CGM Global Summit 2025 – Reflections Through a Banker’s Lens (Series 5/9)
From Risk Transfer to Risk Transformation: Insights from Jonathan Rake, Swiss Re
At the CGM Global Summit 2025, Jonathan Rake, CEO of Risk Data Solutions at Swiss Re, joined Karina Litvack, Ambassador and Founding Chair of the Chapter Zero Alliance, to discuss how insurers and boards can move from recovery-based models to proactive resilience.
1️⃣ Building Resilience Through Partnerships Jonathan contrasted Europe’s regulation-driven ESG landscape with Asia’s multi-speed reality. While policy drives compliance in the EU, Asia’s strength lies in collaboration among governments, corporates, and insurers. Swiss Re’s mission remains clear: “to make the world more resilient.”
2️⃣ Data & Transparency as Catalysts He highlighted that open, interoperable climate data is central to adaptation. Swiss Re’s collaborations, such as with Public Safety Canada and its acquisition of Fathom, aim to democratize flood-risk intelligence.
“The hunger for risk data has never been higher; we’re moving from proprietary models to shared intelligence.”
3️⃣ Closing the Protection Gap Asia’s insurance protection gap remains vast. Jonathan cited the Haiti (2010) and Christchurch (2011) earthquakes to show how insurance coverage determines recovery speed. True progress for societal resilience depends on education, awareness, and public-private cooperation.
4️⃣ From Recovery to Prevention Only ~10 % of disaster spending goes to prevention/mitigation. He urged investment before, not after, disasters and stressed that resilience must be locally designed/rooted and culturally relevant, not imported solutions.
5️⃣ The Board’s Role Boards must ask: 📌 How are our risks evolving under future scenarios? 📌 How strong and transparent are our data? 📌 Does risk management have real influence at the table?
"Resilience begins when boards treat climate risk as strategy, not compliance"
My Reflection
Jonathan’s message resonated deeply with my own journey in risk management and business continuity. For decades, banks like ours have built defences after crises; now we must invest before the storm. Reliable data, empowered risk teams, and local insight are vital to transform response into readiness.
Resilience is no longer a departmental task, it’s a leadership mindset.
Every informed decision, partnership, and data-driven insight helps make not just institutions, but societies, more resilient.
Climate Governance Malaysia
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