Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Victor Bajanov is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and a seasoned analytics leader with nearly two decades of experience in data science. Currently serving as Executive of Product Analytics and Generative AI Centre of Excellence at Quantium, Victor has a diverse background spanning consulting and product development across industries including financial services, retail, and telecommunications. Victor is a member of the Data Science Practice Committee and has served as an expert witness for the Federal Court of Australia. With his blend of actuarial knowledge and cutting-edge data science skills, Victor brings valuable insights to the intersection of traditional actuarial work and modern analytics.
In this interview, Victor shares:
Connect with Victor on LinkedIn.
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Mike has over 30 years’ experience in life insurance, wealth management, pensions and educating actuaries. Whilst in Europe, he led a team of over 30 actuaries covering product design, reserving, embedded value profit reporting and built up a risk management function for a large, multi-national insurer. Mike set up the Part II program at Monash university and is now leading all aspects of the Institute’s education activities.
In this interview, Mike shares his:
- career journey in becoming an actuary and now an educator,
- reflections on the ‘new’ Education program in Australia, and
- tips for actuaries wanting to future-proof their careers beyond qualification.
Connect with Mike on LinkedIn.
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Maathu Ranjan is an actuary with experience in the disability, health and general insurance sectors. She is also an award-winning researcher and a recognised leader in the Australian Public Service, having been awarded the prestigious Sir Roland Wilson scholarship to conduct doctoral research at the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy. Prior to this, Maathu was a Senior Actuary at the National Disability Insurance Agency, leading the Actuarial Strategic Initiatives team to evaluate key priorities in strategic policy and service delivery.
Maathu is an advocate for the use of rigorous evidence and the actuarial skillset to inform decisions and policy design. She has a keen interest in social policy, with her doctoral research focusing on the impact of government support systems on autism and younger onset disability relating to neurodevelopmental conditions.
In this interview, Maathu shares:
Connect with Maathu on LinkedIn.
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Colin Priest is an actuary/data scientist/marketer/communicator/educator who has held several CEO and general management roles, where he has championed data-driven initiatives in financial services, healthcare, security, oil and gas, government, and marketing. With a passion for how humans and AIs can work together, Colin has contributed to Singapore Government projects on AI ethics, AI governance, and the future of work. Colin strongly supports the science of healthcare and does pro bono work for cancer research.
In this interview, Colin shares:
Connect with Colin on LinkedIn
Watch: The Behavioural Science of AI Governance – ICA2023
Watch: How to Build C-Suite Trust in AI
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Jeff is the founder of The Actuarial Nexus, an online platform specializing in preliminary SOA exams. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) and was employed as a Medicaid pricing actuary from 2012 through 2022.
In March 2022, Jeff left the traditional career path to pursue his passion for technology, coding and education, eventually building The Actuarial Nexus. He has implemented several generative AI features on the platform, with the goal of making generative AI a viable tool for actuarial exam preparation. He routinely uses generative AI for coding, creating course material, and writing practice questions/solutions.
Jeff is also a budding content creator, having started a YouTube channel in 2023. He plans to upload more AI-related content in the future.
In this interview, Jeff shares:
Jeff Yang on YouTube.
Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Jared is passionate about artificial intelligence and its potential to transform ways of working. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, with a career spanning two decades within the Life Insurance industry. He is currently the Head of Actuarial Systems, Data, and Process Optimization at AIA. His focus is on harnessing AI to boost company-wide productivity and empowering actuaries to be at the forefront of responsible AI implementation.
Jared also recently delivered an innovative presentation at the Australian Actuaries Summit titled ‘The Artificial Actuary.’ In this presentation, he showcased how AI models can be transformed into artificial actuaries. Through an insurance repricing example, Jared demonstrated how artificial actuaries can leverage tools like projection models and collaborate to tackle more complex tasks.
In this interview, Jared shares:
Connect with Jared on LinkedIn.
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Win-Li Toh is a principal at actuarial and analytics consultancy Taylor Fry, and Senior Vice President of the Actuaries Institute of Australia. From her childhood in a small mining town in Malaysia to an international career spanning more than 25 years, Win-Li’s diverse experiences have indelibly shaped her approach to life and work.
With a strong focus on collaboration, fresh perspectives in problem solving and advocacy for young people, Win-Li is a guiding force in the insurance industry. She brings deep understanding as a trusted advisor to self-insurers as well as publicly underwritten schemes, Appointed Actuary to several Australian and New Zealand insurers, and mentor to many.
Win-Li was named 2023 Insurance Leader of the Year, and is regularly approached for her commentary on critical issues affecting insurers and the community, including customer fairness, affordability and cyber vulnerabilities. She was lead author on the Actuaries Institute cyber green paper, exploring the challenges and opportunities for decision-makers in creating a vibrant, sustainable cyber insurance market.
She believes finding common purpose is key, and that actuaries are uniquely placed to bring multiple voices together to give clear insight into the shades of grey in situations towards finding pragmatic, workable solutions.
In this interview, Win-Li shares:
Connect with Win-Li on LinkedIn.
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Naomi Edwards is a highly experienced chair and non-executive director who is also a proud actuary. She is passionate about the contribution that people with a STEM background can make to boards, public policy and society. She currently sits on the boards of TAL, Propel Funeral Partners and Yarra Funds Management. She is the Chair-elect of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and was the 2023 President of the Actuaries Institute. She was also the Chair of industry super fund Spirit Super for over a decade.
As an executive actuary, Naomi focused on life insurance M&A, Prophet and Margin on Services (yes, she is that old!). She was a director of Trowbridge Consulting and a partner at Deloitte, where she ran the Australian Financial Services Industry Group across all professional disciplines.
In her spare time Naomi has been a stand up comedian, an extreme bushwalker and a rock-climber.
In this interview, Naomi shares:
Connect with Naomi on LinkedIn.
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Ilan Leas is a founder of an actuarial start-up, retender. He has worked in Australia, the UK and South Africa and is a former Chair of the Life Insurance and Wealth Management Practice Committee at the Actuaries Institute. He has a real passion for encouraging others to try the start-up path, at least once, and has written a book about all the things you shouldn’t do if going on this journey.
In this interview, Ilan shares:
Find out more about Ilan and retender
Connect with Ilan on LinkedIn
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Andrew is currently a Director at Taylor Fry and has 14 years’ experience as an actuary in Australia and overseas, advising numerous injury schemes, insurers and government clients in the health and social sectors. He specialises in using advanced analytics to help his clients make better policy, pricing and operational decisions. Andrew has developed social investment simulation models to help governments understand how people interact with their services, and ultimately to help them evaluate and implement better policies for vulnerable people. Andrew has also advised on reserving and pricing for government schemes and private insurers, particularly in workers compensation and builders warranty.
Beyond his day job, Andrew is also a three-time Microsoft Excel World Champion and was the Financial Modelling World Champion in 2019.
In this interview, Andrew shares:
Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Dr Jananie William (FIAA, PhD) wears many hats: she is an academic at the ANU, a Research Affiliate with the Global Institute of Women's Leadership (ANU) and Advisor to The Social Outcomes Lab. She worked as an actuary in general insurance before transitioning into her current roles. Jananie now spends her time educating new generations of actuaries while researching and consulting on matters relating to public health and public policy, with a focus on issues that adversely affect women’s health and economic security across their lifetime.
In this interview Jananie shares:
Connect with Jananie on LinkedIn.
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Shivani Juneja is an experienced actuary who has worked in life insurance for over 10 years. She has worked across valuations, pricing, actuarial systems, pricing review, supporting appointed actuary CPS 320 advice and is currently working in a project-based role within the reinsurance and capital space.
Shivani was born and raised in India, where she started her actuarial studies. She then moved to Australia where she completed her fellowship exams. Shivani is married and is a mum to two beautiful boys.
In this interview, Shivani shares:
Connect with Shivani on LinkedIn.
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Emma Vitz is a consultant working in general insurance pricing, natural perils and climate risk at Finity Consulting. Originally from New Zealand, Emma studied Psychology and Statistics before pivoting into an actuarial career. She has a strong interest in communicating complex topics in an interesting and accessible way for a broad range of audiences. Following on from the Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, Emma appeared on live TV and radio to discuss the impact that the largest non-earthquake disaster would have on insurance affordability and availability. She has also written data journalism pieces on everything from housing to healthcare and truancy. Her data visualisations have been presented to the New Zealand Housing Minister on live television and viewed hundreds of thousands of times online. Emma has also presented at a variety of conferences in New Zealand, Australia and in international forums.
In this interview, Emma shares:
Connect with Emma on LinkedIn.
More of Emma's work:
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Jon is a Data Science Actuary who has designed and delivered successful AI initiatives across all areas of insurance and banking, including pricing, customer personalisation, claims operations, web and mobile app development, and intelligent automation.
Jon believes actuaries have an integral role in managing the responsible use of AI in society. To this end, he has actively participated across all aspects of the Actuaries Institute’s data science strategy, including education, events, and public policy submissions.
Jon is a regular speaker in data conferences and podcasts, a Councillor of the Actuaries Institute, and in 2022 he was recognised as one of the Top 10 Analytics Leaders in Australia.
In this interview, Jon shares:
Connect with Jon on LinkedIn.
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Kelly is currently a Senior Actuarial Consultant at WorkSafe Victoria, providing internal consultancy support to the scheme. She started her career as an actuarial analyst in workers' compensation at Return to Work South Australia. She then worked as a Senior Manager at PwC, specialising in working with accident compensation schemes and government insurance authorities for 10 years.
She was born and raised in Malaysia, and currently lives in Melbourne with her family. Outside of work, she loves watching her 3-year old son grow into a cheeky and curious little human (and tries to bake/cook/read whenever she can)! She is also an active volunteer with the Actuaries Institute.
In this interview, Kelly shares:
Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn.
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Charlie is a Senior Valuation Actuary from SCOR Reinsurance APAC L&H Reserving, located in Singapore. His role primarily involves reviewing and supporting APAC local valuation teams in Group reporting activities, including IFRS17 and Solvency-II reporting, experience analysis, Prophet modelling, internal retrocessions, and process enhancements. Currently he is working closely with Korea valuation team to support their Group reporting stream.
In 2022, Charlie relocated to Singapore with his young family, thanks to SCOR’s internal mobility, allowing him to transition from ANZ valuation team. Prior to SCOR, Charlie worked in reporting roles for direct life insurers, including economic valuation, regulatory capital, and Prophet modelling.
In this interview, Charlie shares:
Connect with Charlie on LinkedIn.
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Adam Butt is the Head of Actuarial Studies at Australian National University. Prior to commencing his career in academia in 2005, he worked as a superannuation consultant at Aon Consulting. Adam’s research interests focus on superannuation and personal financial decision making, and actuarial education. Adam’s research has been published in a number of top-ranked journals including Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Annals of Actuarial Science, The Economic Record, and Journal of Economic Behaviour & Organisation. He is passionate about actuarial education and ensuring that graduates are prepared not just with a technical education, but also with knowledge of themselves and an orientation to lifelong learning.
In this interview, Adam shares:
Connect with Adam on LinkedIn.
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Daphna Horowitz is a qualified actuary currently based in Israel. But these days you won’t find Daphna calculating insurance premiums or reserves – she is a Master Certified Coach who helps high-performing CEOs to up their game in business and become confident, inspiring leaders. Daphna works with leaders and teams across the globe to transform leadership effectiveness and workplace culture by digging deep into leadership habits of self-awareness, leading people, purpose, strategy, leading change and enabling extraordinary leadership in themselves and their teams.
She’s worked across Africa, Europe, China and India, with large organisations such as Barclays Bank and Coca-Cola.
Before establishing her coaching career, Daphna worked in insurance and consulting, quickly rising to Director level. She held the position of Lecturer at the two largest universities in Johannesburg while managing her own actuarial consulting company and corporate event management company.
Daphna hosts the Leadership Live podcast and is a published author of Courage to Lead: Leadership Lessons from Kilimanjaro and Weekly Habits for Extraordinary Leaders.
In this interview, Daphna shares:
Learn more about Daphna and her work here.
Connect with Daphna on LinkedIn.
Read Daphna’s books: “Weekly Habits for Extraordinary Leaders” “Courage to Lead: Leadership Lessons from Kilimanjaro”
Read “What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful” by Marshall Goldsmith.
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Elayne Grace, CEO of the Actuaries Institute, leads the actuarial professional body known for its education program, professional standards and contribution to public policy thought leadership.
With 25 years of international experience spanning consulting firms and insurance companies, she provided strategic, economic and financial advice, Elayne played a pivotal role in nurturing early collaborations between businesses, scientists, and NGOs to address climate change and risk. She is a frequent presenter at conferences and has contributed to various thought leadership papers ranging from climate change to Big Data. Elayne's advisory roles have included serving on Commonwealth Treasury expert panel and advising the Indigenous Land Corporation Board on long-term investment sustainability.
In 2019, Elayne was recognised in The Australian Financial Review's 100 Women of Influence awards. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries.
In this interview, Elayne shares:
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Stuart Turner is an actuary with over 25 years of experience working in life insurance and wealth management, in both corporate and consulting roles. He is currently working at Zurich Financial Services, and was previously a Partner at EY.
Stuart is the Chair of the Professionalism Committee. He has developed an interest in ethics through being a volunteer ethics teacher at his children’s primary school and presenting the Actuaries Institute Professionalism Course content on ethical reasoning.
In this interview, Stuart shares:
Read: “Flexing your ethical muscles” by Stuart Turner, Actuaries Digital article
Professional training videos (Actuaries Institute members only link)
Connect with Stuart on LinkedIn
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Julia is a qualified actuary, certified coach and the Director of Guardian Actuarial. She is leading a mission to foster forward-thinking leaders in the actuarial industry and runs the Guardian Actuarial Leadership Program to help actuaries build their communication, management and leadership skills.
In this interview, Julia shares:
Find out more about the Guardian Actuarial Leadership Program
Visit Julia’s YouTube channel
Read Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Connect with Stephen Huppert on LinkedIn
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
In this episode, Julia recaps our top episodes and themes from the 30 interviews we’ve published since the We Are Actuaries podcast was born.
Episodes mentioned in order:
Data science: 6 Daniel Stone | 4 Amanda Aitken | 12 Dr Genevieve Hayes
Climate Change: 9 Sharanjit Paddam | 28 Ruby Smith
Actuaries making a difference: 19 David Gifford | Kirsten Armstrong 21
And in super: 11 Stephen Huppert | 29 Aidan Nguyen
Emerging leaders: 1 Laura Zhao | 7 Desmond Muzorewa | 8 Dan Wang | 13 Alison Visser | 18 Michael Storozhev | 20 Cameron Morris | 23 Alan Hsu | 26 Alex Leung
Leadership reflections from experienced leaders: 2 Stephen Huppert | 3 Ryan Boyd | 10 Jennifer Lang
Wellbeing: 14 Martin Mulcare | 15 Janice Jones | 17 James Beng Lee | 25 Sheridan Daniels
Career advice: 16 Mark Barda | 22 Chris Dolman | 24 Mark Baxter | 27 John Harney | 30 Vy Le | 5 Kim Clough
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Vy Le is a purpose-driven, qualified actuary based in Canada. She is the host of V Life Journal - Actuary, Career & Well-being, a YouTube channel dedicated to providing exclusive insights and advice on topics related to actuarial science, career development, productivity, and well-being. Through Vy’s channel, she guides young professionals in their career planning related to maths, data, and tech, while also sharing effective productivity hacks and learning strategies.
Vy is also a lifelong learner and multi-passionate creative-preneur. She holds several professional designations, including FSA, FCIA, CERA, CFA, and MBA. She’s also currently completing a Master’s in Computer and Information Technology at the University of Pennsylvania, exploring the intersection of technology and business and developing skills in programming, data analysis, and more. With 10+ years of experience as a risk management leader in the insurance industry, Vy is committed to driving growth and managing risk with a strong foundation in actuarial science and business strategy.
In this interview, Vy shares:
See Vy's interview in The Actuary "Actuarial Adventures in Social Media"
Connect with Vy on LinkedIn
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Aidan is an actuary working in public policy. In his current role within the Actuaries Institute’s Public Policy Team, he helps to channel the voice of the actuarial profession as a trusted adviser and honest broker to get better retirement income and life insurance policy and regulation. Aidan previously worked in policy at a peak industry body and before that as an actuarial consultant both within the superannuation and the life insurance industries. Outside of work, Aidan loves to stay connected with family and friends, and planning that next adventure.
In this interview, Aidan shares:
“What is a good customer outcome?” Aidan Nguyen, Actuaries Digital article
Connect with Aidan on LinkedIn
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.
Tell us what you thought of this episode!
Ruby is a qualified actuary working in Finity's Climate Analytics practice, focusing on physical risk, transition risk and modelling of long term climate-related issues. Passionate about the environment, Ruby is a member of the Institute’s Climate and Sustainability Working Group, with particular interests in decarbonisation, risk quantification and the social impacts of climate change.
In this interview, Ruby shares:
We are featured in the Top 15 Actuary Podcasts here on Feedspot.
Thank you for listening to the We Are Actuaries podcast. Connect with Julia and Guardian Actuarial on LinkedIn. For more interviews and articles, visit our website.