Risk Doesn’t Often Blindside Companies. Neglect Does
Risk Doesn’t Often Blindside Companies. Neglect Does.
Every year, CEOs publish neat lists of “top risks.”
Sentry’s 2025 research points to something different:
companies rarely get blindsided by unknown risks. But they often get blindsided by unmanaged ones.
In Sentry’s survey of executives at large companies (1,000+ employees):
➤ 45% cited supply chain and logistics challenges as a top business threat
➤ 37% cited cyberattacks as a top business threat
Cyber rises because decision-making compresses into minutes, not months.
Supply chain ranks high because it exposes whether leaders really understand the operating system they run.
And a tougher legal and regulatory environment matters because inconsistency inside the business eventually becomes exposure outside of it, including lawsuits with large verdicts.
When we lay these categories into a 3×3 matrix, a simple pattern emerges:
Risk isn’t about events. It’s about leadership readiness.
Two companies can face the same shock and have opposite outcomes.
The difference is whether leadership treats risk as a one-time report, or as an operating system.
For our family office, UHNW, HNW, endowment, and foundation investors, this matters.
Risk doesn’t just impact returns. It erodes confidence.
And when confidence breaks, capital hesitates, reallocates, or leaves.
In a 3×3 grid, which box signals the biggest leadership weakness, in your view?
🔗Source: 2025 C-Suite Stress Index: Large Businesses
