When familiar risks become blind spots

Ensuring organisations are adaptable and resilient is a core part of modern risk management, according to a panel of IoD members and insurance industry experts.

Speaking at Boardroom blind spots: Governing risk in an age of uncertainty, an exclusive event for IoD Chartered Members and Chartered Fellows, a high-powered line-up considered the major risks facing New Zealand companies and how boards can approach risk management in the face of uncertainty.

Speakers included Hamish Bell CMInstD, Kirsty Campbell CFInstD, Monique Forbes CMInstD, Nicky Stokes and David Wigley of Marsh, and IoD Governance Leadership Centre Principal Advisor Judene Edgar CMInstD.

For 2025, Marsh filtered its Navigating Global Risks in 2025 report through a Pacific lens to identify five top risks:

• • • Geopolitical and economic risks
    • Technology
    • Employee and business resilience
    • Super-ageing societies
    • Climate

While the report offers sobering reading, recent headlines show that global risks are already influencing New Zealand boardrooms. Whether through geopolitical upheaval, accelerating technology or the growing toll of climate impacts, the themes are the same: volatility, complexity and interconnectedness. This article draws on comments from all speakers at the event.

Global risks with local consequences

Each of the main risks for the Asia-Pacific region touches on directors’ core responsibilities: ensuring strategy, sustainability and stewardship in an era where the familiar guardrails are shifting.

In demographic terms, by 2060, 26% of New Zealand’s population will be aged over 65 – well ahead of the global average. This demographic transformation brings significant implications for workforce participation, healthcare demand and fiscal policy. 

As governments weigh extending the retirement age – perhaps into the early 70s – boards must consider how to adapt business models and talent strategies to a longer, more diverse working life.

An ageing population also amplifies intergenerational differences in the workplace. Younger employees expect flexibility, wellbeing support and value alignment. But these aspects of working life are supported to a mixed degree by New Zealand leaders and organisations. 

Bridging this expectation gap is no longer a matter of morale, it is a question of organisational resilience.

Employee and business resilience now demands deliberate governance oversight. The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence is transforming roles faster than skills can evolve, deepening the global skills shortage. Boards should be asking: Do we have the right workforce strategy? Are we managing the ethical and operational risks that accompany automation?

At the same time, global tensions are redrawing trade maps. As countries turn inward to address domestic pressures, supply chains are again in flux. For New Zealand exporters, tariff changes and shifting alliances translate into margin pressures and reduced competitiveness. The lesson from Covid-19 still stands – diversified supply chains are essential.

Since the emergence of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, the US stock market has surged by US$21 trillion, with more than half of that growth attributed to just 10 tech companies. 

This underscores the outsized influence of technology on global markets, but also its volatility. The same forces driving innovation are fuelling cyber threats, misinformation and regulatory uncertainty.

For New Zealand, building cyber resilience and embedding responsible AI governance are immediate priorities. Directors must ensure their organisations understand not only the benefits of AI but also its risks: data misuse, bias, privacy breaches and reputational harm. Effective oversight now extends well beyond compliance. It involves shaping a culture of digital ethics and preparedness.

Climate: the persistent challenge

No discussion of risk is complete without climate. Environmental threats have dominated global risk reports for over a decade, and for good reason. New Zealand’s geography, reliance on natural resources and limited infrastructure make us particularly vulnerable to extreme weather and transition risks. For boards, this means embedding climate resilience into every strategic discussion – from capital allocation to community impact.

Investors and regulators are sharpening their focus on sustainability disclosures and transition planning. Directors who treat climate as a governance imperative rather than a reputational issue will be better positioned to preserve long-term value.

Turning insight into action

Risk awareness is no longer enough. Boards must translate insights into frameworks for action, stress-testing strategy, challenging assumptions and ensuring management is equipped to respond to disruption. 

New Zealand’s directors have an opportunity – and an obligation – to lead with foresight. The most resilient organisations will be those whose boards look beyond quarterly results to the systemic shifts shaping our future.

In a world where the only constant is change, governance that prioritises adaptability, ethics and long-term thinking is essential.