HORIZON Risk Thought >> Fast Forward

Our HORIZON initiative has always stood as a beacon for those who dare to strive forward in business. HORIZON is a platform where boundaries are pushed and the future is envisioned with clarity and determination.

This year, we embrace a renewed spirit of courage – a quality that is not simply admirable in business, but essential. This campaign brings together thinkers and innovators who are challenging the status quo across key areas – risk, sustainability, social change, technology, and governance. Their reflections invite you to consider what courage means personally: how it shapes your ambitions, fuels your imagination, and helps transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.

In the risk management context of these systemic transformations, we classified these “risk changers” that directly affect a company and use the terms:

  • “Environment in danger” for ecological,
  • “Beyond globalisation” for geopolitical,
  • “Digital transition” for technological and
  • “Social disruption” for social transformation.

We have created Horizon, firstly as a print publication and now as a platform for sharing the latest insights about ongoing transformations. Our risk specialists will continue to provide their expertise and knowledge to shine a light on the challenges of the future.

We have created HORIZON to share the latest insights about ongoing transformations.
Our risk specialists provide their expertise and knowledge to shine a light on the challenges of the future.

Discover all their latest insights, thoughts and viewpoints, or choose from our systemic risk categories to find out more.

From an HR perspective, the past three years were predominantly shaped by the challenges and crises that have influenced our activities since the beginning of the pandemic. The impact of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity – the VUCA world – has become more pronounced with each crisis that has hit both the economic environment of organisations and people`s personal lives.
Max Pernsteiner, Vice President Global Purchasing & Supply Chain at ENGEL Austria GmbH, spoke with Johannes Vogl, General Manager at GrECo Risk Engineering GmbH, about supply chains and their risks.
In the last two years, supply chains were exposed to unforeseen risks. The impact of the pandemic, Evergiven’s blockade of the Suez Canal, or the recent disruptions as a result of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, to name a few. What else must we prepare for?
Krystle Lippert, Strategic Sales Manager at GrECo in Austria, has spoken with Dr. Gerald Dums, Head of Purchase of Technical Equipment & Logistics at Donau Chemie AG about supply chain problems and procurement and logistics resilience.
Our multipolar world and its myriad of geopolitical forces presents us and our clients with a vast, multidimensional array of risks. As bleak as this may sound, geopolitics and its impact on energy also offers a number of opportunities.
With the aftershocks of the pandemic, the ripple effects of the Ukraine war, and more frequent and severe natural catastrophes that affect our climate and today’s population, we are at a crossroads, and the construction sector is no exception.
The biggest problem of the insurance industry today is the fact that the sales of an insurance product are separated from the sales of the core product or service that the insurance is associated with.
For the past years and certainly since 24 February 2022, we have had many opportunities to witness the power of geopolitics, its decisive impact on domestic and international politics and the supply of energy throughout the world.
All over the world, uncertainty prevails. Action must be taken in the face of these turbulences while exploiting every possibility provided by available instruments.
Steffen Robbi tells Laura Hochegger about how digitalization can contribute to a sustainable transformation and risk minimization in the construction and real estate industry, especially in the circular economy and in the refurbishment of existing buildings.
In the light of impending annual ESG reporting, the challenges in the dimensions of sustainability cannot be fully met by the existing certificates. The requirements of the EU taxonomy and the growing demand on the real estate market for climate-friendly buildings require uniform assessment criteria and thus indirectly a harmonization of assessment systems.
Concrete is one of the most influential building materials of our time. It is durable, versatile and has outstanding structural and physical properties. Nevertheless, this building material has one major disadvantage: it is responsible for eight percent of global CO2 emissions. 
Rosenbauer Group is a thought leader and technology and innovation front-runner in the firefighting industry. Sebastian Wolf, CEO at Rosenbauer International, discusses with Argun Zia-Dam, Account Manager at GrECo, how Rosenbauer Group is blazing a trail in this industry and why cities in the future will rely on electrically powered firefighting vehicles.
The risk of water scarcity is one of the key considerations in the risk management and ESG policies of food and agriculture companies.  But where there’s acute risks, there are huge opportunities for change: Water scarcity concerns are driving innovation in the food industry and with members of the public.
In an interview with Laura Hochegger, Martin Schiefer explains why public clients have the strongest leverage for a sustainable future.
According to Michael Porter’s and Mark Kramer’s shared value concept, the solution lies precisely in resolving this conflict of objectives: The aim is to create economic value in such a way that it simultaneously benefits society.
Future-oriented action strengthens strategic resilience.
The challenges facing Austrian agriculture are diverse and complex. Prok. Dr Mario Winkler, Head of Communications at Österreichische Hagelversicherung, talks with Laura Hochegger, Executive Assistant Strategy, Sustainability, Innovation at GrECo Group
Jürgen Spari spoke to Georg Knill about the challenges of the energy transition for the industrial sector and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on domestic companies.
Europe needs to cover gas demand with alternative sources. The EU energy security is compromised if there is no diversification to cover Russian gas imports.
Since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic two years ago, disrupted supply chains have threatened the existence of many companies.
The value of intangible relative to tangible cor­porate assets has steadily increased. Emerging risks threaten the value of both tangible and intangible assets.
With new insurers having entered the market in the past few months, we should see a dampening of the price increases we experienced in the previous two years.
On average, premium rates are expected to increase between 5% to 10%, even for policies with a no-claim history.
An interview with Martin Cerny and Jörg Schönenborn, Telecommunication Executives, and Andreas Schmitt, Insurance Professional.
In the last two years, supply chains were exposed to unforeseen risks. The impact of the pandemic, Evergiven’s blockade of the Suez Canal, or the recent disruptions as a result of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, to name a few. What else must we prepare for?
Many hidden vulnerabilities can be unearthed if you are a bit creative. The key question is: can we live with the outcome? And then you need to give an honest answer.
Where does AI fit into the current policies as it stands, and what could the likely issues be?
We spoke with three leaders from different industries about energy independence in Europe.
 Paul Johannes Spittau explores transformation with Olivera Böhm-Rybak, Chief Corporate Business Officer International and CEO of UNIQA Sustainable Business Solutions.
MGAs operate within authority granted by insurers, with responsibility for underwriting, policy issuance, portfolio management and, depending on the model, claims support or coordination.
Closing the volatility gap means moving beyond reactive risk transfer.
Closing the volatility gap means moving beyond reactive risk transfer.
For both infrastructure and real estate to survive, the corporate risk manual needs to be rewritten.
AI can generate information for us, but we still need the intelligence and judgement to understand and interpret it for a particular client.  
We are excited to announce the release of the 5th Horizon Risk Thought » Fast Forward publication!
In this exclusive interview, we bring together two leading voices on digital transformation in Central and Eastern Europe: Ursula Deschka, CEO of ERGO Baltics and Georg Winter, CEO of GrECo Group.
Peter Papp, sat down with Peter Bešina, founder of Paralla and Cryptodiggers, to discuss the evolution of cryptocurrencies.
Fear appeal is a common tactic to highlight the dangers of unsafe cyber behaviour in many cybersecurity awareness campaigns.
One practical application of AI is in the digitalization of HR processes. Tasks such as document management and onboarding can be streamlined, reducing errors and saving time.
Excessive reliance on devices is leading to “digital dementia,” a rise in memory lapses, diminished focus, and cognitive fatigue – even among youth and the workforce.
Digital transformation is reshaping higher education, but what does that really look like for universities on the ground?
The new rules mean senior executives face increased scrutiny, greater personal liability, and must pay close attention to the role of D&O insurance in this new era of digital risk.
IT employees are under constant pressure. The threat landscape is dynamic, complex and often unpredictable

Dive deep into our HORIZON print edition which focuses on various transformations and looks at all the challenges they pose from different angles.

Georg Winter

CEO GrECo Group

T +43 664 962 39 06