Stefano Gori, IRMCert: Associate, Risk Advisory at AECOM
Stefano Gori, IRMCert
Associate, Risk Advisory at AECOM
How did you get your job?
I believe that every choice you make in your (professional) life helps you become a more rounded individual and shape who you are. Your career is a journey and this is how my journey began.
I completed my Masters with ESCP Europe Business School and accepted an internship within one of the Big Four. I started off in their London office before moving into a client facing role within their Risk Advisory Services, in Milan. In the early days of my career I have supported many listed clients in evaluating and enhancing risk management and internal audit functions. After few years of acquiring solid foundations on corporate governance and risk management I then decided to join another leading management consultancy company in a more strategic role.
Supporting international clients in multiple industries on risk and strategy management for almost 10 years, paved the way for joining AECOM, where I am now leading the Risk Management offering for the AECOM Programme Controls team, EMIA region (Europe, Middle East, India and Africa).
What’s a typical day like as a Risk Advisory Lead?
A typical day is presenting to clients on project and programme deliverables, reviewing and supporting bids and also, designing service offerings to promote wider risk management consulting offerings. Collaboration with colleagues from other disciplines and staying updated on market trends and risk methodologies are also key challenges in my role and part of my daily job.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Working within risk management helps you to understand what are the clients areas of concern, potential key problems and what they are doing about them. It is fascinating because this helps you to understand, at the very core, how the whole business functions and how it is run.
What are the challenges?
The biggest challenge is to raise risk management awareness among clients; this is mostly seen as a “tick box activity”, rather than a strategic lever for adding value and creating competitive advantage. Some clients are more mature than others, when it comes to risk management, but creating a risk-aware culture is always key.
In what way are your IRM qualifications relevant?
The IRM International Certificate in ERM helps you corroborate your professional experience. It is useful in the early stages of your career as it provides solid foundations not only on risk management, but it is also useful for experienced professionals as it is provided by a certified body valued by clients internationally.
What would you say to others thinking about joining IRM as a member?
Membership gives you exclusive access to a wide community of risk managers that share the same challenges and also allows you to attend targeted risk events. Great ways of staying up-to-date on risk methodologies and trends!
How has your role developed and what are your career ambitions? Has being linked to the IRM helped?
Being a certified member substantiates my professional experience, knowledge and overall credibility when it comes to meet and speak with clients. This helps you build and shape your career as a risk professional.
Top tips:
As the theory advises, risk management should be tailored to suit the organisation, depending on its industry, size, complexity, etc. So risk management can have several different meanings depending on the context in which it is mentioned.
There are several different certifications available in the field of risk management so be sure on what journey you would like to embark on. My advice is to get solid understanding of what corporate governance is before specializing in any field of risk management.