury Lodges & Camps and Roane Travel Design, about leading businesses where risk is inherent – remote operations with no electrical grid or municipal water, 16-hour supply routes on dirt roads and guests in open vehicles just feet from lions and elephants. In that context, risk management does not constrain the business; it enables it.

During the presentation, Roane distinguished between perceived risk (for example, being close to lions) and real risk (such as vehicle failures, untrained guides, water quality and supply chain reliability). He described a disciplined approach that includes relentless behind-the-scenes preparation, deep investment in people and culture, and designing his tours for both experience and safety.

“There is risk in everything we do. Our job is to give you all the protection you need, without taking away the immense pleasure of living life in the present.”

“There is risk in everything we do. Our job is to give you all the protection you need, without taking away the immense pleasure of living life in the present,” Roane shared.

Roane’s unique perspective reframes ERM as a driver of value creation. By actively managing real risks, while thoughtfully addressing perceived risks, Roane’s organizations can expand what they can offer guests and communities, not limit it. Effective risk management, in his view, is what makes extraordinary, high-risk experiences safely possible.

Shared Challenges Across the Profession

The summit concluded with small-group, round-robin discussions for attendees to learn from one another in their unique roles and industries.

What surfaced were the common pressures facing ERM leaders across industries.

Participants focused on three areas: managing risks tied to AI and data governance, responding to geopolitical uncertainty, and identifying ways to elevate ERM’s strategic impact.

Despite differences in sectors, the themes were consistent. Organizations are navigating faster change, more interconnected risks and higher expectations for decision support.

The diversity of attendees reinforced that point. The group included chief risk officers, audit leaders, compliance executives and ERM practitioners from industries ranging from healthcare and financial services to energy and manufacturing.

A Common Thread

Across sessions, a pattern emerged. ERM is moving toward integration, closer alignment with decision-making and a more direct role in driving action.

“What stood out in this event is how consistently organizations are moving ERM into the center of decision-making. The focus is less on identifying risk and more on using that insight to guide action across the enterprise,” Beasley said. “We value the insights and engagement from this community and look forward to building on this work together at the next summit.”