Richard Smith-Bingham

Executive Director, Marsh McLennan
The pace of change in the world today is so multifaceted and dizzying that the full implications can easily be underappreciated or disregarded. Conversely, there are countless opportunities for risk leaders to connect their expertise with their organization’s strategic ambitions to support sustainable investment decisions.

Based in London, Richard leads the Insights team for Marsh McLennan.  Focusing on climate resilience, cyber resilience, healthy societies, innovations in infrastructure, transformative technologies, and workforce for the future, the team draws on the unique expertise of MMC and its networks to identify breakthrough perspectives and solutions to society’s most complex challenges.  Key publications from the team are available here.

Richard specializes in emerging risks, which has him exploring trends and disruptions in the macro-level risk landscape and advising companies and governments on how to better anticipate and respond to new complex threats.

It is a role that enables him to align a thirst for spotting weak signals of new trends and possible game-changing dislocations with his consulting background in Oliver Wyman helping multinationals negotiate the interface between strategy and risk to manage earnings volatility. 

He publishes widely, is a frequent speaker at conferences, and often participates in projects run by multilateral bodies and non-governmental organizations.  He is also responsible for BRINK, a digital content platform that publishes daily articles on critical business issues from Marsh McLennan experts, business and think tank leaders, top academics, and public sector voices.

Publication topics include geopolitics, social instability, cyber risk, energy sector challenges and sustainability, emerging risk anticipation, corporate risk appetite, reputation risk, risk culture, and the management of critical risks by governments. 

He is a longstanding contributor to, and Advisory Board member of, the World Economic Forum Global Risks Report , a Steering Group member of the OECD’s High-Level Risk Forum, and a commissioner on the UK’s National Preparedness Commission.

Prior to joining MMC, Richard led the policy and research agenda for NESTA, the UK’s innovation agency.  He has a BA from Oxford and a PhD from University College London.