This is a webinar in collaboration with EBI.
In an era marked by overlapping economic, geopolitical, technological, and environmental shocks, decision‑makers increasingly face a condition of polycrisis rather than isolated risks. This webinar explores how systemic risks emerge from complex interdependencies, non‑linear dynamics, and cascading effects that challenge established governance, regulatory, and analytical frameworks. It examines why traditional risk assessment tools struggle under deep uncertainty and how systems‑based perspectives can improve strategic foresight and resilience. The discussion highlights what needs to change for organisations and institutions to remain robust, legitimate, and decision‑capable in a world of persistent systemic stress.
His career includes teaching and research positions at Clark University (Worcester, USA), the Swiss Institute of Technology (Zuerich) and the Center of Technology Assessment (Stuttgart). His honours include the National Cross of Merit Order, honorary doctorates from the Swiss Institute of Technology and the Midsweden University, the “Outstanding Research Award” of the Society for Integrated Disaster and Risk Management (IDRiM) and the “Distinguished Achievement Award” of the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA). Renn is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences “Leopoldina”, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences (Berlin), and of the German National Academy of Technology and Engineering (Acatech). He has published more than 250 peer reviewed articles. His most prominent English publication is the book “Risk Governance. Coping with Uncertainty in a Complex World (London: Earthscan 2008).
His career includes teaching and research positions at Clark University (Worcester, USA), the Swiss Institute of Technology (Zuerich) and the Center of Technology Assessment (Stuttgart). His honours include the National Cross of Merit Order, honorary doctorates from the Swiss Institute of Technology and the Midsweden University, the “Outstanding Research Award” of the Society for Integrated Disaster and Risk Management (IDRiM) and the “Distinguished Achievement Award” of the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA). Renn is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences “Leopoldina”, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences (Berlin), and of the German National Academy of Technology and Engineering (Acatech). He has published more than 250 peer reviewed articles. His most prominent English publication is the book “Risk Governance. Coping with Uncertainty in a Complex World (London: Earthscan 2008).
Ajay is also a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at Imperial College London, where he previously worked on climate change mitigation, the energy transition and associated physical and transition risks, using integrated assessment and energy system modelling.
Her last role was as a Director of the Supervisory Risk Specialists Division within the Prudential Regulation Authority, where she was heavily involved in the design and execution of the UK’s first concurrent stress test in 2014. She left the Bank in 2015 and joined HSBC as their Global Head of Stress Testing. She has also worked as an independent stress testing consultant, advising firms on how to get the most value out of stress testing.
