Risktory: The Story Of Risk

Coming up on this week’s episode, whatever happened to Wirecard? The German-based payment processor and financial services unicorn that collapsed in August of 2020.The story, and the lessons learned, from the Wirecard collapse: It’s an exercise of what happens when threat is in plain sight, where the canary in the coalmine is practically comatose, and yet, nothing is done to right the ship. Until it’s too late.On this week’s episode, the rise and fall of a European darling, Wirecard.The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Bibliographyhttps://www.ft.com/content/03a5e318-2479-11e9-8ce6-5db4543da632https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-wirecard-inquiry-timeline-idUSKBN2B811Jhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirecardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirecard_scandalhttps://www.regulationasia.com/wirecard-the-biggest-fintech-success-and-failure-story-of-all-time/

So, as many of you would know, in the last week, I became an American Citizen. And with that, I had a lot of questions about our immigration journey from Australia to America. And a lot of suggestions that our immigration journey might be a great episode in terms of personal risk and how we – as a family - balanced the challenges of the unknown with the incredible opportunity that immigration to the US offers.So, this week, instead of a How They Did It episode, this is a How We Did It episode. From late 2013 when our immigration journey began to Tuesday September 21 2021, when the journey for me, and my boys, finally ended. Fair warning, this is more of a personal episode so it is a bit longer than the usual Risktory Podcast episode. The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Bibliographyhttps://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-eligibility/green-card-through-the-diversity-immigrant-visa-program

Coming up this week, the story of how the behemouth that is Trader Joe’s all began. The start-up story of Trader Joe’s is the stuff of beautiful, disruptive, opportunistic risk taking. It’s a start of one man, who saw a gap, and chose to innovate that gap, creating a brand that – in the US – is universally loved and cherished.The startup story of Trader Joe’s has all the hallmarks or characteristics you’d expect from the disruptors: ambition, curiosity, diligence, resilience. A lot of what you will hear today, won’t be new from the perspective of how disruptors disrupt. They have a pattern and you will see that pattern in today’s episode.But there are lessons in the Trader Joe’s startup that makes its inception, and subsequent, journey, utterly unique. Lessons that have facilitated Trader Joe’s holding multiple competitive advantages that – to this day – have been unable to be eroded.The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Bibliographyhttps:/

Coming up on this week’s episode, let’s talk about COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Specifically, the sweeping vaccine mandates announced by President Joe Biden last week week. Not surprising in modern day America, there are those who are cheering Biden, believing that this is the decisive move America needs to get back to normal. And there are those who believe this is an unconstitutional grab for power, and the unfortunate start of America’s journey into totalitarianism.On this week’s episode, I explore vaccine mandates: pros and cons. And I’ll explore some lessons from the past that we all ought to remember.The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Bibliographyhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/covidplan/

Coming up on this week’s episode, whatever happened to Pan Am? King of the American Skies. Long story short: a lot of things.Short story long: The collapse of Pan Am was a perfect risk storm. It wasn’t one threat that took out Pan Am. It was a mix of threats, incubating over an extended period of time, that came together. Creating a risk storm that Pan Am was, simply, unable to either weather and/or recover from.On this week’s episode, I look at the (very sad) collapse of an American icon.The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Bibliographyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am https://guttulus.com/what-happened-to-pan-am-the-decline-of-a-business/ https://study.com/academy/answer/why-did-pan-am-collapse.html https://simpleflying.com/major-airline-decline-1980s/

Coming up this week, let’s go back in time and explore how the Antwerp Diamond Heist was executed. On February 15 2003, a group of five Italian thieves calling themselves ‘The School of Turin’ breached one of the most secure locations in the world – the Antwerp Diamond Center – and stole in excess of $100 million dollars worth of diamonds, gold, silver and other rare gems and jewelry. The largest diamond heist in recorded history. One of the largest robberies ever in recorded history.And while The School of Turin were caught. Well, bar one member, whose identity remains unknown to this day. While four of the five members were eventually caught, the planning and execution of the Antwerp Diamond Heist is the personification of ISO31000 in real time. The members of the School of Turin, risk masters.In this week’s episode of The Risktory Podcast, the cracking tale of the Antwerp Diamond Heist. The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Bibliograph

What a risk gift we have received in the last week, in the form of Trevor Milton, founder of electric vehicle manufacturer – Nikola – being indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of criminal fraud. The US Securities Exchange Commission (the SEC) has also filed a complaint against MIltonI say risk gift, not because what is happening is wonderful. Milton’s indictment will see thousands of investors lose over the coming weeks. And Nikola leadership will have to steady a ship that is now without a captain.I say risk gift, because what we are seeing with Milton’s indictment, is threat playing out in real time. For risk practitioners, these moments are rare and – when they happen – we’re almost honor bound to absorb every moment. Because the lessons we will learn are the lessons that make us better practitioners. And make our organizations stronger and more resilient.On this week’s episode of the Risktory Podcast, I explore just how Milton and Nikola found themselves in this position. The Risktory

So, COVID-19 cases in the US are rising. A second wave is possible. And with that potential second wave, comes a second wave of COVID-19’s partner in crime: panic porn. Breathless social media posts. People cancelling vacations. Politicians calling for additional lockdowns.And while I understand that the memories of 2020 are still fresh. And that it is natural to feel fear as a result. I think it’s important that we all understand what is really happening. It’s important to understand that what is happening isn’t surprising, and that it aligns with the trajectory of all pandemics. And I think it’s important that we zero in on what we should be doing to mitigate threat, rather than surrendering ourselves to fear.The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Bibliographyhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5075021/https://www.chron.com/news/article/Lambda-variant-cases-of-COVID-19-are-popping-up-16333072.phphttps://www.mdlinx.com/article/

Coming up this week, the story of a group of unlikely risk masters. Female Bootleggers.When the US ratified the 18th amendment to its Constitution in January of 2019. A move that effectively banned the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages. It unknowingly, or at least unintentionally, created opportunity for bootleggers to ply their trade to customers for whom alcohol was a non-elastic necessity.The usual shady characters – including organized crime groups – all stepped into the breach created by the 18th amendment. As did women. Ordinary. Everyday. Previously law abiding women.On this week’s episode, I look at four legendary female bootleggers. How they did what they did. Why they did what they did. And I explore the risk lessons we ought to learn from Masters of the Bootlegging Risk Universe.The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Bibliographyhttps://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5044685https://sal

Coming up on this week’s episode, disrupting is all fun and games. Until such time as you become the disrupted. As we see with the rise. And fall. Of Compaq computers.Compaq - the brainchild of three friends from Houston, Texas – disrupted the computer hardware market by, initially, boldly playing in IBM’s slipstream. And subsequently, transforming and mastering what was, at the time, the burgeoning value chain that was computer hardware manufacturing. Creating for itself multiple competitive advantages.And then, Compaq became the disrupted. Its momentum had the kibosh put it. It’s competitive advantages – and there were a few - eroded. To the point that we now ask today, whatever happened to Compaq.On this week’s episode of the Risktory Podcast, we find out. Tip: it’s exactly what you think happened.The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Bibliographyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compaqhttps://www.pcguide.com/news/what-happended-to-comp

You’ve heard me talk all year about the agnostic nature of risk management, as a discipline. As recently as three weeks ago, in an episode exploring the 1986 Insider Trading Scandal, I talked at some length about how our discipline. As a method of navigating the unknown. It doesn’t have a moral compass. It can be used for the purposes of good. And for the purposes of the not so good.Enter John McAfee. The controversial and problematic creator of McAfee Anti-Virus Software, who – just last week – passed away while awaiting extradition from Spain to the US to face charges of fraud and money laundering.McAfee created a whole industry rooted and nested, in the fear of the unknown. He saw opportunity in threat, expertly wielding our discipline to make himself a multi-millionaire. On this week’s episode, I explore how McAfee did it.The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Bibliographyhttps://www.cnet.com/how-to/john-mcafees-tumultuous-life-in-te

Coming up on today’s Masters of the Risk Universe, a woman whose name you may not have ever heard of. But a woman whose invention and innovation, a large majority of you will have used at some point.Melitta Bentz – the inventor of the paper coffee filter. Melitta Bentz - the creator of a coffee empire that, to this day, still exists. And Melitta Bentz – a woman whose innovative workplace policies set the tone for the benefits we take for granted today.There is nothing more inspiring than an everyday risk master. Someone who saw a problem. Spotted the gap. Innovated the gap. Throttled the opportunity that followed. And didn’t stop, even when she had ‘made it’.Stories like that of Melitta Bentz are the stories that ought to inspire everyone that, they too, can be risk masters.On today’s episode, the incredible story of innovator and disruptor, Melitta Bentz.The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Bibliographyhttps://www.melitta.com/melitta_j

Coming up today, let’s call this week’s episode a Viewers Choice episode, given so many of you reached out to me to cover it. This week, I will make sense of the JBS Holdings Hack.I’ve always said that the 2016 Crash Override hack. Which, for those not familiar, was the successful infiltration, and shut down, of Kiev’s electrical grid in the dead of a frigid Ukranian winter. I’ve always said that the 2016 Crash Override hack. It wasn’t the main event. It was a preview of what was to come.What we are seeing with the hacks of both the Colonial Pipeline and JBS Holdings is a holus bolus full frontal attack on critical infrastructure globally, with the aim of: a) making hackers money; and b) demonstrating the fragility, or perhaps more accurately, the vulnerability, of critical infrastructure. This is Fight Club, except it’s not fiction.The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Bibliographyhttps://www.cnn.com/2021/06/02/business/beef-hack-jbs/inde

Something I’ve said time and time again on the podcast, is that risk management – as a discipline – it’s agnostic. As a discipline which – at its core – is all about how we entreat with the unknown – both with opportunity and/or threat in mind. Risk management doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t have a moral compass. Anyone can make use of it. For the purposes of good. And for the purposes of the not so good.And that’s where Ivan Boesky and the 1986 Insider Trading Scandal comes in. Ivan exploited the opportunity side of the risk coin, as a way to make money. And while – as you will find out in this episode – Ivan paid an incredibly heavy price for his opportunity chasing. The story of Ivan Boesky is a story of our discipline – our tools, our techniques, our capabilities – being used in ways perhaps not intended. But nevertheless, reflective of risk management being a game anyone can play.The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Bibliographyh

Inventor and Futurist - Ray Kurzweil – a Risktory Podcast favorite – speaks of the Law of Accelerating Returns. Which is the idea that, in a non-technology driven world, change was largely linear. Left to Right. Top to Bottom. Consecutive.According to the Law of Accelerating Returns, in a technology driven world – such as the one we now live in – change is both concurrent and exponential. Every advance feeds on the previous advance, not only hastening the rate of change, but also shortening the lifespan of an advance before it’s superseded.It’s not always easy to find real life examples of the Law of Accelerating Returns, outside of the medical world, which is the environment within which Kurzweil formulated the Law. But Vine – the short-form social media platform – whose original format lasted just three years - is a perfect example of the Law in action. Of VINE coming into existence because of exponential change, and churning out, for the same reason.On this week’s Whatever Happened To episode, I loo

On this week’s episode, a much requested Make It Make Sense: the Colonial Pipeline crisis.On May 7 2021, the Colonial Pipeline, a fuel pipeline operating out of Houston, Texas, and serving 45% of the US east coast, was shut down, due to hackers infiltrating its systems and impacting equipment critical to the operation of the pipeline. The resultant impacts – everything from fuel shortages to flight disruptions to increased hacking activity (industry agnostic) – were a stark reminder of the criticality of infrastructure in our day to day lives. And how quickly we fall apart when infrastructure is compromised. The Colonial Pipeline crisis is a story where all the warnings signs were there, and yet the risk still manifested. On today’s episode, I’ll take you through what happened. The impacts. How it was resolved. And I will bring you the lessons learned. Lessons not just for our organizations, but lessons for us as humans.The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.

When someone asks me my favorite movie, I always say: I have three. Stanley Kubrik’s, The Shining. Rob Reiner’s, This is Spinal Tap and David Lynch’s directorial debut, Eraserhead.David Lynch is a curious cat. An accidental disruptor. A master of actively, consciously stepping into the void without fear or trepidation. There is something to be said about someone who sees the herd, knows they have the capacity to outrun the herd if they wanted to, but still chooses their own unique creative path. David Lynch’s life is a perpetual leaping off the cliff into the unknown, not knowing where he’ll land, but recognizing that the not knowing is what makes for a fun, and life-changing, journey. On today’s episode of the Risktory Podcast, the story of the accidental disruptor, David Lynch.The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Bibligraphyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lynchhttps://www.britannica.com/biography/David-Lynch-American-director-and-s

In a world that seems all so negative and chaotic, a good news story this week. A story that exemplifies the natural inclination of our species to spot the gap, innovate the gap, and change the world. The Door Dash Start Up Story.The Door Dash Start Up Story will feel familiar to you. It’s a story of beautiful disruption. Of opportunity chasing. Or discipline, resilience and commitment to goal. And a story of making the impossible, the unknown, a beautiful reality.The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Related EpisodesAirBnb - https://www.spreaker.com/episode/23070328Alibaba - https://www.spreaker.com/episode/44372612Amazon - https://www.spreaker.com/episode/19273306Bibligraphyhttps://www.crunchbase.com/organization/doordashhttps://medium.com/@DoorDash/the-doordash-story-b370c2bb1e5fhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DoorDash#cite_note-23https://nextbigwhat.com/doordash-story/

On today’s episode, I look at the rise and fall of Payless Shoes. At one point, Payless Shoes was the US’ largest and most successful family owned business. Bigger than Walmart and the Walton Family. Think about that for a minute.And then, its fortunes dwindled. The disruptor became the disrupted. And the disrupted was unable to sustain itself.On this week’s episode, let’s talk about how Payless disrupted the shoe market. Innovated its way to what seemed to be an unassailable competitive advantage. And then, how its decades of market dominance, all fell apart in a matter of years. The story of Payless’ collapse. It’s nothing new. In many ways, it is proof that we don’t always learn from the past, which dooms us to a repeat performance in the future. The Risktory Podcast is created, written, hosted and produced by Jacinthe A Galpin.All rights reserved.Related Episodehttps://www.spreaker.com/user/jacintheagalpin/20-05-04-whatever-happened-to-toys-r-usBibligraphyhttps://moneyinc.com/the-rise-and-fall-o