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In this engaging post-keynote conversation, Deb Barnes, Chief Risk Officer at OMERS, delves into the intricacies of what makes a risk culture not just present, but palpable. She explains that a healthy risk culture is one you can feel in the room — where trust enables open, unfiltered debate on critical issues. It's not just about policies; it’s about how people show up every day, with curiosity and courage.
Barnes makes a key distinction between general corporate culture and risk culture, arguing that while broader cultural nuances may vary globally within an organization, the principles of risk culture — psychological safety, trust, and rapid escalation of bad news — should be consistent across all teams. Risk teams play a crucial role in shaping this, not only through formal governance but by how they model behaviors daily. The message: one careless act from leadership can empty the trust bucket instantly.
She emphasizes the importance of tone from the top, but also the power of indirect influence — knowing who shapes the views of difficult stakeholders and using those relationships to foster change. Measuring cultural success is notoriously hard, but OMERS uses employee experience surveys as a quantitative anchor, complemented by the more subjective “quality of conversation” in key forums.
Practical tools like anonymous peer discussions and informal ‘culture champions’ help amplify quieter voices, ensuring ideas — not egos — lead decision-making. Burns champions the idea that fostering a healthy risk culture takes discipline, humility, and constant, intentional effort. Without that, even the best policies will fall flat.
Biography coming soon

Deb was appointed Chief Risk Officer in June 2023. She joined OMERS in 2020 as the Managing Director, Capital Markets Risk. Prior to OMERS, Deb spent 15 years at QIC, an Australian-headquartered asset management firm that specializes in Fixed Income, Infrastructure, Private Equity and Real Estate. Deb began her career in Risk in 2016 after 10 years in QIC’s Global Fixed Income team. From 2011 to 2015 Deb led QIC’s Global Trading function from London which executed trades across fixed income, currency, equity and commodity markets. Deb’s commitment to learning has led to Executive Education studies at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Harvard Business School (HBS) in the areas of leadership and advanced risk management. Since 2018, Deb has returned to HBS annually to present to their Executive Education on the topic of Risk Management.
