The Lord Mayor of London, Alastair King, will today open the Corporation’s inaugural Chief Risk Officers Summit, calling for a new approach to risk that drives economic growth.
Amid global disruption, from protectionism to AI regulation, the Summit brings together over 200 CROs, policymakers, and business leaders to reposition risk functions as strategic engines of innovation.
“This is a pivotal moment,” said the Lord Mayor. “With uncertainty now the norm, the UK must embrace responsible risk-taking to stay globally competitive. My message is clear: CROs are not here to block ambition – they’re here to unlock it.”
The Summit builds on new research from Bayes Business School, Optimising Growth: The Role of the Chief Risk Officer, which revealed, in today’s volatile geopolitical landscape, marked by conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war, economic sanctions on Iran, and political instability in the Middle East, how the CRO role has evolved from compliance gatekeeper to strategic boardroom partner, particularly since the 2008 financial crisis.
Speakers at the Summit include Bim Afolami, Former City Minister now Chief of Staff & Strategy at Acrisure, Jared Kosky, Deputy Insurance Commissioner for the US State of Connecticut, and Maxine Gee, CRO at London Stock Exchange.
This follows last week’s announcement on the Mansion House Accord, an industry led initiative between seventeen of the largest workplace pension providers in the UK to invest at least 10% of their defined contribution (DC) default funds in private markets by 2030, with 5% of the total allocated to the UK. Driven by The Lord Mayor and the pensions trade bodies, this ambition stands to inject £25 billion into high-growth UK sectors by 2030 and marks the start of a series of initiatives to reform the UK’s risk culture.
Today’s Summit marks the official start of the countdown to the Corporation’s inaugural Global Risk Summit 2026, at the historic Guildhall in Spring 2026, Key themes:
- Rethinking risk in a volatile world
- Regulatory reform to support innovation
- Building a national culture of responsible risk-taking
Lord Mayor of London, Alastair King said:
“The UK’s long-term economic strength depends not just on managing risk, but on mobilising it for innovation, competitiveness, and resilience. We must break free from a post-financial crisis allergy to risk that has stifled our ambition.
“My message today is clear: CROs are not the ‘no team’, they are strategic enablers of growth, combining oversight with foresight to help businesses seize opportunity from volatility. That is why initiatives like the Mansion House Accord are so vital, channelling billions into UK innovation and infrastructure. It is time to reignite the City’s appetite for responsible risk-taking so we can compete globally and deliver the growth our economy needs.”
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