Trust, tone and behaviour key to shaping resilience

In a striking reflection on the origins of true governance, Nikolai Tsenov, Head of Solutions & Innovations at Swiss GRC, evoked the Great Fire of Dubai in 1894, describing how ordinary people, armed with nothing more than “courage, instinct and buckets,” formed human chains, coordinated silently and saved their city without plans or commands.

- Omnia Al Desoukie [e-mail]

His point was clear, leadership does not come from titles or documents but from behaviour, courage and judgment in moments of chaos. Risk management, he argued, becomes meaningful only when it moves from a formal function toa cultural capability, and trust emerges as the ultimate currency of survival.

“These are the moments where risk management from a formal process turns into a broader combination of instinct, collaboration, and foresight. And above all, these are the moments when trust emerges as ... the most precious asset, as a currency of survival,” he told his audience at GCC GRC Day 2025UAE edition.

For him and other speakers, organisations across sectors increasingly must recognise that culture is not a set of posters or statements pinned to office walls but the living expression of leadership behaviour.