The Risk Wheelhouse Podcast
The Risk Wheelhouse is the podcast dedicated to exploring how RiskTech is reshaping the future of risk management. Hosted by our experts, Ori Wellington and Sam Jones, each episode delves deep into Integrated Risk Management (IRM), offering insights into the latest trends, technologies, and strategies. Join us to stay ahead in the ever-evolving risk landscape and empower your organization with actionable knowledge.
S3E9: Starved from the Edges – Why Connected Intelligence Matters in Autonomous IRM
When Automation Moves Fast—and Misses the Point
In this episode of The Risk Wheelhouse, Ori Wellington and Sam Jones expose the blind spot threatening today’s most advanced risk tech: isolation.
Autonomous IRM is no longer theory. AI platforms like Tuskira are already simulating threats and triggering real-time responses. But as this episode reveals, most operate in a vacuum—starved of strategic input from the top and assurance feedback from the bottom.
The result? High-speed automation chasing low-value noise.
S3E8: The Risk Ignored - Losing the Secret Formula
When Risk Intelligence Is Just a Lie You Tell Yourself
In this episode of The Risk Wheelhouse, Ori Wellington and Sam Jones take listeners deep inside the boardroom drama, technology illusions, and costly consequences that define one of the most revealing chapters in risk history. Drawing from The Risk Ignored Part I, Chapter 4 by John A. Wheeler, they uncover how SunTrust’s billion-dollar implosion wasn’t just a financial disaster—it was a failure of architecture, mindset, and nerve.
And the kicker? The very tools sold to prevent this kind of catastrophe—first-generation GRC platforms—were part of the problem.
S3E7: Integrated Risk Thinking and the IRM Navigator™ Model
Why Integrated Risk Thinking (IRT) is the Strategic Superpower Your Business Has Been Missing
For organizations in today’s digital era, the biggest risk might not be what’s coming—but how you’re thinking.
Traditional risk management has always been reactive. It slices risk into categories—financial, operational, cybersecurity—and manages them in isolation. The result? Fragmented insights, missed signals, and a business strategy vulnerable to blind spots. Even Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) platforms, once hailed as the future, have largely become digital filing cabinets—useful, but far from transformative.
That’s where Integrated Risk Thinking (IRT) changes the game.
S3E6: The Strategic Risk Revolution—Why Traditional GRC Is Falling Short
In Episode S3E6 of The Risk Wheelhouse Podcast, hosts Ori Wellington and Sam Jones unpack a revealing analysis by McKinsey & Company, highlighting critical weaknesses in traditional Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) frameworks. Despite significant investment, many organizations report disappointing results from legacy GRC approaches. Wellington and Jones discuss five systemic shortcomings identified by McKinsey that underscore why traditional GRC struggles in today’s complex, rapidly evolving business environment.
S3E5: The Workiva Sell-Off Reveals What's Really Driving Today's IRM Market
A minor tremor—or a market wake-up call?
In the latest episode of The Risk Wheelhouse, hosts Ori Wellington and Sam Jones break down a seemingly routine market fluctuation that revealed far more than expected. Season 3, Episode 5—The Workiva Sell-Off Reveals What’s Really Driving Today’s IRM Market—examines how the sudden drop in Workiva’s stock price, despite favorable earnings, exposed a deeper truth about the state of Integrated Risk Management (IRM) in 2025.
At first glance, the culprit seemed small: whispers of delays to the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and postponed sustainability regulations triggered investor unease. But beneath that reaction lies a profound shift in IRM market dynamics. No longer driven solely by product innovation, today’s IRM landscape is shaped equally by the volatility of regulatory timelines, geopolitical risk, and enterprise strategy.
S3E4: Risk's Dual Lens—From Monocle to Smart Glasses
Risk management is undergoing a revolutionary transformation, and businesses stuck in outdated approaches are increasingly vulnerable in today's complex landscape. This eye-opening deep dive examines the stark contrast between traditional and modern risk perspectives through the powerful analogy of "monocles versus smart glasses."
Drawing from insights shared by John Wheeler (Wheelhouse Advisors) and Andrea Elliott (ACI Worldwide) at the Mitratech Interact Conference 2025, we explore why the old compliance-focused, backward-looking approach is dangerously inadequate. Today's interconnected challenges demand a panoramic view that integrates both assurance (protection) and performance (strategy) perspectives.
S3E3: The Missing M—Why Risk Needs Managers, Not Just Playbooks
The moment a baseball season begins, hope fills the air as teams dream of championship glory. But as any sports fan knows, talented players alone can't win championships—they need strong managers making smart calls and adjusting strategy in real-time. This powerful analogy perfectly captures what's often missing in corporate risk management today.
Many companies believe their Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) programs provide comprehensive protection against uncertainty. Yet in practice, these programs frequently amount to little more than documenting potential problems and checking compliance boxes—the equivalent of having a playbook without a coach actively managing the game. This fundamental gap between identifying risks and actively managing them represents the critical difference between traditional GRC approaches and the emerging discipline of Integrated Risk Management (IRM).
S3E2: Flipping the Risk Conversation Forward
The relentless pace of change in today's business environment demands a radical rethinking of risk management. Gone are the days when risk could be viewed merely as a necessary evil or compliance hurdle—forward-thinking organizations are now recognizing it as a crucial lens for making better decisions and driving long-term value creation.
Drawing insights from the "Flip the Risk Conversation Forward" session at the 2025 Mitratech Interact Conference, we explore how businesses can navigate turbulence and emerge stronger by fundamentally transforming their approach to risk. John Wheeler's three-part framework—Flip, Adopt, Manage—offers a practical roadmap for organizations looking to evolve beyond siloed, reactive risk management toward a more integrated, proactive stance.