Skeptic to Champion: The Playbook for 3rd-Party Risk Management Buy-In

The companies winning in today’s market aren’t just managing third-party risk—they’re weaponizing vendor relationships for competitive dominance. In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, third-party risk management has emerged as a critical competitive differentiator rather than merely a compliance burden. This comprehensive webinar explores transformative strategies for repositioning vendor risk programs as strategic business enablers, demonstrating how ethics and compliance professionals can shift from defensive postures to proactive value creation. The discussion reveals practical frameworks for building cross-functional coalitions, quantifying return on investment, and establishing robust vendor lifecycle management processes that drive enterprise value while maintaining rigorous compliance standards.

This episode of The Ethicsverse explores how organizations can transform vendor risk programs from cost centers into competitive advantages through strategic positioning, cross-departmental collaboration, and data-driven value quantification. Key insights include the development of risk approximation formulas using conservative estimates, the creation of organizational “halo effects” through quality vendor programs, and the implementation of right-sized risk approaches that balance speed with compliance rigor. The session emphasizes the critical importance of understanding business operations before proposing solutions, building coalitions with procurement and other risk functions, and positioning compliance professionals as business enablers rather than gatekeepers. The webinar provides actionable frameworks for translating abstract risk concepts into tangible financial impacts that resonate with executive leadership, while maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of compliance programs.

Featuring:

• Forrest Deegan, Lecturer in Law, University of Chicago Law School
• Nick Gallo, Chief Servant & Co-CEO, Ethico

Strategic Business Positioning

• Third-party risk management programs should be positioned as competitive differentiators that enable faster market entry, improved vendor relationships, and enhanced operational efficiency rather than compliance obstacles.
• Organizations that demonstrate transparency and robust vendor management processes often receive preferential treatment from key suppliers, creating measurable competitive advantages in vendor negotiations and service delivery.
• The most effective programs focus on business KPIs such as time to contract, vendor consolidation opportunities, and procurement efficiency metrics rather than solely compliance-focused measurements.

Cross-Functional Coalition Building

• Success in third-party risk management requires building coalitions with procurement, information security, legal, and other risk functions to avoid being perceived as an additional burden on existing processes.
• Compliance professionals must understand current business operations thoroughly before proposing solutions, positioning themselves as problem-solvers who streamline existing inefficiencies rather than adding new requirements.
• Leadership alignment on priority risk areas (typically 6-10 key risks) provides the foundation for productive conversations with subject matter experts and procurement teams about integrated solutions.

Risk Quantification and ROI Demonstration

• Conservative risk approximation formulas using industry examples and historical data provide compelling business cases, even when based on estimates rather than precise calculations.
• Effective ROI presentations include specific variables (dollar amounts, percentages, timeframes) with one-sentence justifications for each assumption, making arguments bulletproof against executive scrutiny.
• Collaborative budget requests that include multiple departments sharing costs and benefits create stronger cases than compliance-only funding requests, expanding the denominator while maintaining program effectiveness.

Vendor Lifecycle Management Excellence

• Comprehensive vendor programs should address the full relationship lifecycle from selection through ongoing management, not just initial vetting processes.
• Right-sized risk approaches that vary questionnaire depth based on vendor materiality and risk profile maintain compliance rigor while accommodating business speed requirements.
• Quality vendor relationships require assessment of responsiveness, reliability, and communication effectiveness in addition to traditional risk and pricing factors.

Integration as Organizational Strategy

• Compliance functions must embrace their role as one of the most integrated departments in the organization, leveraging this positioning to create value across multiple business units.
• Successful programs solve existing business problems (lengthy procurement cycles, inconsistent vendor data, surprise disruptions) while incorporating compliance requirements seamlessly into improved processes.
• The concept of compliance as “connective tissue” or organizational “circulatory system” helps frame the function’s value proposition in terms executives understand and appreciate.

Efficiency Without Compromise

• Speed and compliance rigor are not mutually exclusive when programs are designed with proper stakeholder involvement from the beginning of vendor relationships.
• Avoiding surprise disruptions through early stakeholder engagement and consistent processes actually reduces time to contract while improving risk management outcomes.
• Right-sized questionnaires that focus only on decision-relevant questions for specific vendor types respect both internal and external stakeholder time while maintaining effective risk assessment.

Value Creation Through Process Improvement

• Vendor classification and data standardization efforts often reveal administrative inefficiencies (duplicate vendors, inconsistent naming conventions) that provide immediate cost savings opportunities.
• Consolidated vendor management reduces complexity, improves negotiating power, and creates opportunities for better terms and service levels across the organization.
• Process improvements in vendor management create measurable efficiency gains in staff time, contract negotiation timelines, and policy exception rates.

Executive Communication Excellence

• Business leaders rarely demand precise ROI calculations but require logical frameworks with defendable assumptions and conservative estimates supported by industry examples.
• Effective presentations lead with business benefits (faster processes, better visibility, reduced exceptions) and include compliance improvements as additional value rather than primary justification.
• Conservative approximation approaches often prompt executives to argue for higher value estimates, strengthening the compliance professional’s position through reverse psychology dynamics.

Competitive Intelligence and Market Positioning

• Robust third-party risk management programs create “halo effects” that enhance organizational reputation and facilitate expansion into new markets or product lines.
• Vendor feedback consistently identifies transparency, process consistency, and partnership approach as differentiating factors that influence supplier loyalty and service quality.
• Market expansion efforts benefit significantly from established vendor management infrastructure that provides speed, consistency, and credibility in new business environments.

Organizational Change Management

• Successful transformation from skeptics to champions requires fundamental mindset shifts from compliance-focused to business-enablement thinking among compliance professionals themselves.
• Programs must demonstrate clear “how” implementation plans alongside “what” risk mitigation goals to gain business stakeholder confidence and support.
• Long-term success depends on building vendor management programs that make business processes faster and safer simultaneously, creating win-win outcomes for all stakeholders.

Closing Summary