Operational Risk at a Crossroads - Elena Pykhova on the Future of Resilience and Collaboration

Video

Operational Risk at a Crossroads: Reconnecting People, Data and Purpose

In this interview, Elena Pykhova, author of Operational Risk Management in Financial Services, reflects on the evolution of operational risk from data collection to integrated collaboration. She explains why the discipline stands at a pivotal moment - and how success depends on uniting technology, soft skills and human insight under one strategic vision.

Oct 29, 2025

Elena Pykhova, Author, Operational Risk Management in Financial Services, The Operational Risk company

Tags: Operational and Non Financial Risk

The views and opinions expressed in this content are those of the thought leader as an individual and are not attributed to CeFPro or any other organization

Drawing on decades of experience as a global risk leader and consultant, Elena Pykhova describes how operational risk has transformed since its early Basel II definitions. What began as a data-heavy, loss-driven discipline is now shaped by scenario analysis, key risk indicators and human collaboration. She emphasizes that the future of operational risk depends on integrating specialist areas - such as cyber, model and third-party risk - within a unified framework that connects expertise rather than isolates it.

Pykhova argues that the discipline is at a defining crossroads. If operational risk fails to remain the “connector” across the enterprise, the field risks fragmentation as sub-functions operate in silos. Her message is both a challenge and a call to action: risk professionals must strengthen communication, embrace collaboration, and combine data-driven intelligence with human judgment to navigate the next generation of interconnected threats.

Elena Pykhova Bio

Elena Pykhova is award-winning risk expert, author, international trainer and educator. She is an author of a best-selling book, Operational Risk Management in Financial Services: A Practical Guide to Establishing Effective Solutions, which has been also translated into Chinese. She is a renowned educator, running public and in-house training courses in the UK and internationally for world-leading organisations including Risk.net, Euronext, the Moller Center Cambridge University, the Institute of Internal Auditors. Elena is a thought leader, influencer and founder of a prominent industry think tank, the Best Practice Operational Risk Forum. She is a former Director for Education at the Institute of Operational Risk and chair of the Expert Panel for the Association of Foreign Banks. She is the founder of a boutique risk management consultancy, The OpRisk company, specializing in risk transformation, board and executive level advice on effective operational and enterprise risk management strategy, design and implementation. Passionate about the discipline, she founded her training and consulting practice after 20 years of experience in senior roles at Fortune 500 companies.