Over time, corporate governance literature has evolved from viewing risk as a narrow managerial or financial concern to embracing a broader, strategic, and systemic perspective. By the 1990s, enterprise risk management (ERM) introduced a holistic approach, integrating risk into strategic decision-making. The 2008 financial crisis marked a turning point, prompting reforms that elevated board accountability and risk oversight. In the 2010s, the rise of ESG concerns expanded the scope to include reputational, ethical, and environmental risks.
Today, we ask challenging questions, such as, is de-risking not the consequence of incapable risk management? How many opportunities get lost by focusing on “stopping” or “avoiding” activities because they are “too risky”? Today’s risk governance emphasizes resilience, adaptability, and stakeholder engagement in the face of global uncertainty and systemic challenges. Robustness and antifragility are concepts to be considered. How can we go to an “adaptive” governance, emphasizing the board’s agility?
