My guest for Episode 86 is Ann Chai, FCAS, Chief Risk Officer at Zurich North America. The theme for the episode is ????????? ???????. Ann and I explore the following topics:⁣ ✅ Solving business problems in non-traditional roles ✅ How non-traditional roles have helped to shape her career  ✅ Leveraging an actuarial background in a risk management role  ✅ ERM and other responsibilities as Chief Risk Officer ✅ Purchasing insurance for a large corporation  ✅ Her current views on the actuarial profession ✅ Important considerations for actuaries in navigating their careers  ..read more

My guest for Episode 85 is Kellen Booher, Executive Vice President and Global Insurance Executive. The theme for the episode is ?????? ??????????? - ???? ?. Kellen and I explore the following topics:⁣ ✅ How to think about your career at the macro level ✅ M-shaped vs. T-shaped careers ✅ Four types of career experiences that are valuable to have ✅ Differences between mentorship and sponsorship ✅ Tips on finding a sponsor in a corporate environment ✅ Guidance for employees who aspire to be promoted  ✅ Individual contributor, influence, and execution competencies  ✅ Personal developme ..read more

My guest for Episode 83 is Andrew Ngai, FIAA, CERA, Director at Taylor Fry. The theme for the episode is ????????? ?? ???????. Andrew and I explore the following topics:⁣ ✅ Participating in Esports as an actuary ✅ Applicability of the actuarial skillset in Esports  ✅ Developing a passion for Excel beyond everyday actuarial work  ✅ Excel World Championships: qualification, training, and competition  ✅ Lessons from his competition experience  ✅ LAMBDA, LET, and TOCOL functions ✅ The benefits of using dynamic arrays ✅ VLOOKUP, INDEX MATCH, and XLOOKUP tradeoffs ✅ Assessing ..read more

My guest for Episode 82 is Paul Sweeting, Ph.D, FIA, CERA, CFA, FCSI, FRSA, Senior Advisor at Hassana Investment Company. The theme for the episode is ?????????? ???? ??????????. Paul and I explore the following topics:⁣ ✅ Enterprise risk management and its strategic role in organizations ✅ How actuaries add value in ERM ✅ Capital modeling, quantitative risk evaluation, and risk measures ✅ Using multivariate distributions for risk modeling ✅ What copulas are and why they are used for ERM ✅ How to build risk models using copulas ✅ Specific risk modeling applications of copulas ✅ Gaussian, T ..read more

My guest for Episode 81 is Gabriel Ware, FCAS, Transaction Actuary | Consultant. The theme for the episode is ?????? ?????. Gabriel and I explore the following topics:⁣ ✅ What legacy risks are and why risks become legacy risks ✅ Legacy acquisitions in the insurance space ✅ Loss portfolio transfers and adverse development covers  ✅ Key considerations for buyers and sellers in legacy transactions  ✅ Arriving at an ambivalence point when differences of opinion exist  ✅ The role of a transaction actuary compared to that of a traditional actuary ✅ War stories from the most complex ..read more

My guest for Episode 80 is Simon Rees, FIA, Chief Actuary, Americas at AXA XL. The theme for the episode is ?????? ?????. Simon and I explore the following topics:⁣ ✅ Satellite launches, aerospace, and cyber risks ✅ CAT bonds, insurance-linked securities, and alternative capital ✅ Political risk and credit bonds ✅ Professional liability for emerging technologies ✅ Excess and surplus lines of business ✅ Nature, coverage, and unique considerations for non-standard risks ✅ Lloyd’s of London specialty insurance market ✅ Non-admitted US insurance market ✅ Projects actuaries get involved with f ..read more

My guest for Episode 79 is Kalpana Shah, FIA, President of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. The theme for the episode is ????????? ?? ?????????? - ???? ?. Kalpana and I explore the following topics:⁣ ✅ The importance of resilience for people in leadership positions ✅ Her inspiration behind running for IFoA President ✅ IFoA key strategic initiatives ✅ Her views on the actuarial profession ✅ The role of actuaries in the decision-making process ✅ Skills actuaries need to become effective decision-makers ✅ What actuaries can do to improve their presentation skills ✅ Areas of opportunity ..read more

My guest for Episode 78 is William Mahfood, Chairman at Wisynco Group Ltd. The theme for the episode is ???? ?????????? - ???? ?. William and I explore the following topics:⁣ ✅ Wisynco’s distribution and manufacturing operations ✅ The importance of having a sound risk management culture ✅ Key risk management considerations in a diverse business ✅ Sourcing talent, retaining employees, and maintaining personal touch ✅ Cash management and security risk mitigation ✅ Ensuring production meets customer needs ✅ The impact of government policies on operations ✅ Water harvesting from rain to address ..read more

My guest for Episode 77 is Steve Prince, FCIA, Partner at RSM Canada and President of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA). The theme for the episode is ????????? ?? ?????????? - ???? ?. Steve and I explore the following topics:⁣ ✅ CIA purpose, credentials, and strategic initiatives ✅ How actuaries in Canada participated in the pandemic response ✅ His roles in marketing, product development, and consulting ✅ The importance of presentation skills ✅ The most important leadership qualities ✅ Providing actuarial expertise in expert testimony ✅ Canada’s criminal rate of interest ✅ Demutuali ..read more

My guest for Episode 76 is Eric Siegel, Ph. D., Founder of Machine Learning Week and author of ??? ?? ????????: ????????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ???????? ??????????. The theme for the episode is ?????????? ????????? - ???? ?. Eric and I explore the following topics:⁣ ✅ The inspiration behind his new book ✅ The missing link between technology and business ✅ The automation paradox and its relevance to predictive analytics ✅ The reason few models get deployed into production ✅ The six steps to machine learning deployment ✅ Decision trees, logistic regression, Naive Bayes, ensembles, and deep ..read more