The 4th interview of this series is withย Pascal Rothย fromย EPAM Systems: He is sponsor and board advisor and part of the SRA almost since its inception.

โ“๐–๐ก๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ค ๐ฆ๐š๐ง๐š๐ ๐ž๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ญ โ€“ ๐ข๐ง ๐›๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐š๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž?
Over and beyond our โ€œreptilian brainโ€ comes consciousness to make informed decisions, putting aside apprehensions and overcoming fear. Be it to protect the interests of business colleagues and employees, or those of family members and friends, managing risks accompanies us through life.
I reckon the more one is accustomed to applying risk management thinking, the better one is equipped to face unexpected tough situations.

โ“๐ˆ๐ง ๐›๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ โ€“ ๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ง ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ค ๐ฆ๐š๐ง๐š๐ ๐ž๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐›๐ž ๐ฌ๐ก๐š๐ซ๐ž๐?
Every professional should have risk management in her/his skillsโ€™ toolbox, be it to change things in a corporation applying an FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) or by producing a solid business plan for a new venture.
Yet instincts and experience cannot be replaced and often speak the true language. It takes courage to listen to them and engage in a seemingly risky course of action.  

โ“ ๐ˆ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐š๐ญ๐ž – ๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐›๐ข๐ ๐ ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ’๐ฏ๐ž ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐ญ๐š๐ค๐ž๐ง?
Iโ€™ve always been attracted to water. As a young adult I was surfing waves too high for my beginnersโ€™ level in Australia, snorkeling at 10 meters depth to collect sponges in the Mediterranean, or diving from high cliffs in Greece into shallow spaces amidst surfacing rocks. These activities back then were not considered risky though โ€“ merely living a full life. Today, I would approach these disciplines with more respect and caution๐Ÿ˜‰

โ“๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐š๐๐ฏ๐ข๐œ๐ž ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐  ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ซ๐ž๐ ๐š๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ค?
Learn and apply the risk management tools, but donโ€™t overrate them. Always seek a second opinion and/or challenge the results of your analysisโ€“ esp. if something doesnโ€™t feel right. Take the liberty to put yourself at risks but do not involve unaware others.
But also: have faith in yourself and your ideas – based on sound values. No performing artist could achieve a show if in doubt or by having in mind all that could go wrong.  

โ“๐’๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐‘๐ข๐ฌ๐ค ๐€๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐œ๐ข๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง โ€“ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ฒ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ง๐ž๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐š๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ž?
I am part of the SRA almost since its inception. It is a second-to-none network of risk professionals; I value every presentation and exchange, made possible by the commitment of all board members and advisors. Through their hard work, the SRA evolves and keeps delivering relevant contents to its members. I got to learn a lot over the past years, from regulations to cyber risks, and made good friends. I hope it can go on like this for long.