CRIF recently held its prestigious Top Executive Meeting 2025 at the historic Imperial Riding School in Vienna. The event, on the subject of "Leading the Future: How Leaders Can Best Adapt to a Rapidly Changing Risk Landscape," brought together numerous experts to discuss how managers can prepare for an increasingly complex risk landscape.

Carlo Gherardi - Executive Meeting Vienna 2025

In today's business world, managers face a wide range of risks—from new technologies to shifting market dynamics. The risk landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace, calling for innovative approaches and fresh thinking. This was the focus of CRIF's Top Executive Meeting, where industry leaders and risk management experts gathered to explore solutions to these new challenges.
The event featured a comprehensive program of keynote speeches and panel discussions. Carlo Gherardi, Chairman and CEO of CRIF, opened the meeting. Daria Krivonos, CEO of the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, delivered the opening keynote on "Geoeconomics: Key Developments and Perspectives – Impacts, Risks, and Opportunities for Businesses." 
The first panel discussion, moderated by Enrico Lodi, CRIF General Manager, explored "Best Practices in AI Transformation: Use Cases and Ethical Considerations," with contributions from Thomas Krogh Jensen, CEO of Copenhagen Fintech, Arie Wilder, COO of Auxmoney, and Davide Raitano, GT Managing Director at CRIF.

In response to a question about how agentic AI will transform business models and customer experiences, Davide Raitano explained that agentic AI enables highly personalized services, such as proactive financial decision-making in banks, and improves customer experiences by allowing intelligent agents to anticipate needs and act independently, such as in fraud detection. However, this also raises questions about responsibility when machines act autonomously.

Thomas Krogh Jensen discussed the importance of ethical AI, emphasizing the need for technologies that respect values such as transparency, fairness, and responsibility, and do not reinforce biases. He highlighted the importance of integrating ethical principles at all stages of AI use, adhering to clear guidelines, and conducting regular audits to build trust, strengthen the brand, and ensure long-term competitive advantages.

The morning sessions continued with a panel discussion on "AI and Deepfake: New Threats and Risks," moderated by Luciano Salvador Scalise, Managing Director of Global Solutions and Transformation Services at CRIF. The panel included Frank S. Jorga, Founder and Co-CEO of WebID Solutions, Erik Scheil, Head of Fraud Prevention at Team Bank, and Marcel Tesche, Senior Manager at PWC. The morning concluded with a session titled "From Customers for Customers: Best Practice Examples," moderated by Thomas Wernet, Executive Director of Sales Germany and Austria at CRIF, with contributions from Sebastian Erich, CEO of Intermarket Bank AG/Erste Bank Group, and Luc Veyssiere, CDO of Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance Group.

The afternoon program featured a keynote by Lars Sudmann, Executive Advisor of Sudmann & Company, on "Dealing with Uncertainty: Strategies and Methods for Top Managers," followed by a panel on "The Importance of New Work and Change Strategies," moderated by Frank Schlein, CEO of CRIF Germany. The panel included Lars Sudmann, Daria Krivonos, Johannes Riesterer, Deputy CEO of BNP Paribas Consors Finanz, and Franziska Marini, Managing Director and Director of Labor Relations at Vattenfall Germany.

The final panel discussion of the day, "Risks of Innovation Failure: Can Open Innovation Help?," was moderated by Natalia Shchelovanova, Global Open Innovation Director at CRIF. The panel featured Patrick Hoffmann, Senior Vice President of DB Schenker, Giacomo Manzoni, Corporate Innovation & Venture Building Lead at A2A, and Christian Renner, Investment Director Lead Venture Capital International at PostFinance. Natalia Shchelovanova emphasized the importance of open innovation for CRIF’s strategy, highlighting how it accelerates product development and drives innovation through external collaboration.

In conclusion, the Top Executive Meeting 2025 not only highlighted the importance of adapting to a rapidly changing risk landscape but also showcased CRIF's commitment to fostering innovation and ethical practices in AI. The discussions and insights shared during the event will undoubtedly help shape the future strategies of the participating leaders and organizations. 
CRIF continues to lead the way in providing valuable platforms for industry leaders to collaborate and address the challenges of tomorrow.

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