Aurore Lecanon: Meeting people face to face is irreplaceable

30 December 2021

Direct Line Group's chief risk officer, Aurore Lecanon, reviews the key ERM developments of 2021 and her outlook for 2022

What steps have you taken to return to the 'new normal' working pattern?

Aurore LecanonStarting at Direct Line Group in November has been an amazing way to transition back into some sort of office life. I spend two to three days a week either in our headquarters in Bromley or in a small office we opened in the city as a central point of convergence. For me, the energy you get from meeting people face to face is irreplaceable – on my first day in Bromley I felt like the schoolgirl excited to see all her friends after a long summer of holidays!

However, the Covid landscape remains highly uncertain and not being able to fully turn the page and step into a clean "new normal" is tough on a lot of people.

Making Team townhall [video meetings] fun and interactive really helps stay connected to all our colleagues and in some ways have allowed us to be very creative and informal.

What was the most positive enterprise risk management (ERM) development of 2021?

To me, the boost that has been given to sustainability and in particular climate change risk management through some of the new regulatory requirements, such as the CBES report, but also through wider business and society engagement, is invaluable.

I also see more and more alignment on and belief in the great role a future focused proactive CRO and risk function can play in organisations, which is very exciting.

And what was the biggest disappointment?

I do worry that we are over-confident [how] we will manage the next big crisis based on our relatively good track record of managing operational impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

What will be the biggest ERM challenge in 2022?

It will vary per firm - for me personally, given the challenges we are facing to implement the Pricing Practice Review which is an unprecedented game changer in the general insurance industry.

If you could have one wish for 2022, what would it be?

That we all get a break from constant bad news.