Stephen Sidebottom appointed chair at Institute of Risk Management

Sidebottom takes the reins from Iain Wright CMIRM (chief risk officer for Europe) at Canada Life. He boasts over 30 years’ international experience of working in Human Resources and organisation development, primarily in the global financial services sector and across both the private and public sectors. He also has nearly 20 years’ experience of serving on the Boards of various membership associations.

Commenting on the news, Iain Wright observed: “I’m very pleased to announce that my successor, Stephen Sidebottom, has started in post. Stephen has spent many years in leadership positions for world-leading banks and has extensive international experience in growing, shaping and buying businesses. He’s eminently qualified to lead the Board into the next phase of the Institute’s journey where we can grow in the post-pandemic world. I look forward to working with Stephen and the rest of the Board over the next few months as we develop and implement plans to take the Institute into an exciting future.”  

Wright’s circa one-and-a-half years in post have been dominated by the IRM’s reaction to COVID-19. On that note, he stated: “I’m very pleased to see how the Institute’s staff, led by the CEO, have moved the organisaion to the positive position that it enjoys today, whereby it’s able to deliver training, examinations and qualifications on a remote basis. Despite the pandemic, the Institute is better placed than ever. Indeed, we’re now at the point where we can take advantage of those digital developments and our financial strength to kick-start the next phase of our journey and consolidate our position as the world’s leading body for enterprise risk management.”

Wright concluded: “My thanks go to the Board, the CEO and all the staff at the Institute for their support, professionalism and unstinting dedication during my period as chair. As an IRM member, I now look forward to celebrating the Institute’s future successes with everyone concerned.”

Risk at the forefront

Speaking about his appointment, Stephen Sidebottom informed Security Matters: “I’m delighted to take on the role of chair of the IRM at this important point in its growth. Over the last year, managing risk has been at the forefront of business leaders’ minds. As we start to come through the COVID-19 crisis, the IRM has a unique opportunity to use its outstanding expertise in risk management to strengthen the role of professionally qualified risk managers in addressing future risks.”

Sidebottom continued: “As the pre-eminent global risk management institute, I firmly believe that the IRM is ideally placed to champion the debate about the skills and risk management approaches that risk professionals and organisations need to succeed.”

Further, he explained: “The Institute is at an exciting time in its history where we can look forward and really make our mark. We will be increasing the diversity and content of our product portfolio in terms of both qualifications and training. I’m particularly keen to see the Institute continue to operate in global markets and expand internationally.”

Sidebottom, who aims to lead the Board “with vigour and commitment” through this next stage of the Institute’s development, concluded: “During Iain’s term we have gone from strength-to-strength as an organisation and I’m looking forward to continuing his good work and playing a key part in professionalising risk management on the global stage.”