The Cook Islands Investment Corporation (CIIC) has taken a significant step to strengthen its governance and resilience with the establishment of a new Chief Risk Officer (CRO) role — the first of its kind for the organisation.
The role has been created to lead a coordinated, group-wide approach to risk management across CIIC and its portfolio of critical national assets and entities, including infrastructure, utilities, financial services, and telecommunications.
CIIC Chair Fletcher Melvin said the appointment reflects the increasing importance of proactive, strategic risk management.
“As stewards of critical national assets, how we understand, manage and respond to risk is fundamental to delivering on our responsibilities to the people of the Cook Islands,” Mr Melvin said.
“Establishing this role positions CIIC to take a more integrated, forward-looking approach to risk — one that strengthens decision-making and supports long-term resilience across the Group.”
CIIC Chief Executive Allan Jensen said the role comes at a time when organisations are operating in a more complex and uncertain global environment.
“From geopolitical pressures and supply chain disruption, to climate risk and evolving infrastructure demands, the risk landscape is changing rapidly,” Mr Jensen said.
“This new role will help ensure we are not only managing risk effectively, but using it to inform better decisions, strengthen performance, and support the delivery of our strategic priorities across CIIC and our subsidiaries.”
CIIC has appointed Sandra Yeats as its inaugural Chief Risk Officer.
Ms Yeats brings extensive experience in risk management, operations, and leadership across both the public and private sectors, most recently serving as Chief Risk Officer at the Bank of the Cook Islands.
Her background includes enterprise risk management, regulatory compliance, business systems implementation, and policy development, alongside a strong track record in leading teams and embedding organisational capability.
Mr Jensen said Ms Yeats’ experience and leadership would be critical in establishing and embedding a strong risk culture across the organisation.
“Sandra brings a depth of experience and a practical understanding of risk across complex organisations. We are excited to welcome her to CIIC and to see the value this role will deliver — not just within CIIC, but across the wider Group.”
In her new role, Ms Yeats will be responsible for establishing CIIC’s enterprise risk management framework, strengthening governance and reporting, and building risk capability across the organisation and its subsidiaries.
She will also support business continuity, crisis management, compliance, and internal assurance processes — ensuring CIIC is well positioned to respond to both current and emerging risks.
Ms Yeats said she was excited to take on the role at a pivotal time for CIIC.
“I’m excited to be joining CIIC in this inaugural role and to contribute to building a strong, risk-aware culture across the organisation,” Ms Yeats said.
“Effective risk management is about enabling good decisions — providing clarity, strengthening resilience, and supporting CIIC to deliver on its responsibilities to the people of the Cook Islands.”
The establishment of the CRO role aligns with CIIC’s broader strategic focus on building a more risk-intelligent organisation — one that integrates risk, compliance and governance into everyday decision-making and long-term planning.