100-Day Interview: “We’re setting standards” – Oliver Predelli (CCO)
Oliver Predelli has been Chief Compliance Officer at IAV since May 2020. We asked him questions about his first 100 days and about compliance at IAV.
Oliver, the first 100 days as Chief Compliance Officer are behind you. Do you feel comfortable in your new role?
Yes, absolutely. It is exciting and challenging. Currently, we have many opportunities to shape the future. We’re setting standards way beyond IAV – particularly in the area of technical compliance.
At IAV, a major focus is on technical compliance. Why is this so important?
One important reason for this is that we frequently enter new technological and thus regulatory territory together with our customers. For some developments, there are still no or no clear legal requirements. One example of this are the complex ethical considerations when it comes to autonomous driving. For such cases we also need a clear framework on how to proceed.
What does this framework look like?
Our Code of Conduct is our most important orientation. This guideline creates a framework on the basis of which all IAV employees make decisions and act according to consistent standards. The Code of Conduct is supplemented by more detailed compliance policies for specific subject areas.
»We rely on our compliance management system to do everything possible to prevent violations.«
— Chief Compliance Officer
In addition, we have a network of experts across all our technical areas. It is available to all employees to answer questions on technical compliance. The network is made up of employees from different departments. This ensures that our technical units receive optimum advice and support.
In case of complex issues, our employees can involve additional expert committees via a defined escalation process. In this way, we ensure that we take all relevant criteria from a wide range of disciplines at IAV into account when making decisions.
In 2020, we introduced an additional reporting channel for rule violations or misconduct. We now use the portal SpeakUp. Can you tell us a little about it?
We rely on our compliance management system to do everything possible to prevent violations. Anyone who still has reports of violations should submit them. With our SpeakUp portal, this is possible 24/7 and completely anonymous. Anyone – whether internal or external – can use this tool to submit reports of potential violations by IAV employees.
How do you see compliance at IAV in five years?
In five years, we will be embodying everything we have been setting up for the past year with a high degree of aplomb. In our daily work, an open and transparent approach to errors and problems is just as much a matter of course as a culture of responsibility. As a result, we will be able to even better meet our premium claim of engineering far beyond excellent. And in so doing, we aim to be pioneers in our industry when it comes to compliance.
Oliver, thank you very much for the interview.
