RiskBusiness, the global operational risk advisory firm, today announced that Rick Cech, formerly the head of the risk event database group at JPMorgan Chase & Co's Corporate Operational Risk Group, has joined the firm as Executive Director for the Americas.
Rick, who holds degrees in organisational behaviour and economics from Yale and a JD in law from University of Connecticut, initially practiced law before joining the then J.P. Morgan & Co. in 1984, where he focussed on mortgage-backed securities, capital markets, emerging markets and derivative valuations. In 1995, Rick joined the Corporate Risk Management Group to work on policy development, before becoming a founding member of the Corporate Operational Risk Group. Within this group, Rick had responsibility for loss event data and training, and assisted in developing the firm's operational risk framework. He was also JPMorgan Chase & Co's representative on the Definitions Group of ORX (the Operational Riskdata eXchange Association, a consortium of firms that pool and share loss data), where he performed a key role in developing the data standards and reporting requirements for the association.
Jonathan Davies, Managing Director for the Americas, believes that RiskBusiness is currently in a growth period with considerable demand for its specialised services. "Our client-base in North America is growing rapidly, with considerable demand for assistance from proven practitioners. Rick has unparalleled experience and adds considerable strength across risk and control assessment, scenario analysis and loss data management to our existing expertise. I look forward to working with Rick and our clients to leverage this experience to assist them in developing their own frameworks and approaches".
Rick Cech, Executive Director for the Americas says, "Operational risk is undergoing a remarkable period of global growth and development. It is a challenging time for this dynamic, but still young discipline. We see firms across the industry striving to implement frameworks that can leverage the benefits of growing industry experience, while responding precisely to each firms’ own cultural and business needs. I look forward to working with my new colleagues at RiskBusiness in helping firms tackle these challenges".