Last week, I was honoured to be appointed as the inaugural Chief Integrity Officer at the Smart Cities Council (SCC), a role that combines two areas I’m deeply passionate about: helping organisations scale safely and embedding integrity at the heart of innovation.
This appointment also marks an exciting step forward in the growing partnership between Core Integrity and the Smart Cities Council, strengthening our shared mission to help organisations protect their people, reputation and bottom line not just here in Australia, but globally.
For me, this opportunity goes beyond the title. It’s about helping SCC and its global Advisory Board build and scale with integrity by ensuring strong governance, clear ethical standards, and robust systems that safeguard against the risks that come with rapid growth, cross-sector collaboration and investment in emerging markets and technologies.
We know from experience that wherever there’s significant investment, innovation and infrastructure, there’s also increased risk. We see it time and time again — when the money flows, trouble follows.
Injections of funds by governments, superannuation funds or private equity into anything without the right controls in place is a recipe for disaster. It attracts both bad actors looking to exploit the system — such as organised crime, serial fraudsters, sophisticated hackers and transnational scam groups — and opportunistic behaviour from those working within the ecosystem, such as employees, contractors or volunteers who may have some kind of pressure in their life, see an opportunity to make a quick buck and rationalise their behaviour (ever heard of the fraud triangle? Fraud 101: What is Fraud?).
Add to that the complexity of public-private partnerships, government sovereign wealth funds looking to place their money, and disparate legal and regulatory frameworks — and you’ve got a landscape where strong integrity frameworks aren’t just “nice to have” but essential if you want to reduce risk and maintain trust.
That’s why I’ve always said:
“Prevention is always better than your best response.”
Too often, organisations wait until something goes wrong before they act. As we all know, prevention is better than the cure — and often far less costly.
With a booming artificial intelligence sector alongside the growing renewables sector globally, organisations involved in all stages of the value chain need to recognise the risks that exist and invest in the right capability, systems and culture to spot red flags early — and to deal with issues before they turn into crises.
As Chief Integrity Officer, my role will be to help SCC lead by example by embedding ethics, integrity and anti-fraud principles into every part of its global operations. In doing so, we aim to set a new benchmark in transparency and ethical operations — and from there, extend this approach to all of SCC’s members, partners and thought leaders globally.
That’s why I jumped at the chance to take on this role. It provides me with the opportunity to apply my experience in these areas on a global scale to help SCC grow safely, while continuing to expand access to the services and expertise that Core Integrity provides to organisations around the world.
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