Operational resilience should have been a core corporate priority a long time ago, but the COVID-19 pandemic has finally pushed it to the forefront of many executives. It should stay there for many reasons, Rich Cooper said.
Mr. Cooper is the principal for financial services for Fusion Risk Management, a company focused on operational resilience and helping companies anticipate, prepare, respond, and learn in any situation by equipping them with the software solutions they need to successfully withstand the many different challenges Mother Nature and mere mortals can throw their way.
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the importance of planning ahead for events that are likely to be more frequent in the years ahead, Mr. Cooper said. It also provided a unique opportunity for both individual companies and entire sectors to unite around issues that have affected all of us.
That is an important point because most impact events are regional or local in their influence; a hurricane works its way up the coastline, a forest fire knocks out power lines. Even terrorist attacks, whose effects do indeed ripple across the globe, are mostly localized in their effect.
The pandemic’s impact has been global and the lessons are already being learned.
“The pandemic is a health and safety issue, a human resources issue, a facilities issue and a supply chain issue,” Mr. Cooper said.
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