Risk Rewired — Why CROs Must Lead the Charge in the New Era of Digital-First Risk Management
We are witnessing a historic shift in the architecture of enterprise risk.
The 2025 EY/Institute of International Finance (IIF) Global Bank Risk Management Survey, now in its 14th year, delivers a stark message: the rules of the game have changed. Cyber threats, geopolitical turbulence, AI disruptions, and escalating regulatory expectations have permanently displaced traditional financial risks as the core priorities for banking risk leaders.
For the first time in over a decade, not a single financial risk made it into the top 10 concerns for chief risk officers (CROs). Instead, cybersecurity (75%), operational resilience (38%), and geopolitical volatility (36%) dominate the agenda. These are not just new threats—they are structurally different, externally driven, and deeply interconnected. Managing them demands a new kind of leadership—one capable of navigating a risk matrix that is faster, flatter, and far more fragile than ever before.
CROs now stand at the intersection of technology, strategy, and trust. The question is no longer whether they have a seat at the table. It’s whether they’re prepared to lead the table—or risk becoming sidelined as the world moves ahead without them.
The Shape of Risk Has Changed—So Must the Leaders Who Manage It
The EY/IIF survey captures a global consensus across 115 banks from 45 countries: risk is no longer confined to compliance departments or quarterly board updates. It is embedded in everything—customer trust, digital infrastructure, business continuity, and strategic growth.
The implications are profound:
91% of G-SIB CROs now rank geopolitical risk among their top five concerns—surpassing even cyber threats.
87% cite the disruptive potential of new technologies as among the most pressing risks over the next three years.
63% say that digital acumen—particularly in GenAI—is the most in-demand skill set for risk talent in 2025.
In parallel, internal expectations are escalating. Boards, regulators, and executives are demanding faster insights, better coordination, and greater assurance. The CRO has become the organization's watchtower —a triangulating force connecting the boardroom, the business, and the digital battlefield.
Yet many CROs are navigating this transformation with legacy tools, fragmented teams, and siloed influence. The greatest risk may no longer lie outside the organization, but within it: a failure to realign leadership, systems, and culture with the new digital-first reality of risk.
Integrated Risk Management: More Than a Platform—A Strategic Imperative
The Chief Risk Officer as Watchtower
“The CRO has become the organization's watchtower —a triangulating force connecting the boardroom, the business, and the digital battlefield.” - EY
As risk types converge, the case for an integrated approach becomes unassailable. Integrated Risk Management (IRM) has emerged as the connective tissue between traditional governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) processes and the demands of a real-time, AI-driven world.
But as the EY/IIF report reveals, technology alone isn’t the answer. CROs are investing in IRM platforms to unify data, streamline workflows, and drive predictive insights—but many initiatives fall short because they fail to reflect the complex web of stakeholders who influence risk technology decisions.
Consider this:
61% of CROs are enhancing governance and controls;
59% are ramping up AI capabilities across fraud, credit, and compliance risks;
57% are modernizing data architecture and quality for real-time insights.
These are not isolated efforts—they’re foundational pillars of the IRM vision. But deploying IRM effectively requires more than a tech implementation plan. It demands organizational alignment—across finance, IT, compliance, audit, and the front lines.
That’s where the real challenge lies. CROs are no longer the sole buyers of risk tech. They are collaborators in a broader buying ecosystem that includes CFOs, CIOs, compliance heads, and operational leaders—all with unique priorities, metrics, and expectations.
The IRM Navigator™ Buyer Persona Guide: A Map for the New Risk Ecosystem
To navigate this shifting terrain, Wheelhouse Advisors developed the 2024 IRM Navigator™ Buyer Persona Guide—a strategic tool for both IRM technology providers and enterprise risk leaders.
For technology providers, the guide serves as a playbook for understanding how to sell to risk-aware enterprises in a cross-functional world. For risk leaders, it offers an essential framework for understanding the perspectives and pressures of every executive involved in IRM technology decisions.
The guide profiles six key personas:
The Strategic CRO – Focused on agility, automation, and risk-data integration;
The Digital Risk Officer (DRO) – Anchored in cyber resilience, AI governance, and infrastructure risk;
The Transformation CFO – Demanding cost-efficiency, transparency, and strategic return on risk investments;
The Audit Gatekeeper – Seeking traceability, assurance, and consolidated reporting;
The Compliance Strategist – Driven by evolving regulatory mandates, ESG disclosure requirements, and reputational risk;
The Business Risk Champion – Operating at the front line, seeking tools that support rapid, contextual decision-making.
Each persona includes deep insight into priorities, key performance metrics, organizational influence, and buyer journey preferences. Whether you’re a CRO seeking to champion a new IRM platform or a vendor building your go-to-market strategy, the guide offers a powerful lens for engagement.
Source: 2024 IRM Navigator™ Buyer Persona Guide by Wheelhouse Advisors
The Future Belongs to Risk Leaders Who Can Connect the Dots
As the EY/IIF survey makes clear, the future of risk is not about resisting change—it’s about owning it. The CRO of 2025 is a digital diplomat, a systems thinker, and a transformation leader. They must anticipate emerging threats, govern AI responsibly, drive enterprise resilience, and do it all while aligning divergent stakeholders around a coherent risk strategy.
This is no small task. But it is also the opportunity of a generation.
By leveraging tools like the IRM Navigator™ Buyer Persona Guide, CROs and their partners in finance, technology, and compliance can build the coalitions required to modernize risk and thrive in the face of disruption.
It’s time to stop asking who owns risk. We all do. The real question is: Who’s leading it?
Resources and Downloads:
Download the 2024 IRM Navigator™ Buyer Persona Guide:
https://www.wheelhouseadvisors.com/irm-navigator-research/p/2024-buyer-persona-guideExplore the full EY/IIF Global Bank Risk Management Survey 2025:
Web Summary
Direct PDFLearn more about the IRM Navigator™ Research Series:
https://www.wheelhouseadvisors.com/irm-navigator-researchListen to the latest episode of The Risk Wheelhouse podcast:
https://theriskwheelhouse.com
For briefings, licensing, or speaking engagements related to IRM strategy and leadership alignment, contact info@wheelhouseadvisors.com.
