There are many elements of risk and quality that organizations have to manage as products move through their lifecycle, from R&D and procurement to manufacturing, distribution, and service. At any time during this lifecycle, quality non-conformances could arise and potentially have a tremendous impact on an organization’s brand, competitiveness, and bottom line. In our third quality-focused GEC meeting of 2014, we discussed some of our latest research to help leaders understand how companies are effectively implementing closed-loop quality management strategies. Our executive speaker for this session was Ron Makar, Global Quality Manager at DuPont. Ron provided insight on how to implement a risk-based strategy across the product lifecycle. More specifically, the following points were discussed:   A five-part risk management strategy for global organizations How to build a framework to manage risks associated with manufacturing, business scenarios, product stewardship, and post-market surveillance Critical risk management concepts and application techniques The role of the quality professional in managing risk-related activities