A chief risk officer can never rest on his or her laurels,especially one heading up risk management at Munich-based AllianzGroup, the international financial services firm with more than$100 billion in annual revenue that provides products and solutionsin insurance, asset management and banking.

Thomas Wilson is the fluent economist who runs the global riskfunction at Allianz and is responsible for day-to-day management oflimits and controlling of all risk positions. Given the topsy-turvyglobal economy over the past five years, it's a full-time job.

“If you had asked me in 2007 about backing long-dated Italianbonds, I would have said it's a safe bet,” Wilson says. “Todaythat's not true, of course.”