Will shares his unique journey from being a Pensions Actuary in the UK to becoming Head of Investment Strategy in Hong Kong, Head of Sales Operations in Thailand, as well as being an advocate for teaching children about money.

We explore everything from how Will discovered the actuarial profession, transitioning from pensions to investment consulting, relocating with his family from London to Hong Kong, taking some time out of the corporate world and becoming a financial wellbeing advocate & author!

We of course discuss his fantastic best-selling book “Grandpa’s Fortune Fables.” It’s a fantastic way to help children to develop a healthy relationship with money from an early stage, and there is plenty in there for grown-ups too. I’m a couple of chapters in with my 6 year old!

I hope you enjoy the conversation! (And apologies for the audio quality, it dips from around 20mins onwards but is well-worth sticking with :) )

Will's website: https://www.bluetreesavings.com/

Will’s book is available is many good book shops and on amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/6jZfFLq

Please connect with Will here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-rainey-bluetree/

Mentioned in this episode:

Actuarial People is sponsored by my recruitment company Turner Perkins. I specialise in helping pensions actuarial professionals across all experience levels with their career moves. Please visit https://turnerperkins.com or email [email protected] to arrange a confidential conversation!

TP Website

Julian is a Senior Actuarial Consultant and rectification specialist at Capita.

We discuss everything from his journey into the profession with a degree in English Literature, working at consultancies of different sizes, becoming an industry expert in rectifications & GMP equalisation, the importance of building strong technical knowledge early in an actuarial career, Julian’s approach to interviewing people for his team, and his views on the future of pensions.

Julian also shares his perspective on neurodivergence in the workplace, having been diagnosed with ADHD and Autism quite recently. He shares how these traits have shaped his approach to work, highlighting both the challenges and advantages they bring. 

It was a pleasure to get to know Julian and I hope you enjoy the conversation!

01:30 Julian’s history

13:00 What he does now

18:30 His views on pensions

24:00 Neurodivergence

42:30 Final thoughts

Here is the link to the video I mention during the podcast, in which Julian shares more about his experiences with neurodivergence: https://capita.wistia.com/medias/nj9kxxbs2u

Please connect with him here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julian-tolan-fia-96204a15/

Mentioned in this episode:

Actuarial People is sponsored by my recruitment company Turner Perkins. I specialise in helping pensions actuarial professionals across all experience levels with their career moves. Please visit https://turnerperkins.com or email [email protected] to arrange a confidential conversation!

TP Website

Catrin is a Qualified Actuary, Motor Pricing Manager and Author!

Catrin is so passionate about the actuarial profession, and this is a fantastic episode for aspiring actuaries, current actuaries, and anyone curious to learn more about what actuaries do. Catrin shares her views on how actuarial skills can be applied in many different ways, as well as providing insights into the world of insurance!

Starting with a brilliant example from World War II to illustrate how understanding risk can lead to better decision making, moving on to the importance of being able to quantify, manage and trade risk in enabling a functioning society, we then discuss everything from a day in the life of a pricing actuary, the different factors impacting your car insurance premiums, raising awareness & accessibility of the profession, and increasing diversity of thought in pricing teams.

We also chat about Catrin’s brilliant book – ‘A Risky Business: An Actuary’s Guide to Quantifying and Managing Risk in Society’ which is available to buy on Amazon. (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Risky-Business-Actuarys-Quantifying-Managing/dp/3031116720)

I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Please connect with Catrin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catrin-townsend-608b44234/

Mentioned in this episode:

Actuarial People is sponsored by my recruitment company Turner Perkins. I specialise in helping pensions actuarial professionals across all experience levels with their career moves. Please visit https://turnerperkins.com or email [email protected] to arrange a confidential conversation!

TP Website

Back when Actuarial People was just a concept, I said to John Harney ‘If I somehow make it to 50 episodes, I’ll be the guest and I’d love you to host!”

And here we are! This week John is asking the questions, and I genuinely had absolutely no idea what he was going to ask. It was such an interesting experience being on the other end of the conversation, and John was a fabulous host.

So if you’d like to find out a bit more about me, how I got here and my take on various aspects of actuarial careers, please have a listen and enjoy!!

Mentioned in this episode:

Actuarial People is sponsored by my recruitment company Turner Perkins. I specialise in helping pensions actuarial professionals across all experience levels with their career moves. Please visit https://turnerperkins.com or email [email protected] to arrange a confidential conversation!

TP Website

Bobby has over 30 years’ experience in the actuarial industry, and is Managing Director of HS Trustees.

Bobby shares his journey to date, from beginning his career in Life Insurance, transitioning to Investment Consulting and more recently becoming a Professional Trustee. We discuss everything from how he discovered the actuarial profession, memories of interviewing at various stages of his career, his approach to the exams, becoming a people manager, growing teams & business areas, and becoming a confident presenter.

Bobby is the first Professional Trustee I have spoken with on the show, and he gives a great account of what his work involves which may be helpful for anyone thinking of going in this direction in the future.

I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Please connect with Bobby here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/riddawayconsulting/

Mentioned in this episode:

Actuarial People is sponsored by my recruitment company Turner Perkins. I specialise in helping pensions actuarial professionals across all experience levels with their career moves. Please visit https://turnerperkins.com or email [email protected] to arrange a confidential conversation!

TP Website

John is a Partner at Aon, where he leads the Corporate Consulting business across the UK. John is responsible for a team of over 100 people as well as being a lead consultant for a number of corporate clients.

We explore everything from how John entered the actuarial profession as a summer intern, his experience with the exams, starting in a mixed trustee/corporate consulting role, his involvement in setting up a specialist valuations team, transitioning to become a corporate specialist, and becoming a Partner.

John shares his experience of moving into people management & leadership, and how he helps people at key stages of their careers. John also shares his views on the future of the pensions industry, and his keen interest in developing ways to support part-time colleagues in a different way, to help with their longer term development.

I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Please connect with John here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-hardern-65232b36/

Mentioned in this episode:

Actuarial People is sponsored by my recruitment company Turner Perkins. I specialise in helping pensions actuarial professionals across all experience levels with their career moves. Please visit https://turnerperkins.com or email [email protected] to arrange a confidential conversation!

TP Website

Kelly is a Leadership Coach, a Wellbeing Researcher and her background includes being a Qualified Actuary in the pensions field.

We explore Kelly’s journey to date, including how and why she became an Actuary, moving from a consulting environment to an in-house pensions team, her leadership & people management experience, and her decision to move away from an actuarial role to set up her coaching business.

We then explore coaching in more detail, including how people at all levels can benefit from working with a coach, the different areas Kelly coaches people on, a closer look at what the coaching process involves, and the importance of identifying your own individual values, strengths & areas of interest.

I hope you enjoy the conversation!

 Please connect with Kelly here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-esther-davies/

You can find out more about ATEB Coaching by visiting the website: Home | Ateb Coaching

Kelly also writes a blog called 'Time for You', a weekly quick dose of inspiration with a quote, a question, and a recommendation to help you pause and reflect: Time

for You | Ateb Coaching

Please note these are not 'affiliate links' :)

Mentioned in this episode:

Actuarial People is sponsored by my recruitment company Turner Perkins. I specialise in helping pensions actuarial professionals across all experience levels with their career moves. Please visit https://turnerperkins.com or email [email protected] to arrange a confidential conversation!

TP Website

Neel is an Associate Director at WTW, working in the Retirement Team.

Neel began his actuarial career in Kenya before moving to the UK. We discuss everything from how he discovered the actuarial profession, securing his first role, progression quickly into a management position and his reasons for seeking a move to the UK. We explore some of the differences between working in pensions consulting in Kenya vs London, his experiencing of interviewing for UK roles and why he chose to join WTW.

Neel also shares his views on the importance of finding the right balance between work, the actuarial exams and personal life during the early stages of his career.

I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Mentioned in this episode:

Actuarial People is sponsored by my recruitment company Turner Perkins. I specialise in helping pensions actuarial professionals across all experience levels with their career moves. Please visit https://turnerperkins.com or email [email protected] to arrange a confidential conversation!

TP Website

Emma is an Associate Partner at Aon and leads the Bristol Trustee Retirement Team.

We discuss everything from how she discovered the actuarial profession existed, why she chose to work in pensions consulting, understanding the role of a pensions actuary, and how her role evolved over time. Emma shares her experiences of seeking opportunities and stepping out of her comfort zone, and how some of these opportunities influenced her career development.

Emma also shares her experience of going on maternity leave twice, finding the right work-life balance, all whilst going through promotion processes and taking on people leadership responsibility.

I loved getting to know Emma, she is incredibly impressive and I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Please connect with Emma here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-moore-63399713a/

Mentioned in this episode:

Actuarial People is sponsored by my recruitment company Turner Perkins. I specialise in helping pensions actuarial professionals across all experience levels with their career moves. Please visit https://turnerperkins.com or email [email protected] to arrange a confidential conversation!

TP Website

Steve is an Actuary & Corporate Consultant at First Actuarial, based in Manchester.

Steve shares his journey into the actuarial profession, discussing his experiences, challenges, and insights gained over 20 years in the industry. We explore how his role has evolved over time, including becoming a Scheme Actuary before specialising in corporate advice, with a particular emphasis on finding enjoyment & fulfilment in each role rather than focusing on job titles.

Steve also offers advice to graduates and young professionals, including his thoughts on what to look for during the interview process, embracing every opportunity which comes your way, and sharing his views of the future of the profession.

I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Please connect with Steve here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sdeverellsmith/

Mentioned in this episode:

Actuarial People is sponsored by my recruitment company Turner Perkins. I specialise in helping pensions actuarial professionals across all experience levels with their career moves. Please visit https://turnerperkins.com or email [email protected] to arrange a confidential conversation!

TP Website