How Nicolette Rubinsztein brings actuarial value to boards and organisational leadership

 

One actuary, many leadership roles

Two ‘sliding doors’ moments, 10 years apart, gave Nicolette Rubinsztein a chance to re-shape the direction of her actuarial career. The first was an unexpected opportunity to move into product development, which satisfied her drive to focus on creativity and empathy.

A second big shift occurred when Nicolette was headhunted for a general manager strategy role a decade later, which set her on a course into leadership and board membership. By then, there had been a big move to increase diversity on boards, and Nicolette found her financial acumen and strategic background made her well-suited to that work. 

Nicolette now enjoys the variety and flexibility of working as a non-executive director at Zurich, UniSuper, CBHS Health Fund and SuperEd. She previously held senior positions at Colonial First State, BT Funds Management, and Towers Perrin. She is also on the board of Greenpeace Australia Pacific and chairs Missionvale Australia.

In 2014, Nicolette was named one of the top 10 powerful part-time workers by Business Insider. She authored a book in 2016 called Not Guilty, offering advice to women on how to juggle corporate careers with raising children. Wearing both her ‘corporate strategist’ and ‘mum of three’ hats, Nicolette applied strategic thinking to the complex challenge of navigating the ‘choppy waters’ of business and family.

In her work as a senior leader, Nicolette brings her actuarial training to think holistically: putting an organisation’s challenges in context. She masters the detail, the financial implications, the risk, and the emerging opportunities and determines the strategic direction.

Nicolette Rubinsztein photo
 

CHALLENGES

Actuaries in C-Suite positions or on boards help organisations ‘do the right thing’ by rising to key challenges, such as:

  • Can we deliver what we’re promising?
  • What are the future unknowns?
  • Are we meeting stakeholder, organisational, consumer and community needs?
 


“I use data for good by making better decisions that improve customers’ lives. We are making promises that should make customers better off, whether we’re providing retirement funding or going to pay a death benefit. We've made that promise, and we need to make sure we keep it so that they have peace of mind.”

Nicolette Rubinsztein


ACTUARIAL APPROACH

Nicolette helps organisations make decisions that are strategically and ethically sound. She draws on complex data, measured projections, and a keen understanding of accountability. Working with these insights, she positions the organisation to deliver on the promises made to its policyholders or members. 


Actuaries in the C-suite are often found collaborating with other board members to work through differences of opinion. Actuaries bring a unique perspective — and that can mean being a lone voice at first. Actuaries work collaboratively to draw out the facts, and reframe the problem brings a diversity of thinking. More perspectives are brought into view; more scenarios considered. All this can build a companies’ resilience.

Actuarial training, strategic thinking and an ethical grounding equip Nicolette to do good across sectors: from finance and insurance sectors to climate change, diversity and inclusion. Whatever the sector, Nicolette uses her actuarial training to think sustainably: equipping organisations to fulfil their promises; now and into the future.

 
   

OUTCOME

Companies who place actuaries in strategic roles are in a stronger position to understand and keep their promises. And that bedrock of trust is good for consumers, for the company and our wider society.

Acting on ethical principles and a well-honed sense of the big picture, Nicolette knows actuaries are motivated to ‘do the right thing’, without bias. 

Nicolette says, “perspective comes out of an experienced professional responsibility to remind people about their obligations. It’s not just an ability to do numbers, but to interpret them and work out their implications.”

Actuarial expertise in the C-suite helps organisations use data for good by supporting accountability, fostering diversity and ensuring value for, customers, shareholders and the community.


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