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Ben qualified as an actuary through the Actuaries Institute of Australia and is also certified as an actuary through the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) in the UK. In Australia, he has worked in actuarial consulting across long tail reserving and pricing, perils modelling and government projects. He currently works in the London market for a Lloyds syndicate as a reserving actuary.

Outside of his professional life, he enjoys keeping active and travelling.

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Elaine Collins, BSc(Hons), MEc, FIAA, FAICD, is a Fellow of the Actuaries Institute and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She spent 10+ years in Appointed Actuary roles, firstly with KPMG, then as Partner of Deloitte. 

Subsequently, Elaine has spent 10+ years a Non-Executive Director, ten years on the Board of Zurich Insurance, nine years as a Board Member of the ARPC and currently holds three Boards roles: RACV, ANZLMI and Ivory Insurance. Throughout this time, she chaired Board Committees, including Risk, Audit, Customer and Pricing. 

Elaine has 25+ years’ insurance industry experience with expertise in capital efficiency, strategic risk and effective governance within organisations. She enhances linkages between the industry and academia in her role as a Professor of Practice in the School of Risk & Actuarial with the UNSW Business School. Elaine has served on several Institute Committees, including the GIPC and the Professional Practice Committee. 

In this interview, Elaine shares: 

• How she sees actuaries adding value in the boardroom; 
• Current topics organisations are facing and how she sees actuaries adding value; 
• Why collegiality is critical for boards to be effective; 
• Tips for actuaries wanting to contribute in the boardroom; and 
• How she creates balance in her life, while enjoying a diverse and challenging career. 

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Holly Briffa is an experienced consultant and actuary with a passion for transforming data into strategic insights that drive meaningful change. With a background in actuarial science and a career that includes roles at Ernst & Young (EY) and Strategic Project Partners (SPP), Holly specialises in using data analytics to inform decision-making, optimise outcomes, and shape strategies for government, public sector, and corporate clients.
 
Throughout her career, Holly has led a range of high-impact projects, from developing forecasting tools for government departments to enhancing operational models for not-for-profit organisations. Her work blends analytical precision with strategic vision, empowering stakeholders to make evidence-based decisions that deliver results.
 
Recognising the pivotal role strategy consulting played in shaping her career, Holly values how this experience has sharpened her problem-solving abilities and broadened her approach to tackling complex challenges. She is eager to share these insights, believing that strategic thinking and data-driven decision-making can benefit professionals in all industries.

In this interview, Holly shares:

• What she learned from strategy consulting;
• How she uses data to help government and private sector clients optimise outcomes and shape strategies;
• Examples of strategy consulting frameworks that can be helpful for actuaries; and
• Why she decided to return to study to pursue her Fellowship exams.

Read Holly’s article on the Double Diamond framework.
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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.

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Dominic is an Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society. Originally from Jamaica with 13 years of experience in property & casualty insurance and software presales, he is now a Senior Solutions Advisor at SAS where he has been for the last 3 years. In addition to his actuarial career, he is one of the most dynamic content creators in the profession, proficient in 16 different content forms. He is also a professional keynote speaker, focused on maximizing impact and value for quantitative professionals on a global scale. 

Finally, Dominic lives in Los Angeles, California with his girlfriend, two dogs Ziggie and Kent, and enjoys watching European football whenever possible. 

In this interview, Dominic shares: 

• His personal mission as an actuary and content creator, 
• Common pitfalls actuaries make when creating content or using social media, and 
• Advice for actuaries wanting to build their personal brands using social media. 

Visit the Maverick Actuary Website: Your Home For Actuarial Science, Risk Management, And Analytics.

Listen to Live With The Maverick Podcast.

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Find Dominic on Instagram.

Watch Dominic’s talk “Beyond Insurance - Actuarial Science TED-style Talk”.

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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.

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Sidd is a qualified actuary with the Institute of Actuaries in Australia. He has worked across general insurance pricing, actuarial consulting and currently working at the Australian Government Actuary (AGA). He is working on the Priority Investment Approach, which uses actuarial analysis to estimate Australia’s future lifetime welfare costs for the current population. Originally from India, Sidd moved to Australia at the age of 13. Outside of his professional life, he enjoys hiking, trekking, and running. 

In this interview, Sidd shares:  

• Why he became an actuary, 
• His experience of qualifying during the transition to the new education program, 
• Useful strategies for maintaining good mental health, 
• How he uses his actuarial superpowers to make a difference in the world, and 
• His advice for actuaries pursuing Fellowship. 

Read Sidd’s Under the Spotlight article here.

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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:  

• Why analogies are so powerful, 
• Examples of powerful analogies in business, and 
• His process, and tips, for generating powerful analogies. 

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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.

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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:  

• How she built her reputation as a successful actuary and researcher in social policy, 
• What she’s found in her research into childhood autism prevalence in Australia,  
• The evolving data landscape in Australian social services, and 
• Her tips for actuaries wanting to contribute to social policy

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.

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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:  

• What mistakes actuaries commonly make when communicating results, 
• Why getting to know your audience and what matters to them is key to building trust, and 
• How to use more than just data to build C-Suite trust in AI. 

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.

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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: 

• How his online learning platform uses AI to help students prepare for actuarial exams, 
• How educators can use new approaches in teaching actuarial studies, and 
• How we can work together in an AI world so students can learn to use AI and still uphold academic integrity.  

Jeff Yang on YouTube.

The Actuarial Nexus.

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.