Rethinking Resilience: Navigating North America’s Evolving Risk Landscape

North America’s business environment is shaped by ongoing volatility, rapid technological advancement, and evolving trade dynamics. Organizations are navigating persistent inflation, regulatory changes, and the introduction of new tariffs, which are influencing cross-border operations and cost structures in varied ways. Severe weather events and geopolitical developments continue to impact supply chains and financial planning.

Yet, amid these pressures, opportunities abound for organizations willing to rethink their approach to risk and resilience. By proactively managing exposures and leveraging new strategies, leaders can not only safeguard their operations but also build lasting competitive advantage in a region where the pace of change is relentless.

Today’s Top Risks: Navigating North America’s Critical Challenges

The following risks represent the most pressing challenges facing North American organizations today, as identified in Aon’s latest Global Risk Management Survey.

Top 10 Current Risks Facing North American Organizations

1. Cyber Attack or Data Breach
2. Economic Slowdown or Slow Recovery
3. Regulatory or Legislative Changes
4. Business Interruption
5. Damage to Reputation or Brand
6. Supply Chain or Distribution Failure
7. Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent
8. Increasing Competition
9. Failure to Innovate or Meet Customer Needs
10. Vendor Management or Third-Party Risk

Examining how some of these risks play out in practice across North America reveals the unique challenges and opportunities organizations face.

Cyber Risk: Expanding Digital Exposure and Interconnected Vulnerabilities

Cyber risk remains the top concern for North American organizations, driven by relentless ransomware attacks, phishing campaigns, and the region’s deep reliance on digital infrastructure. The proliferation of cloud platforms and third-party service providers has significantly broadened the attack surface, making organizations more vulnerable to both direct and indirect threats. Third-party risk is increasingly intertwined with cyber exposures, as incidents affecting vendors or partners can quickly cascade into operational disruptions.

While the threat landscape continues to escalate, the cyber insurance market in North America is currently characterized by ample capacity and stable pricing. Organizations are generally able to secure the coverage and limits they need, reflecting a buyer’s market despite the prevalence of data breaches and persistent threats. This environment has encouraged many businesses to invest in higher limits and more comprehensive coverage, supporting their efforts to strengthen cyber resilience.

However, insurance alone is not enough. Effective risk management now requires not only robust internal controls but also comprehensive oversight of third-party relationships, with continuous monitoring and clear protocols for incident response. Organizations that proactively address both cyber and third-party risks – through elevated cyber hygiene, preparedness, and vendor management – are better positioned to maintain operational continuity and safeguard their reputation in an environment where digital threats are constantly evolving.

Supply Chain and Business Interruption: Navigating Complexity Amid Trade and Weather Disruption

Supply chain risk and business interruption are closely linked, reflecting the complex and dynamic nature of North American operations. Organizations face challenges ranging from unpredictable weather events – such as floods, wildfires, and severe storms – to shifting global trade patterns. For example, severe floods in Texas during July 2025 disrupted major freight corridors and grounded flights, causing delays and shortages that rippled through national logistics networks.

In addition to environmental threats, rising import costs driven by new tariffs can strain supplier relationships and threaten supply chain continuity, especially for organizations dependent on cross-border trade. A lack of full visibility into extended supply chains amplifies the risk of cascading failures, particularly when third-party vendors are involved.

To build resilience, organizations are investing in real-time risk assessment, scenario planning, and stronger relationships with key suppliers. Enhanced monitoring and contingency planning help leaders anticipate and respond to environmental and operational challenges, minimizing business interruption and turning supply chain management into a source of competitive advantage.

Damage to Reputation or Brand: The High-Speed Impact of Digital Amplification

In North America’s fast-paced digital landscape, reputational risk can materialize overnight, with social media amplifying incidents and controversies at unprecedented speed. Consumers in the region are highly engaged and vocal, making organizations particularly vulnerable to shifts in public sentiment. Recent events have shown that even traditional brands can unexpectedly find themselves at the center of reputational crises, with significant impacts on share price and stakeholder trust.

Traditional risk transfer options for reputation remain limited, prompting organizations to focus on proactive consulting, crisis management, and best-practice frameworks. The strategic importance of reputation continues to grow, as transparency and accountability become non-negotiable for boards and executive teams.

Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent: Workforce Dynamics and the AI Effect

Talent risk remains a critical concern in North America, with respondents from the region ranking it higher than any other region in the survey. Organizations are navigating a talent landscape undergoing transformation, driven in part by the rise of artificial intelligence. The market for AI expertise is fierce, with talent pools concentrated in a handful of innovation hubs – such as Silicon Valley, Toronto, Boston and Austin – where competition among employers is intense and salaries are soaring.

This geographic clustering creates challenges for organizations outside these hotspots, who must compete not only on compensation but also on culture, flexibility and purpose to attract top-tier AI professionals.

At the same time, AI is reshaping broader workforce dynamics. Some roles traditionally reliant on human interaction – such as customer assistants and support staff – are being redefined or replaced by automation. While this shift offers opportunities for efficiency and scalability, it also introduces new risks around workforce displacement, reskilling and employee engagement.

Organizations need to balance the pursuit of AI-driven innovation with proactive workforce planning to ensure they retain critical talent and maintain a resilient, future-ready employee base. This includes optimizing workplace investments through actionable people analytics, enabling leaders to better align talent strategies with evolving business needs.

Employees in North America are seeking world-class benefits across healthcare, retirement and rewards, making it essential for companies to deliver competitive offerings that support attraction and retention.

Future Risk Landscape: Shifting Priorities in North America

As organizations adapt to today’s threats, shifting priorities and emerging risks are reshaping the North American landscape, demanding new approaches to resilience and strategic planning.

Top 10 Future Risks Facing North American Organizations

1. Cyber Attack or Data Breach
2. Economic Slowdown or Slow Recovery
3. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
4. Regulatory or Legislative Changes
5. Increasing Competition
6. Geopolitical Volatility
7. Business Interruption
8. Supply Chain or Distribution Failure
9. Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent
10. Failure to Innovate or Meet Customer Needs

Increasing Competition and AI: Disruption and Opportunity at the Forefront

North America stands at the forefront of artificial intelligence innovation, with organizations rapidly adopting advanced technologies to stay ahead in a highly competitive landscape. AI is increasingly being leveraged to identify emerging risks, analyze complex data sets, and anticipate potential threats across operations, supply chains, and markets. This capability enables organizations to respond more quickly and effectively to changes in the risk environment.

However, the swift pace of AI adoption is outpacing the development of governance frameworks, creating new challenges around compliance, liability, and intellectual property protection. The democratization of AI tools is also levelling the playing field, allowing smaller competitors to harness powerful analytics and disrupt established business models. As a result, organizations recognize that keeping pace with AI-driven innovation is essential – not only to maintain competitiveness but also to manage the amplified risks that come with rapid technological change.

To manage these challenges and build resilience, organizations should regularly assess how AI-driven changes affect their risk profile, update risk identification and governance practices, and review insurance coverage to ensure it reflects new exposures.

Geopolitical Volatility: A Top Regional Concern but Differing National Priorities

Geopolitical volatility is rapidly reshaping the risk landscape for North American organizations, with global tensions, trade disputes, and shifting alliances directly impacting supply chains, market access, and regulatory environments. For business leaders, this risk is no longer abstract, but a daily operational reality that needs active management.

The impacts are felt differently across the region. To reduce exposure to trade policy shifts, Canadian organizations are responding by reducing reliance on foreign suppliers and increasing domestic production and sourcing. U.S. businesses are monitoring developments and adapting supply chains to mitigate uncertainty. Tariffs, sanctions, and regulatory changes can alter cost structures overnight, requiring organizations to remain agile and informed.

To stay ahead, leaders should:

• Integrate geopolitical risk into enterprise risk management frameworks, ensuring it is regularly assessed alongside financial, operational, and cyber risks.
• Conduct scenario planning and stress testing to understand how sudden changes – such as new tariffs, sanctions, or regional conflicts – could affect supply chains, revenue streams, and strategic objectives.
• Enhance cross-border collaboration and intelligence gathering, leveraging local expertise and real-time data to anticipate regulatory shifts and emerging threats.
• Review insurance and risk transfer strategies to ensure coverage reflects exposures related to political instability, supply chain disruption, and regulatory change.

By proactively monitoring geopolitical developments and embedding resilience into decision-making, North American organizations can not only mitigate downside risk but also identify new opportunities for growth in a rapidly changing global environment.

Leveraging Risk Management for Growth in North America: Key Actions for Leaders

As exposures broaden and intensify, business leaders must reassess their risk profiles and implement forward-looking strategies to build resilience and drive growth. Three key actions stand out:

1. Strengthen cyber resilience: Quantify cyber risk to ensure coverage and limits are aligned with your organization’s true exposure. Elevate cyber hygiene and incident response capabilities to prepare for both direct attacks and cascading impacts across operations and supply chains.
2. Embed data and analytics into decision-making: Integrate advanced analytics into every aspect of risk management and business strategy. Use data-driven insights to inform risk capital strategy, optimize insurance programs, and enable rapid, confident decisions in the face of volatility.
3. Rethink resilience: Move beyond risk awareness and mitigation. Develop an advanced risk strategy that protects your balance sheet and optimizes your cost of capital, positioning risk management and resilience as a driver of competitive advantage.

Why It Matters

North American organizations that embrace a proactive, integrated approach to risk and resilience will be best positioned to turn today’s challenges into tomorrow’s opportunities.

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