Director of risk management
TELUS
Toronto, Ontario
Getting his start in risk management by joining an emergency response team at a large high-tech manufacturing complex, Michael Galin eventually was charged with leading the company’s national security program, where he incorporated business continuity, pandemic planning, auditing and risk assessments to make it a true risk management program.
Galin now serves as director of risk management at Telus, overseeing the corporate business continuity office and the emergency operations centre for the national telecommunications company.
“From an operational risk perspective, the telecom industry is always focused on service continuity,” he says. “If you do not plan accordingly, severe weather, flooding, wildfires and seismic activity can pose a great risk to critical infrastructure.”
Galin is also the founder of ContingenSee, a business resilience advisory firm, and is known among business leaders for having developed an easy, inexpensive and effective approach to business continuity.
An expert on continuity and security programs, Galin is focused on ensuring that service continuity meets the needs of customers and major projects. He has managed corporate responses and recovery plans for crises and major events such as Y2K, 9/11, blackouts, ice storms and G8/ G20 summits. As a thought leader, he has authored articles on related topics and recently spoke on the subject of business continuity at the World Conference on Disaster Management in 2016.
“I believe risk management is everywhere in our professional and personal lives,” he says. “Every decision we make is, in fact, an exercise in risk management.”
