The conductor: Johnson Matthey’s risk director explains why in risk management, influence is everything

“It’s important to recognise that as a risk professional your role is to be hands-on”, says Xavier Mützig, group insurance & insurable risk director at Johnson Matthey and vice-president of FERMA.

Achieving this, he says, means working with all components of an organisation – from the operational levels up to senior management.

Mützig entered risk management later in his career, after nearly 15 years working in insurance, having started with UAP (acquired by AXA).

He says he was drawn to the profession by a desire to be at the frontline of risk, working with companies to be part of the solution.

At Johnson Matthey Plc, a company that develops sustainable technologies to help decarbonise the energy, chemical and transportation industries, he is responsible for developing risk financing and risk management strategies.

“I’m also working at the board level, helping to boost their risk understanding, and being as visible as possible.”

His remit includes risk transfer and self-insurance programmes, and he leads a global team of experts.

Mützig believes that his role is becoming increasingly visible, saying that this is a crucial development because a risk manager must be able to influence the overall strategy of an organisation.

He explains: “I see my role as very much that of a coordinator, a conductor, and an influencer. It’s working with teams across the organisation, breaking down any potential silos, and gaining a thorough understanding of every aspect of the business.

“I’m also working at the board level, helping to boost their risk understanding, and being as visible as possible. The senior team at Johnson Matthey welcome regular interaction and I have the opportunity to challenge them to think about the risk environment in their strategic decision-making.”

GIVING BACK TO HIS PROFESSION

Alongside his risk role at Johnson Matthey, Mützig is also the vice-president of FERMA. He says he was attracted to the member organisation both for its ability to help him contribute to the wider risk community, but also for its political sway.

He says: “I fully believe in the importance of giving back to a sector that I have gained so much from. I began working with AMRAE quite early on in my career and when I moved to the UK, I was quick to connect with AIRMIC.

“I fully believe in the importance of giving back to a sector that I have gained so much from.”

“What FERMA provided me with was the opportunity to have a positive influence on the profession at the European level – and as a French citizen working in the UK that really appealed to me.

“As a member of the board, you have a fantastic opportunity to bring your own skills and experience to the profession at large. It allows you to play a proactive role in so many different aspects of the profession.

“For example, given my experience at Johnson Matthey working with innovative sustainable technologies, I have been heavily involved with the Sustainability Committee at FERMA and have been able to provide insights on climate change, energy transition and decarbonisation.”

THE FAST-MOVING RISK LANDSCAPE

Mützig says that risk managers are facing a series of fundamental risks that have been on the horizon for years but are now emerging more rapidly.

He says: “It is the immediacy of these risks, whether we are talking about climate change, geopolitical upheaval, economic volatility, societal polarisation, cyber exposures, or rapid advancements in artificial intelligence.

“That is the key challenge for the risk management community, the speed at which they are evolving and the scale at which they are impacting their organisations.”

He adds that this is made more complicated by the connected nature of the risks, and the fact that they cannot be tackled in isolation. “The degree of interaction and interconnectedness within this risk universe is unparalleled, which only heightens the level of complexity for the risk manager.”

Against the backdrop of such an uncertain and rapidly evolving environment, Mützig strongly believes that the role of the risk manager is to empower an organisation to respond at pace by enabling it to anticipate.

Only by getting ahead of risks can a company ensure it is in a robust position to manage them effectively.

He says: “To reach this state, the risk management and the senior management functions must be aligned. The risk manager must have a clear understanding of the strategic objectives of the organisation… if they are to be able to fulfil their role effectively and to help influence that direction of travel.

“We also have to recognise that the degree of accountability applied to organisations is growing significantly and will continue, coupled with the need for greater levels of transparency.

“It’s about being aware of and open to change, new ideas and innovative approaches.

“Companies are increasingly being held legally liable and socially accountable for their actions. This is clearly going to elevate the role of the risk manager given the increased exposure to reputational risk that such an environment creates.”

While he concedes that it is difficult to pinpoint the exact skills risk managers will need to thrive in such a complex and mutable risk environment, Mützig believes that adaptability is key.

He says: “It will probably be more a case of amplifying the skills that they currently have – that ability to constantly expand our understanding of the risk universe that we are responsible for. It’s about being aware of and open to change, new ideas and innovative approaches.

“There is so much more data to interact with and ways in which we can interact with it. We must capitalise on these expanded capabilities to better understand the world around us and the changes that occur – whether political, economic, technological, or social. And try to anticipate what the risk implications and the opportunities for our organisations are.”

DIVING INTO THE DATA

Speaking of data, Mützig is keen to talk about the biennial FERMA International Risk Manager Survey, which he is spearheading this year.

While the study has been going for some 20-plus years now, under his mantle it is evolving to be more international than ever. This year’s results will include data from RIMS, Alarys, PARIMA, IRMSA, Club Francorisk and RMIA.

He says: “Our ability to analyse the profession in depth across such a spectrum of industries and territories… provides risk practitioners with greater clarity on where the profession is advancing, and which are the areas where more needs to be done to boost the impact of the function within the organisation.

“The detailed insights this expanded audience brings will enable us to gain a richer appreciation of the key developments that are influencing the evolution of the profession, helping us understand how these are impacting their roles at the operational level. We will also gain a broader perspective on the overarching trends affecting the community on a global basis now and into the future.”

“We know that new talent is looking for the opportunity to take on roles that have a positive influence on some of the mega challenges we see, and the risk management profession does exactly that.”

Key aspects of the survey will include the extent to which risk management is visible at the strategic levels, the degree of influence the risk manager has in guiding corporate strategy, the view of the current risk landscape, the approach of the organisation to setting its risk appetite and the type of risk culture that it maintains.

TALENT SEARCH

Lastly, talk turns to the future of the risk management profession, and the widespread talent crisis that the industry is facing.

Mützig believes that to overcome these recruitment challenges, the industry must crystallise the value of the risk management profession for the next generation of talent.

He says: “We need to promote the clearly defined purpose that it has and demonstrate that intrinsic role that those in the profession play in helping companies address some of the biggest challenges that not only industry, but society at large is facing.

“We know that new talent is looking for the opportunity to take on roles that have a positive influence on some of the mega challenges we see, and the risk management profession does exactly that. We need to make them aware of the full potential that a career in the sector offers.”