Resilience planning is fast becoming a core financial and strategic priority. As threats multiply — from geopolitical conflict to AI risks and extreme weather events — company leadership is assessing whether their organizations are able to not just predict the next disruption, but also to adapt to and recover from it.
However, increasing a company’s resilience against unknown shocks can be a complex and challenging discussion topic, due to ingrained behavioral biases. For instance, immediate business matters tend to crowd out longer-dated threats. It may also be easy to over-weigh the costs of immediate action and under-weigh the less visible future cost of maintaining the status quo.
Done well, however, resilience-focused scenario planning can enable strategic discussion, help inform decisions that safeguard enterprise performance and identify strategic investment opportunities. In this report, discover why building resilience begins with dialogue and how it can set your organization up for success — no matter what the future may hold.
In the report:
- Why discussing resilience matters
- A framework to enable challenging conversations
- How people process risk and how to navigate different reactions
“A deliberate, well-framed resilience discussion, supported by a readiness plan, can serve as a governance tool in its own right.”
Dr. Sarah Kapnick
Global head of Climate Advisory, J.P. Morgan
About Dr. Sarah Kapnick
Dr. Sarah B. Kapnick is the global head of Climate Advisory at J.P. Morgan. In this role, she advises the bank’s clients on climate, energy, biodiversity and sustainability topics. Responsible for overseeing the firm’s climate thought leadership strategy, Dr. Kapnick leverages extensive technical and scientific expertise to drive content strategy and advise clients at the intersection of finance, climate science, commerce and national security. She has received several recognitions for her work at J.P. Morgan and “Climate Intuition” series, including being named to the 2025 TIME100 Climate and Bloomberg Green “Ones to Watch” lists.
She was previously with the bank’s Asset and Wealth Management division as senior climate scientist and sustainability strategist.
Prior to her current role, Dr. Kapnick was chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), responsible for guiding the programmatic focus of NOAA’s science and technology priorities. She spent a decade at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) leading research on seasonal climate prediction, mountain snowpack, extreme storms, water security, climate economics and climate impacts.
Dr. Kapnick earned a PhD in atmospheric and oceanic sciences with a certificate in Leaders in Sustainability from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and an AB in mathematics with a certificate in finance from Princeton University. She is also a Distinguished Fellow at Columbia University’s Climate School.
“When resilience feels like a difficult topic to discuss, understanding your peers’ concerns while re-focusing abstract ideas into concrete, organization-relevant pressure points — like infrastructure, supply chains and the workforce — can make the conversation more productive.”
Jeff Kreisler
Global head of Behavioral Science, JPMorganChase
About Jeff Kreisler
Jeff Kreisler is a member of the J.P. Morgan Private Advisory leadership team, a cross-disciplinary group of over 100 global specialists who collaborate to deliver innovative and forward-thinking strategies, working closely with Private Bank advisors to help clients make well-informed decisions and achieve their goals.
As the global head of Behavioral Science for JPMorganChase, Kreisler focuses on delivering insights into how emotions influence financial decision-making. His work empowers clients to recognize biases and develop strategies for better financial outcomes. By understanding the psychological factors that impact financial choices, Kreisler and his team help clients navigate the complexities of financial planning with a more informed and strategic approach.
Kreisler is the founding editor of PeopleScience, a thought leadership program for applied behavioral science. He is also a two-time bestselling, internationally published author whose work in the field has been praised by the likes of The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Business Insider, Audible, CNN and The Washington Post (“a brilliant and accessible look at behavioral economics”).
“Scenario-planning and other practical resilience-enhancing tools are critical to boards discharging their fiduciary duties in the current environment.”
Louise Bennetts
EMEA head of Director Advisory Services
About Louise Bennetts
A member of J.P. Morgan’s Global Advisory and EMEA Management teams, Louise set up the JPMorgan’s Director Advisory Services offering in Europe in 2021 – creating the largest network and industry platform of content and proprietary insights for Chairs and directors of public companies in the region.
An experienced regulatory and transactional lawyer, Louise has a background in advising boards, financial institutions, government and regulatory bodies and large multi-national corporates on a range of cross-border, policy and corporate governance topics, including testifying before the United States Congress on regulatory issues. Throughout her career she has been a trusted media and academic commentator on corporate governance and policy matters, especially in the cross-border context, and is a frequent speaker at industry and academic conferences. Louise began her career at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP in New York City and worked in Washington DC as a senior regulatory policymaker.
Louise holds a Master of Studies degree from the University of Cambridge as well as first class law and economics degrees from the University of Cape Town. She was previously affiliated with the Cambridge Centre for Interdisciplinary Energy Studies and CISL in a research capacity. Previous areas of research focus were on policy alignment in the national and energy security spaces, general corporate governance topics as well as the economic impact of bank reform legislation.
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