Minutes | Board Risk Committee (BRC) Meeting 14 August 2019

BRC Attendees: Rafael Lito Ibarra (Chair), Merike Kaeo, Kaveh Ranjbar, Matthew Shears, and Tripti Sinha

BRC Member Apologies: Harald Alverstrand and Akinori Maemura

Other Board Member Attendees: Cherine Chalaby


ICANN Organization Attendees: Susanna Bennett (SVP, Chief Operating Officer). Michelle Bright (Director, Board Operations Content), Franco Carrasco (Board Operations Specialist), Xavier Calvez (SVP, Chief Financial Officer), James Caulfield (Vice President, Risk Management), Vinciane Koenigsfeld (Director, Board Operations), and Amy Stathos (Deputy General Counsel)

The following is a summary of discussions, actions taken and actions identified:

  1. Minutes – The Committee approved the Minutes of the 28 May 2019 meeting.
  2. Organization Risk Register – The Committee discussed mapping of strategic risks to the strategic goals in the Organization Risk Register. In doing so, the Committee was provided with an overview of the Risk Register, the level of detail and process behind developing the Register. The Committee was reminded and acknowledged that discussion of the Organization Risk Register includes sensitive and confidential information. The Committee discussed that each function within ICANN org develops a Function Risk Register as well as identifies risks outside its function. Each function identifies its risks through various methods and evaluates them using the following formula: likelihood rating x impact rating = inherent risk rating / control effectiveness = residual risk. A cross-organization calibration process and review was carried out by representatives of each function to provide consistency of rating the risks. The organization Risk Management Committee, consisting of the executives, reviews the proposed draft Register of the risks to be included in the Organization Risk Register and identify top risks. The Organization Risk Register is approved by the President and CEO. The Committee reviewed the Organization Risk Register and discussed how risks are assessed, the risk identification rating, and the controls and mitigations associated with some of the identified risks on the Register.
  3. Risks in the Strategic Plan vs. Risk Register – The Committee noted that the new Strategic Plan identifies Strategic Risks to the Strategic Goals. An alignment process is underway to map the risks that are listed in the strategic plan to the risks in the Organization Risk Register. The BRC discussed the cadence of review for the Organization Risk Register, which is scheduled to be conducted on an annual basis, at a minimum.

Published on 21 November 2019