The Chief Risk Officer (CRO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) might seem like an odd couple. The CRO’s world revolves around financial models, regulatory pressures, and enterprise-wide threats, while the CISO lives in the trenches of firewalls, malware, and zero-day exploits. One is mapping the big picture while the other is guarding the digital front door. Yet in today’s high-stakes environment, where a single cyberattack can shred earnings or a tech misstep can spark a compliance nightmare, their roles are converging. A strong partnership between them is not just a luxury; it is a necessity. To make it work, they need to rethink their skills, align innovation, prioritise risks holistically, and bolster operational defences — all with a shared purpose.
Evolving skills for complex games
The CRO’s playbook is expanding. Gone are the days when mastering credit risk or liquidity ratios was enough. Now, CROs are expected to grasp the intricacies of technology, for example, cloud vulnerabilities, AI biases, and data breaches that can derail the business as surely as a market crash. This is not about becoming a tech expert overnight; it is about knowing enough to connect the dots. In recent years, CROs are diving into cybersecurity primers, not to rival the CISO, but to speak their language and spot the financial fallout of a digital lapse.
This shift demands a new kind of risk team — one that is less siloed and more eclectic. The best CROs are assembling multidisciplinary squads: finance veterans working alongside data scientists, tech specialists, and even behavioural experts who can predict how people might slip up. Some risk teams now include a former penetration tester who collaborates with economists to simulate cyber-financial scenarios. It is this blend of perspectives that turns a good team into a great one, ready to tackle risks that do not fit neatly into one box.
Innovation without chaos
Businesses thrive on cutting-edge tech, for example, AI-driven analytics or real-time payment systems, but every advance carries a shadow of risk. CROs and CISOs face the same challenge: how to embrace progress without inviting disaster. The answer lies in partnership. A CISO might flag a flaw in a new platform; the CRO then weighs the cost of a fix against the price of a failure. Together, they craft solutions that do not just block innovation but guide it.
Particularly in manufacturing firms, the CRO and CISO can co-develop a “tech risk checklist” for every major rollout — questions like “What’s the worst-case breach scenario?” and “Can we afford the downtime?” It is straightforward but effective, ensuring neither side is blindsided. This collaboration lets them balance ambition with caution, keeping the company competitive without rolling the dice.
A broader risk lens
Traditionally, CROs obsessed over financial risks such as loan losses, cash crunches and market volatility, and for good reason: those hit the bottom line hard. But non-financial risks are climbing the ladder fast. On a global scale, cybersecurity or cybercrime alone could cost
$10 trillion annually, and that is before factoring in reputational hits or operational holdups. CISOs have long sounded the alarm on these threats, and CROs are finally tuning in, realising a hacked server can hurt as much as a bad quarter.
The shift shows up in how they prioritise. Financial risks still dominate budgets and boardroom debates, but non-financial threats are getting traction through integrated tools. For example, the CRO can roll out a risk dashboard that plots cyber incidents alongside interest rate shifts, forcing a conversation about trade-offs. When the CISO adds real-time intel like a spike in phishing attempts, it is no longer a side note; it is a core piece of the strategy. This holistic view ensures neither side misses the forest for the trees.
Fortifying the front lines
Operational risk is spiking — supply chain hiccups, remote work glitches, geopolitical curveballs — and firms are more exposed than ever. CROs and CISOs cannot just react; they need to reinforce the foundations. That starts with joint planning: running simulations of outages or fraud schemes to spot weak links. It is not theoretical. One concrete example is that energy companies test their backup systems quarterly, not annually, thanks to a CRO-CISO push.
Beyond technology, it is about culture. Companies train staff to catch risks like spotting phishing emails and sometimes with a nudge of fun, like leaderboards for the sharpest eyes or gamification. Tech investments help too: AI that flags odd patterns, audits that probe for cracks. But the real strength comes when CROs and CISOs align their efforts by sharing data, splitting costs, and holding each other accountable. It is less about who owns what and more about what they can protect together.
The glue that holds it together
A cohesive CRO-CISO relationship hinges on three things: communication, clarity, and trust. They need regular huddles, not just crisis-driven ones, to align goals and metrics. Shared tools, like a unified risk framework, keep them focused on the same horizon. And yes, they will disagree. Let’s say, on whether to delay a launch or patch a system, but working through it builds resilience and strengthens their partnership. Because when the inevitable storm hits, a partnership forged in purpose will stand stronger than two lone players ever could.
As published in The Manila Times, dated 07 May 2025
