The concept of risk management is something people abide by every day.
It can be applied to every aspect of life and business, from wearing a seatbelt while driving to recognising a good investment.
For Randall Mohammed taking chances has special significance not only because of his job as a risk manager, but also because he left his home in TT to further his career in new, unfamiliar territories.
Mohammed has almost 20 years' experience as a risk manager and financial analyst.
In this role, he is tasked with understanding the potential risks in companies' operations and formulating ways to reduce these risks.
His job has taken him from the boardrooms of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the Congo River, experiences that shaped his understanding of business and life.
Sunday Newsday spoke with Mohammed, 52, on what these experiences mean to building a stronger more efficient country.
As a Pointe-a-Pierre native, the energy industry has been a part of Mohammed's life for as long as he can remember.
Born and raised in the shadow of the Texaco refinery where his father Rafeek Mohammed worked as an engineer, he joked that oil and gas was in his blood.
“I still have fond memories of working at Petrotrin’s marine engineering division and contract’s office, during summer vacations.
“Even today my dad and I have engaging discussions on the closure of the refinery.”
He attended St Peter's Private Primary School and Presentation College, San Fernando, and developed his passion for finance at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada, where he majored in economics and business administration.
After graduating in 1992, Mohammed returned to TT where he got his first job at Risk Management Services Ltd, a Neal and Massy Group company, before transitioning to the Telecommunications Services of TT (TSTT) becoming one of the youngest managers at 26.
"Part of risk management is developing business continuity plans considering the impacts of hurricanes, adverse weather effects and IT risks.
“I recall being stationed at our emergency command centre during the Y2K event monitoring reports from our emergency reporting system. If there was an incident with the network in Australia or Asia for example, we would be notified and take corrective action.”
Risk assessment demands an almost clairvoyant ability to see the future, what could go wrong and being able to develop a contingency plan to counter this.
[caption id="attachment_923056" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Randall Mohammed, right, and son Nicholas Mohammed on ATVs in Dubai.
- PHOTO COURTESY RANDALL MOHAMMED[/caption]
The objective is to keep business in business by protecting those revenue earning assets in the first instance and developing a plan to continue operations if those assets were damaged.
Mohammed's organisational skills were sharpened when he was appointed as part of a critical infrastructure task force for the First Summit of
