The first clandestine gathering of my Secret League of Extraordinary Risk Gentlemen was just conducted, however only Rick Nason was able to make it for lunch. The future of risk management as you know it is subject to change without…
Playboy thongs and reputation risk
What is that expression about no publicity is bad publicity? Giant Tiger, a discount retailer in Canada erred when it marketed Playboy branded underwear (thongs and bras) in its back-to-school flyer. Although the ad was aimed at the back-to-college crowd, some parent…
Centre of the risk management universe
Toronto has long believed it was the Centre of the Universe. Well, in risk management circles, perhaps now it is. Last week the Department of Finance Canada announced the creation of the Global Risk Institute in Financial Services or GRi. It…
Cheaters and liars
The Globe and Mail is conducting a survey today asking respondents if they ever cheated on a test. At the time this post was published, only 45% of people said Yes. (Really!) I find it very hard to believe that…
Risk managers are just as dim
I reference a post by Beaumont Vance once where he suggests all risk managers should introduce themselves as fortune tellers as cocktail parties. In this recent blog post from Riskview, the author points out: Criticisms of risk managers for not…
Pierre Curzi is an idiot
Sometimes I am puzzled. I look around and see lots of people who are all basically made from the same genetic material as me, yet why is it that some of my genetic cousins are insane? (I apologize for casting…
Myron Scholes groupies
I had a chance to see Myron Scholes speak in Toronto yesterday. Scholes: from Black-and fame. The option guy. That Nobel Prize guy. (A Canadian by the way!) Before I completed my undergrad in Finance, I studied a lot of…
A vile display of sportsmanship
The house league page on Richmond Hill Phoenix Baseball Club’s website reads “House League is a recreational level of baseball for players of all skill levels and experiences… The focus at this level is to promote sportsmanship, fun and greater…
Stadium risk management
With news coming out of Quebec City that billionaires are trying to get the Government of Canada to foot the bill for a new area (one that might lure the Nordiques back and be part of a future Olympic bid),…
I’m not dead yet
This story in today’s Globe and Mail kills me. I guess it’s true what they say about death and taxes. If you were looking at the financial data from Toronto-based funeral company, Arbor, you might think that people were dropping…