Chief risk officer
CITY OF VANCOUVER
Vancouver, British Columbia
Robert Bartlett has quite an eclectic career background. After working for the UK Cabinet office, NATO and then managing risks for the Vancouver and London Olympic Games, Bartlett joined the City of Vancouver, where he created the municipality’s enterprise risk management program. As chief risk officer for the City of Vancouver, Bartlett oversees insurance, claims and enterprise risks for all the operations and assets of the city, and coordinates the business continuity portfolio. Bartlett has identified four key areas that he focuses on in terms of risk: cybersecurity, compliance, issue management and risk-based resource allocation.
“There are key risks we face as a city that are common when you look across the global risk network,” he says. “The one thing that every business has to face is finding and allocating appropriate resources to ensure continuity of operations.”
Aware of emerging technologies and their associated risks, Bartlett mentions that even though municipalities are slower than businesses when adopting new technologies, they strive to ensure critical risks are mitigated and citizens’ information is protected. To mitigate and manage risks that are insurable, Bartlett works closely with his insurance broker to partner in the management of claims and appropriate coverage. Going out to market to renew every three years, Bartlett assesses factors such as service, expertise, transparency, market capacity, price and more when looking for a good fit.
