A leader in risk management has to be committed to excellence and have a repertoire of experience and skills in order to tackle security systems effectively. Especially in the financial industry where sensitive information is dealt with every day. 

Shivali Kukreja, a leader in the industry of risk management, understands these principles and has gone on to enhance the security sector in financial services. Currently the head of Risk and Compliance at nib NZ Ltd, Kukreja has spearheaded the development and implementation of security management strategies, successfully aligning best practices with regulatory requirements. 

A different approach with transformative results

With 23 years of experience under her belt, Shivali is currently based in Auckland, New Zealand. She has worked with banks, fleets, and even the Auckland Council where she is greatly valued for her abilities to drive improvements with her initiative. 

As the Principal Risk Lead in Auckland Council, she overhauled their risk management approach and refined it so that it is optimised across the organisation while ensuring that it stayed compliant with regulatory requirements. 

For two years while at Auckland Council, she led the development of the second line of defence risk and assurance plan, ensuring that the Council is strongly protected from risks before she left to rejoin nib. During her time at Auckland Council, she was also leading governance and reporting initiatives, engaging stakeholders and the governing bodies to be more involved through heightened transparency. 

“It was important to me that we involved Governing Body members so that they are kept in the loop and are informed about what is happening, which is why we ran a workshop.” Shivali Kikreja was very hands on about risk management, taking care to run both stakeholders and employees through the process so that it stays in a well-oiled position to protect the Council. 

Changing times calls for innovation

With an ever-changing landscape that requires agile and flexible solutions in risk management, Shivali is much more concerned with creating a sustainable solution rather than implementing something clunky and unscalable. 

“There are plenty of facets to think about when we talk about risk management, there are cultural trends and evolving frameworks, all of which we have to take into account in order to craft something that will stand the test of time,” Kukreja explains when she talks about how she creates and implements new risk management strategies for the various companies that she works with. 

Compliance is also something that is constantly being updated, which means that experts in the risk management industry have to stay on their toes and be in the know so that they are able to implement the changes as they come, something that Shivali has no problem with since she has many years of experience and has built a large network that can provide her with insider tips, which makes her an invaluable resource in whichever company she works in.