FERMA Urges Strategic Foresight as Leadership Transition Nears

FERMA President Charlotte Hedemark called on risk managers to embrace strategic foresight and opportunity-driven thinking during her final general assembly as president, underscoring the federation's evolving mission amid a complex and fast-changing global risk landscape. 

Speaking in Brussels on June 24, Ms. Hedemark said risk professionals must expand their roles to drive long-term value and resilience. "At a time of constant change and rising complexity, foresight is a vital complement to traditional risk management to navigate uncertainty and emerging threats," she said. "Risk managers must take the lead in cultivating a forward-looking culture, expanding risk horizons, and challenging cognitive biases that limit ambition and restrict opportunity." 

She pointed to FERMA's May launch of the New Exposure Trends (NeXT) report, which identified four major interconnected risks: geopolitical shifts, technological acceleration, climate change, and human capital. The report, she said, illustrates "the need to find ways to anticipate how these risks might evolve and affect our organizations and our society in the future." 

Ms. Hedemark also referenced FERMA's 2024 Risk Manager Survey, which, for the first time, included responses beyond Europe, with input from over 1,000 participants across 77 countries. "It demonstrates how our profession is continually adapting to the fast-moving global risk environment," she said. 

She called for more integration of tools like scenario planning and horizon scanning into enterprise decision-making, encouraging companies to adopt a "holistic, future-ready approach" to risk. 

Ms. Hedemark also reviewed ongoing efforts by FERMA's enterprise risk management (ERM) committee to elevate the role of enterprise risk management in strategic planning. She described the recently released consultation document Shaping the Future: The Crucial Role of the Corporate Risk Manager as a key step in repositioning ERM functions to better align with business objectives. In parallel, she emphasized FERMA's current work on upcoming publications, including the CSRD Implementation Report—First Year Lessons, the Cyber Insurance Protection Gap Paper, and environmental, social, and governance–oriented captive insurance guidelines. 

Following the general assembly, FERMA's board announced that Philippe Cotelle will succeed Ms. Hedemark as president in October following the FERMA Seminar in Zurich. Mr. Cotelle, who currently serves as head of cyber insurance management and head of insurance risk management at Airbus Defense & Space, is a long-standing FERMA board member and former senior risk executive at SCOR and EADS Astrium Division. 

"I am deeply honored to be elected President of FERMA," Mr. Cotelle said. "Our mission—to embed risk management into the core of every organization's business model and culture—remains central to all we do." 

Ms. Hedemark called Mr. Cotelle "an excellent choice" and praised his leadership on key initiatives, adding, "He is uniquely qualified to lead FERMA as it continues to represent and support its members in a rapidly changing world." 

The assembly also elected four new Board members: Dr. Ulrich Adamheit of Electrolux Group, Tadas Cilcius of Kashimi, Christian Jens Fuchsenthaler of Daimler Truck AG, and Luis Lancha Vázquez of SENER Group. Annemarie Schouw of Tata Steel Europe was re-elected. 

"FERMA is proud of the exceptional talent and wide-ranging expertise represented by our Board members," Ms. Hedemark said. "Together, this collective strength positions us ideally to serve as a unifying voice for our member associations."