Security Journal Americas catches up with Peter Bäckman, CEO/Founding Partner, TEDCAP – a new firm for risk management in relentless times.

At just 19 years old, Peter Bäckman had already understood that his great passion was risk management. That was some time ago, when he left Sweden – his native country – to develop his professional career, first in the European market, then later to Latin America and the Caribbean region.

As CEO/Founding partner of TEDCAP, he has the vision to develop a new approach to risk management with a focus on acknowledging the importance of an integral and community-centered vision in a context of uncertainty.

Through strategic alliances and professional networks, the firm is committed to helping organizations manage the challenges of the new interconnected risk, global context. Security Journal Americas caught up with Bäckman to find out more.

How do you see risk management in the world?

We have been through several key changes; not only globalization and digital transformation, which have completely changed how we do business today, but risk factors such as the pandemic impacted the world with never seen before restrictions and measures, creating big challenges. This created new ways for businesses to operate.

In the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, the way of managing risks was very traditional, siloed and long term focused, while these new changes and threats have had an accelerated impact on the chains of value. All of these factors have created a new business landscape to operate in that prevention, mitigation and response requirements must be readjusted, reorganized and aligned to for the future.

Before, changes happened in a slower way. Today, situations can go from risk to crisis quickly and unexpectedly. For example, the war against Ukraine has caused crises in several industries, not to mention in the case of COVID-19 where even the most recognized companies in forecasting global risks did not have this threat specifically forecasted – and whose reactive approach generated great impacts to the value chain after making drastic decisions.

It means that risk is now managed in a different way – can you tell us more?

Today, everything is interconnected, not only inside the company but in all areas of the global value chain. That is why it is necessary to visualize risk management in an integral way: Digital, climate, geopolitical, etc. It doesn’t matter where your business’ HQ is. It doesn’t matter what country you’re in.

Everything is interacting in the world. Now, the whole value chain is spread out around the world; supplies in other countries, customers around the world who use your products and services, new regulations that dictate how to do things – this creates a different landscape to manage risks. You must project what can happen tomorrow and how those components can impact the company.

At TEDCAP, we understand that organizations must change their approach to risk. It is no longer possible to continue with the traditional way, but the contextual intelligence applied to the business must be taken into account. The ability to adjust to the external and business context that is constantly changing, coupled with a technological dependency – where everything is connected – makes us rethink risk management.

The contextual analysis must be tied to the impact-consequence structure that allows industries to develop a way to visualize future trends, with a flexible structure that allows rapid changes with a long term vision of risk and impact.

Which regions are more risk management oriented?

I don’t think there is a specific region that requires more risk management than another. Each country faces different challenges according to its culture, geographical position and political situation. There are countries that are in the hurricane corridor of the Atlantic Ocean and the effects of climate change creates extreme weather. In others, corruption prevails. Others are vulnerable to natural phenomena such as earthquakes.

Some countries have an important dependency on key elements of their supply chains. Whilst some border with countries with particular characteristics, others have antagonism with neighboring countries or high dependence on technology. Ultimately, there are various risks according to the particularity of the region or of the country – but there are risks in all of them.

When working in specific regions and countries, one must think strategically about industry sectors like finance, manufacturing, tourism and other industries, taking into account any restrictions, limitations and possibilities. Each region and country has its own security needs and requirements as well as conditions, capabilities and vulnerabilities.

It is important to highlight that the legal and regulatory aspect has begun to have a great impact on cyber-risk management and, as an example, we have the cases of the US and the European Union, which are constantly strengthening cyber regulations for companies, and that have established more responsibilities to shareholders, CEOs and CISOs. In the present and near future, if you want to trade in these markets, you will have to adapt to these new rules.

What is the approach that you give to risk management at TEDCAP?

When you have worked in asset management companies from where you serve seven different portfolios in seven different industries such as finance, agriculture, real estate, tourism, manufacturing and education, you understand risk management from not just a global and industry guided perspective, but also from an organization-tailored approach. That is the TEDCAP approach.

New business environments require new strategies. Every time there is a significant change to your business and operating environment, you have to adjust and align to new conditions and requirements. Organizations must establish prevention and mitigation protocols that can be restructured, re-established very quickly and executed quickly, with a chain of decision and information at all levels: Operational, tactical and strategic.

At TEDCAP we have developed a work methodology that goes beyond before, during and after crisis management – which involves a strategic approach to preparation and response capacity – and which is tied to the resilience of the business, to ensuring the continuity of critical business processes with a 360 approach.

One example of this is the “Corporate Community Resilience” program we created, that not only takes into account the business per se, but also ensures that employees and their families are part of the scenario and map of crisis management, through the collaboration of public and private sectors.

What are the projects for next year with TEDCAP?

Growth has been rapid, so we have been working on developing a platform that allows us to manage the demand for our risk management services. By 2023, we have planned to consolidate ourselves in the US market, with operations based in Texas, and continue aiming at positioning the brand in Europe. Latin America is one of the regions where we have been operating for many years and where, without a doubt, there is a great projection due to geopolitical conditions.

TEDCAP will also continue, and expand, its successful collaboration with the Dominican Republic’s National Emergency Operations Center (COE), advising and helping to develop and execute nationwide disaster management exercises. One key factor for managing disastrous events like earthquakes and hurricanes is the collaboration and coordination between the private and public sector, which has been one of TEDCAP’s core focuses and responsibilities for these exercises.

For more information, visit: www.tedcap.com

This article was originally published in the November edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.

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