The C-suite agenda is ever-changing, always adapting to the operational status of the business, wider market shifts, and the turbulence of the geopolitical landscape. With global events, be it man-made or human, becoming increasingly unpredictable, the operational resilience of each organization is fast becoming a top priority. Business leaders are searching for answers to how they can predict, adapt and manage new and evolving risks. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and tensions between the U.S. and China continue to exacerbate global stability, while the increasing rate of natural disasters, most recently with Hurricane Milton, have put businesses on high alert, with operational resilience rising to the top of priorities.

In its 27^th Annual Global CEO Survey, PwC affirmed that “geopolitical threats are still among the top concerns for CEOs in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the Middle East,” noting that many firms are taking steps to “insulate themselves from the effects of some conflicts.”  

For many, that process has involved an extensive evaluation of operations, networks, and overall business models, with firms investing in everything from cybersecurity and data privacy to supply chain adaptations and integrated risk management. Notably, EY’s CEO Outlook Pulse survey from July 2023 revealed that an overwhelming 99% of respondents are proactively reallocating strategic investments in response to geopolitical challenges. 

There is widespread recognition that global enterprises need to find a way of being able to adapt in real-time to whatever risks come their way. The question is — how can they effectively achieve this? 

Who does the resilience responsibility fall to?

Before anything else, it is vital that organizations clearly define exactly who is responsible for building and managing resilience.

Enterprises’ increasing interconnectedness of workforces, operations and global systems means all departments will be affected should an emergency situation arise. Therefore, it is crucial that the entire C-suite — and ideally the wider business — understand what resilience means for them.  

Businesses with operational resilience rightfully placed as a top priority have often distributed responsibility to familiar C-suite roles, from the CEO and COO to CSO and CISO. However, a shift is occurring — we are beginning to see the appointment of a dedicated Chief Resilience Officer to lead resilience initiatives coming to the fore, catalysed by an acknowledgement of the increasing volume of risk considerations occurring across the world.

This role is not the same as that of the Chief Risk Officer, whose focus is on corporate risk and regulatory compliance. Instead, Chief Resilience Officers typically take a wider view, collaborating across departments to solidify processes and analysis from crisis management and preparedness to business continuity and disaster recovery.  

Three foundations to stronger resilience 

Once these responsibilities have been defined, either via a distributed approach or through a dedicated Chief Resilience Officer, businesses are well-placed to implement processes that will have a tangible impact on their resilience. 

1. Evaluate risk exposure: Companies should regularly assess their global operations to identify existing and emerging vulnerabilities. By understanding where risks may arise, chiefly through the ingestion of real-time threat source data, organizations can make proactive and informed decisions to prevent potential problems or disruptions from arising and escalating.  
2. Perform scenario planning exercises: To reduce the risk of unpreparedness from unpredictable emergencies, organizations must stay one step ahead and can do so via scenario simulation exercises. These efforts will help organizations to more easily and effectively respond to several different challenges, should they arise.  
3. Enhancing people visibility: Speed of response is highly dependent on a company's ability to track and manage its people and assets. Organizations need an acute understanding of the individual situations and locations of their employees as, from here, they can manage the response to crises and critical situations faster, with a greater deal of certainty, and the opportunity to mitigate risks before they develop. 

The role of a dedicated resilience platform 

Modern resilience platforms can be a game-changing asset, streamlining risk management and providing real-time insights as well as predictive capabilities.  

With the right platform on side, enterprises can expand their strategies beyond basic crisis response, laying the foundations for comprehensive, proactive operational resilience for faster action and response, minimised business disruptions, and improved employee safety. 

With that said, not all resilience platforms are made equal. Indeed, the most effective and advanced platforms offer some key capabilities that are worth keeping an eye out for: 

• Real-time location tracking: With geolocation tracking technologies, businesses can gain real-time visibility into their global operations, enabling them to assess potential impacts right down to individual personnel and assets. Of course, there is no silver bullet to managing location, however, leveraging multiple sources of location data in a combined approach enables true intelligence that can be acted upon confidently.  
• Dynamic risk monitoring: Predictive algorithms can be leveraged to forecast potential impacts on employees and/or assets, ensuring that proactive mitigation measures can be put in place, coupled with appropriate actions and plans. 
• Open integration ecosystem: Integrating multiple third-party risk data allows businesses to have the flexibility of choice, understand their full exposure to threats, enhance decision-making, and improve response. This enables companies to have comprehensive intelligence and adapt quickly to dynamic threats while ensuring consistent operational safety and stability. 

Amidst heightened geopolitical risks, such capabilities are crucial to achieving the necessary level of resilience. 

By clearly defining roles, adopting structured risk management strategies, and embracing advanced technologies, companies can protect themselves holistically against a landscape rife with uncertainties and rapidly changing environments, ensuring they are better placed to protect what matters, no matter the challenges the future may bring. 

This piece originally ran in Today's Cybersecurity Leader, a monthly Security newsletter. Subscribe to never miss out on future content.