Ridge Global founder and CEO Tom Ridge, first secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, delivered keynote remarks at the “Summit on Resilience: Securing our Future Through Public-Private Partnerships” - a national forum hosted today by Pace University in New York City.
Noting that the private sector currently owns 85 percent of U.S. infrastructure, Ridge called for a more aggressive national effort to include business in national disaster preparedness, response and recovery plans.
“We have to make it easier for the private sector to have a seat at the table,” said Ridge. “That means everything from loaned executives to collaboration on policies to including the private sector in regional planning.”
Equally, the federal government faced its own challenges in motivating those who remain complacent in the business community, said Ridge.
“We have to be blunt about the consequences of inaction,” said Ridge. “A catastrophic or even moderate disaster or attack can wipe out millions or billions of dollars of revenue and the inability to recover if there is no back up and off-site contingency plan in place before a disaster strikes.”
The summit featured participation by both government and corporate leaders, including Verizon chairman Ivan Seidenberg, and was held in collaboration with the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security.