Willis Group CEO Joe Plumeri has outlined the “new and complex” risks facing international business in the next decade.

Speaking in Los Angeles last week, Mr Plumeri urged business leaders to recognise emerging risks, citing “dramatic” change over the past 10 years.

“The risks confronting business today are new, complex and increasing,” Mr Plumeri said. “The old answers just won’t cut it. Before our government bailed out Citibank, AIG and General Motors, most of us thought those things could never happen – but they did.

“Are we doing anything differently today? I don’t think so.”

New risks outlined by Willis include global climate change, terrorism, pandemic disease, credit availability and cost, globalisation, cyber security, piracy and greater threats to corporate reputation.

Mr Plumeri says many of these risks weren’t on the industry’s radar 10 years ago, and called on business leaders to embrace enterprise risk management to restore corporate trust in the wake of the downturn. He also urged a new commitment to transparency in risk mitigation.

“Talk straight to your customers, employees and the communities in which we operate about the risks you face – or they simply won’t trust you.”