Abbey Huang
Head of Industry Fund Pricing
TAL Australia

Abbey currently heads up the pricing team at TAL for one of TAL’s key group insurance partner. Prior to that she held various roles at BT and MLC. Abbey is a member of COVID-19 Working Group. 

Adrian Kerins

Adrian is a Life Actuary who has spent the past 15 years working in one of Australia’s largest banks in a range of actuarial, product and segment roles.  Over the past 4 years, Adrian has worked as the Head of Direct Insurance at CommInsure and is currently the Head of Direct Product at AIA.  Over this time, he has worked across a number of the higher profile issues affecting the direct insurance market including the consumer credit market, hawking of life products, the various regulatory reviews and the financial services royal commission.  More recently, Adrian has also spent time launching new innovative concepts to the market and has been advocating alongside the FSC and other industry participants to help setup the direct insurance industry for a longer term sustainable future.  

Alex Aeberli
Actuarial Senior Manager
EY

Alex is an Actuarial Senior Manager in EY Australia’s Actuarial & Insurance Advisory Services team. He has been working on IFRS 17 related topics in various roles for the past eight years. Alex is currently working with several life insurers, general insurers, and reinsurers in the region on a wide range of topics related to IFRS 17 including technical topics as well as addressing data, systems, and process questions. Prior to moving to Australia, Alex has worked with clients on IFRS 17 topics in Continental Europe and in Asia He was supporting EY’s Korea practice on the first ever IFRS 17 implementation project in Seoul during 2016.

Alex is a member EY’s Oceania IFRS 17 Steering Committee, a member of EY’s APAC IFRS 17 Steering Committee, and a member of EY’s Global IFRS Insurance Technical Panel. He is the functional owner of EY’s Global IFRS 17 technical & operational implementation network.

Alex is a qualified actuary with the Swiss Actuarial Association and has over 9 years’ of international work experience.

Alisha Jones, FIAA

Alisha is a Director, Business Development at RGA. She is a qualified actuary with over 18 years experience in the financial services industry. She joined RGA in 2008 as a Marketing Actuary, having worked in actuarial consulting prior to this, and has held various roles whilst at RGA encompassing pricing, product, business development, risk and capital.

Andrew Matthews

Andrew is a principal based in Melbourne and is an actuary with expertise in Appointed Actuary roles, applying analytics and Organisational Development. He works with a range of insurers informing sound financial decisions, exploring growth possibilities and protecting businesses by ensuring compliance with prudential requirements. Andrew is known for his focus on the commercial and the humanistic and what it means to be team in a world applying analytics. 

Andrew has worked in a range of corporates leading actuarial and risk services. Most recently, he was Chief Actuary at Medibank Private (2013 – 2019).  Other roles include: Partner in financial services for Ernst and Young, serving as leader in risk and actuarial for IAG and CGU (including Appointed Actuary roles in general insurance), establishing actuarial services for the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), and as an analyst at Trowbridge Consulting. In addition to commercial experience leading actuarial and risk services, he is an Associate Professor at Monash Business School and a Board Director at The Stroke Foundation. He is passionate about health and education. 

He works with leaders and their teams to apply analytics and build capabilities to put a shared vision into action.

With over 30 years experience across 7 Asia-Pacific countries, Andy is an actuary who has worked in the investment management and insurance industries. His breadth of experience includes portfolio management, ALM, insurance investment, risk management, business development/M&A, product development, and performance/attribution analysis. Andy has worked with multiple asset classes including equities, fixed income, mortgages, real estate, derivatives, structured investments, infrastructure, private debt and equity. Andy graduated from Macquarie University, Sydney with a BEc (Hons) in Investments and a BEc in Actuarial Studies. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and has served twice as a Council Member. He is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Corporate Directors and is the Chair of the Asia Sub-Committee of the Actuaries Institute.

Antony Claughton

Antony Claughton is an actuary with Finity Consulting with over twenty years of experience working in general and health insurance.  Antony has spent five years working on AASB 17 and is currently a member of the Actuaries Institute AASB 17 Implementation Taskforce, the IFRS17 Professional Guidance Working Group, the AASB Transition Resource Group’s sub-committee on Private Health Insurance and the Health Practices Committee. 

Bartosz is a passionate leader with broad experience across different industries gained in both corporate and consulting roles. He has a proven track record in successfully building and leading actuarial and analytical functions, engaging with executives and boards, developing and implementing impactful data-driven strategies and improving business practices for companies in Australia and New Zealand.

Benita Pienaar

Benita is an actuary with more than 15 years of experience working in financial services. She has held a range of actuarial roles in South Africa and Australia, primarily specialising in life insurance valuation, reporting and capital.

Benjamin Avanzi PhD
Professor
The University of Melbourne

Benjamin Avanzi PhD is Professor at the University of Melbourne. He has worked as an actuarial consultant in Switzerland and Canada, and has held academic positions in Europe, Canada and Australia. Benjamin is a member of the Swiss Association of Actuaries, an affiliate member of the Actuaries Institute. He is an Editor of the ASTIN Bulletin, and an Associate Editor of the journal Insurance: Mathematics and Economics.

Bernard  is Professor and Head of the School, Risk and Actuarial Studies at the UNSW, which has grown to be one of the largest and most successful actuarial departments in the world in both its education and research programs, which is moreover globally ranked #1 business school in risk and actuarial research. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia, a Fulbright Scholar, and obtained his PhD from the ANU.  He is currently on the Board of ASTIN, the non-life insurance section of the International Actuarial Association, and previously also served on the Actuaries Institute Data Analytics Practice Committee.

Brendan is a partner in EY Australia’s actuarial team. Brendan has experience in the insurance industries in Australia, New Zealand and internationally, having worked in corporate and consulting roles for over 20 years.  He leads EY’s IFRS 17 activities in the Oceania’s region.

Brnic leads the development of QSuper’s Asset Liability Management framework, models and governance structures. This includes the analysis of member data as it pertains to understanding the investment liabilities of Accumulation and Income account members. The Asset Liability Management team are responsible for designing the cohort structure and investment strategies for QSuper Lifetime and the investment governance associated with default retirement strategies. The team will also be responsible for the ongoing operational and solvency management of the asset pool for QSuper’s new Lifetime Pension product.

Brnic is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia, Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries (UK) and a Certified Investment Management Analyst of the Investments and Wealth Institute (USA). He serves on the Superannuation Practice Committee, its Projections and Disclosure Subcommittee and the Retirement Incomes Working Group. Brnic is a Board member of the PBSS Section of the IAA, the International Advisory Board of the EDHEC-Risk Institute (France) and the CIMA Society of Australia.

Colette became the Chief Financial Officer & Chief Actuary of AXA Life Re Australia in November 2020, having previously been the Appointed Actuary at Pacific Life Re Australia. Colette has 30 years’ experience working in life and general insurance and reinsurance in Australia and Europe across pricing and reserving, and capital, portfolio and reinsurance management. Colette is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and has had regular involvement with the Institute and APRA on product, regulatory and Appointed Actuary related topics.

Dale is a Director within Ernst & Young’s Actuarial Services practice with over 15 years experience in the Life Insurance industry. He has developed extensive experience across retail, direct and group life insurance and reinsurance, including technical pricing work, evaluating benefit design options and changes to product terms and definitions.

David joined Frontier in 2015 as a Senior Consultant and leads the Members Solutions Group. He provides investment advice to a range of clients and conducts research in the area of retirement strategy and product development for superannuation funds. Prior to Frontier David spent nineteen years at Mercer in both the UK and Australia. Prior to joining Mercer, David was at Towers Perrin for around six years, working with a number of clients in a consulting and research capacity. David holds a Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.

Before joining Mercer, David was at PricewaterhouseCoopers and prior to that was the Foundation Professor of Actuarial Studies at The University of Melbourne. In his two decades in academia, he acted as a consultant to a range of financial organisations, in both the private and public sectors, specialising in superannuation and retirement incomes. He has spoken and written widely in this area and has served on many Government and industry committees. 

David was an independent Board member of Australian Prudential Regulation Authority from 1998 to 2003 and President of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia in 2000.

David has been a Fellow of the Actuaries Institute for 22 years and has worked in the Life Insurance Industry for the majority of that time.  5 years ago David switched to the Academic Sector and has taught and researched in Mathematics and Actuarial Science.

David Millar
Director
EY

David is a Director in EY’s Actuarial Services practice and advises the life insurance, superannuation and wealth management industries.
He has close to 15 years of experience in building, validating and investigating financial models that underpin the provision of strategic advice to boards and senior management.

David provides a wide range of both transformation and remediation assistance to his financial services clients. As part of his role on the LIWMPC, Dave is the sponsor of the Customer Outcome Workings Group, from which this presentation has originated.

David Shuvalov
Head of Retail & Structured Solutions
Hannover Re

David is the Head of Retail & Structured Solutions team at Hannover Re. He joined Hannover Re in 2017 working across Australia and New Zealand and has supported clients with advised & direct individual risk products, financial solutions and longevity reinsurance. Prior to his role at Hannover Re, David has been involved in a wide range of roles including consulting at EY and actuarial pricing, valuation and financial advice remediation at CBA.

Dennis Tay is an Insurance Solutions Manager in the consulting team at Munich Re. He works closely with a broad base of clients in the region to develop and provide innovative solutions across the insurance value chain.

Dennis began his career in London at a primary insurer where he was involved in pricing and portfolio management across personal and commercial lines. He joined Munich Re in his current role on his return to Singapore in 2020. He is a qualified actuary with the IFoA and has an MBA from the University of Oxford.

Dimitri is a Director of Analytics at IAG. He has a particular interest in the advancement of practical actuarial methodology and its realignment with modern advances in optimisation and machine learning. His other interests are in market design and risk theory. Dimitri has a PhD in Computer Science and is currently serving on ASTIN committee of the IAA.

Domenico Giuliano

Domenico joined Magellan in 2007 with responsibility for research coverage of the financials sector.

In 2014, Dom was promoted to Deputy Chief Investment Officer and is the portfolio manager of the Global Sustainable and the Global ESG strategies, while still covering financial stocks. Prior to Magellan, Dom was an executive director at Morgan Stanley, with responsibility for leading sector coverage of insurance companies for Asia Pacific. Dom also worked as a consultant with Tillinghast-Towers Perrin, working across a wide span of assignments.

Dom holds a Master of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.

Dom is a member of Magellan’s Investment Committee

Edward W. (Jed) Frees is a professor in the Risk and Insurance Department of the Wisconsin School of Business and Australian National University. He is the Hickman Larson Chair of Actuarial Science. His research interests are in actuarial science, regression and business forecasting, and panel data. Frees is a Fellow of both the Society of Actuaries and the American Statistical Association. Frees is the only individual to be a Fellow of both organizations. Prior to earning his Ph.D., he was employed by M& R Services (a Seattle actuarial and software consulting firm), John Eriksen’s & Partners (a New Zealand actuarial consulting firm), and the United Kingdom’s Government Actuaries Department. In addition, in 1989-1990 he was a visiting principal researcher at the U. S. Bureau of the Census. His home has been UW-Madison since 1983, where he teaches courses in statistics and actuarial science. Frees received his Ph.D. in mathematical statistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Elizabeth Baker is a risk manager at Hollard Insurance and is the Deputy Convenor of the Risk Management Practice Committee. She has more than 30 years of experience working in financial services in a range of risk management, finance and actuarial roles in Australia, Asia and Europe in insurance companies and in consulting. She has a keen interest in more effective risk management frameworks and the management of both financial and non-financial risks and developing the role that actuaries can play.

Estelle joined Aware Super (formally First State Super) as the Actuarial Practice Lead in August 2020. Prior to that, Estelle was a consultant at Rice Warner and focused on retirement solutions during her time at Rice Warner and prior to that at Mine Super. Estelle is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia (FIAA) and a Chartered Enterprise Risk Actuary (CERA). Estelle is currently the convenor of the Actuaries Institute’s Superannuation Projection and Disclosure Sub-committee.

Fei joined the School of Risk and Actuarial Studies in July 2020 as a Senior Lecturer. She received her BSc. in Mathematics from Xiamen University in 2009, MPhil in Actuarial Science from the University of Hong Kong in 2011, and PhD in Actuarial Studies from the Australian National University in 2015. Before joining UNSW, she worked at the Australian National University as a Lecturer (2015-2018) and Senior Lecturer (2019-2020).

Fei's main research interest lies in predictive modelling and data analytics. She applies machine learning techniques and statistical methods for various actuarial applications, such as mortality modelling and forecasting, macroeconomic and investment forecasting, and general insurance pricing. Fei is also a dedicated educator. Her educational excellence has been recognized by winning the ANU Vice Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence in the Early Career Category (2018) and ANU College of Business and Economics Award for Teaching Excellence in the Early Career Category (2017).

Greg Taylor is Adjunct Professor in the School of Risk and Actuarial Studies at the University of New South Wales, a position he has held since 2005. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Gradient Institute, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to facilitation of the ethical use of algorithms.

He is a Fellow of the Institute and faculty of Actuaries UK and a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia. He holds a doctorate in Actuarial Mathematics and a doctorate in Theoretical Physics, both from Macquarie University.

He worked as an actuary in industry over the period 1962-2013, except for an 8-year period as an academic. Of the 44 years in industry, 35 were spent as a consulting actuary, mainly concerned with general insurance.

Currently Director of Research and Development at Pacific Life Re. Prior to moving into R&D, Helena held various Pricing roles in London and more recently here in Sydney.

Ian has been involved in the superannuation industry for about 25 years. He is an actuary and has been Head of Research at Chant West for the last 15 years. He is responsible for coordinating the research program for super and pension funds, including analysis of the performance, portfolio structure and governance of their investment offerings. The assessment of each fund’s investment capabilities involves review of investment documentation and regular meetings with key investment professionals. Ian also has a strong focus on fees and insurance disclosure and leads an industry-wide group that is helping the industry implement ASIC’s new fee disclosure regime.

She has years of pricing experience at direct insurers and reinsurer in Australia and overseas. She specialises in retail and group pricing, product development and providing innovative solutions to clients.

In addition to her current role, she is a member of the Actuaries Institute Life Insurance and Retirement Education Faculty and COVID-19 working group. Her current research focus is on mortality and morbidity impacts of COVID-19.

Jacqui Goldfinch serves as Legal Counsel at RGA. Skilled in Life Insurance and Reinsurance, Jacqui works closely with RGA’s claims team to trial strategies for improving the strength and sustainability of life insurance products, with a view to embed proven concepts both internally and within major clients’ claims management frameworks. Prior to joining RGA, Jacqui worked in private practice as a general insurance litigator.

Jas Singh
Managing Director
SKL Actuarial

Jas is a qualified actuary (FIAA) with more than a decade of experience in Australia and the UK. He has held roles, primarily in the life and general insurance space, at direct, within the actuarial profession, with strong personal and professional relationships across Australia, New Zealand, the Asia Pacific, and the UK, as well as throughout the insurance sector.

Skilled in the full spectrum of actuarial and analytics roles, Jas has led executive searches for a range of strategic leadership roles, including Chief Actuary, Senior Pricing and Partner. Jas is widely recognised as an industry thought leader and regularly presents at professional actuarial events. He is frequently quoted in industry publications, and he contributes to blog posts.

He believes in the value of learning and growth, both for personal development and business sector. He and his team hold a daily 'meeting of the minds' to resolve any specific recruiting challenges. This consultative approach encourages a smarter, more creative flow of ideas, building a stronger team and brand with more optimal results for clients and candidates.

As Managing Director of Australia's largest specialist actuarial and analytics recruitment and executive search firm, Jas manages both the firm's day-to-day operations and its growth and strategic direction. He plans to grow the brand globally, first by increasing SKL Actuarial's Asian footprint.

When Jas isn't forging client-candidate relationships or running the business, you'll find him either spending time with his wife and beautiful daughters, studying Mandarin, or hitting the golf course, gym or yoga mat.

Jasmine Reynolds

Jasmine is an actuarial consultant based in Finity Consulting’s Sydney office. Since joining there four years ago, she has worked across numerous different industry fields including workers compensation and commercial insurance. She recently joined the mental health practice area, where she has been working with insurers and underwriters to determine their mental health exposure, the trends that are arising out of mental health claims, and what these could mean for the future of their business, as well as research into mental health trends generally. She is passionate about achieving access to mental health treatment for all Australians. 

Jean Nette Koay, FIAA
Superannuation Specialist, Policy and advice
APRA

Jean Nette is a Superannuation Specialist within Policy and Advice at APRA. She is also a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia. Prior to her role in the prudential regulator, Jean Nette has held various roles within the retirement and investments space, having worked across superannuation consulting, financial technology and advice as well as investment management. She is currently a member of the Actuaries Institute’s Superannuation Projections and Disclosure committee and the Wealth Distribution Working Group, and is especially passionate about improving the levels of financial literacy, providing stronger access to financial advice and building a sustainable retirement system for the community.

Jennifer joined the Department of Mathematics  as a (tenured) Professor of Actuarial Science in October 2019. Besides, she is an Associate Investigator at CEPAR, and Netspar Fellow. Her research combines the areas of actuarial science, household, pension and quantitative finance to study the design, risk-sharing and financing of funded and pay-as-you-go retirement income schemes. Jennifer is currently involved in research projects on the financial decision making of households during retirement, life expectancy inequality and design and risk management of equity-linked retirement income products.

Jillian has more than 20 years’ experience in financial services, across investment consulting and funds management, specialising in responsible investment since 2011 and primarily climate change since 2014. As a Principal in Mercer’s responsible investment team, she advises super/pension funds and other institutional investors on why and how to integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, sustainability trends, climate change, and stewardship, within investment processes. This includes working closely with Mercer's regional investment solutions teams to implement best practice.

Jillian co-authored Mercer’s 2015 Investing in a Time of Climate Change report, ‘The Sequel’ in 2019, and the 2020 climate transition advice framework and ACT tool. She has helped dozens of Boards and investment teams to integrate climate change considerations into their decision making. She has worked out of Mercer's Sydney and London offices since 2004, following five years with an Australian multi-manager firm and an early career in teaching.

Jillian holds a Master of Arts in Development Studies from the University of New South Wales; a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma of Education, both from the University of Newcastle; and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from the Financial Services Institute of Australasia.

Johan is a Senior Manager in EY’s Actuarial Services practice and has 2 years’ experience in the Australian Insurance industry. Prior to joining the team in Sydney, he had 15 years’ experience in the South African market of which the majority was in Life Insurance and Reinsurance. Johan held roles in managing valuations as well as product development and pricing teams.

John Price, Lead Ombudsman Insurance
Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)

John has over 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry. Prior to AFCA, John was Lead Ombudsman – General Insurance at the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) Australia, having previously acted as Referee, Adjudicator and a Panel Chair there too.

John was until recently also a Director of State Trustees Limited and STL Financial Service Limited and Chair of the State Trustees Limited Australia Foundation and member of the Audit, Investment and Remuneration Committees.

John is also a Code of Conduct Commissioner for Cricket Australia and Chair of the Pennant Cricket Appeals Board for Cricket Victoria.

John’s industry knowledge has been built through his experience as a solicitor at Maurice Blackburn & Co from 1978, becoming a partner in 1984. He headed up the industrial personal injuries practice until retiring from the firm in 2004.

John also brings his experience as a member of the Accident Compensation Committee for more than 20 years, a member of the Victorian WorkCover Authority Legal Liaison Committee and numerous Victorian Government working parties and advisory groups.

John is a member of ANZOA, the peak body in Australia and New Zealand for industry-based, parliamentary and statutory ombudsman offices.

John is a Principal with Finity Consulting with over 30 years’ experience in insurance, including as an Appointed Actuary and CFO.   For the past 10 years he has led Finity’s New Zealand practice, with a focus on projects related to valuation, capital management and strategy.  He is the appointed actuary for New Zealand’s largest health insurer and the immediate past-president of the New Zealand Society of Actuaries.

John has a background in reinsurance, life insurance and superannuation with 15 years of experience having worked as an actuary advising on a broad range of products, including Group and Retail life insurance pricing and structured reinsurance solutions. Prior to this past decade with the Hannover group, John was a consulting actuary in superannuation for five years. Most recently he was Head of Group Pricing for Hannover Re’s Australian office. He is a fellow of both the Society of Actuaries of Ireland and the Australian Institute.

Jonathan Reeves is Senior Lecturer in Finance at UNSW Sydney and co-founder and director of the UNSW staff spinout Qforesight Pty Ltd. He received his PhD in Economics from Queen's University, Canada and also holds a Masters degree in Mathematics from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His primary expertise is in forecasting of volatility and correlation in financial markets. More broadly, his expertise is in the fields of financial econometrics, forecasting, financial risk management and asset pricing. His research has been published in leading international journals such as the International Journal of Forecasting, Journal of Financial Econometrics and Insurance: Mathematics and Economics. In addition, his research has been presented at numerous academic and industry conferences, including presentations at North American Meetings of the Econometric Society. He has also written op-ed for the Australian Financial Review on a number of occasions and appeared in other media including ABC and Bloomberg News. He has consulted for financial services companies both in Australia and overseas.

Jonathan is an Associate Professor in the School of Risk and Actuarial Studies and Associate Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research at UNSW Sydney. He received his PhD in Quantitative Finance in 2011 from the University of Technology Sydney where his thesis was on the evaluation of early exercise exotic options. His current research interests include longevity risk management, valuation of guarantees embedded in variable annuities and option pricing under stochastic volatility. His research output has been widely published in esteemed quantitative finance and actuarial journals such as Journal of Risk and Insurance, Quantitative Finance, Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, among others and has been presented at various international conferences.

Kieran has over 7 years’ professional experience across a broad range of actuarial positions. His expertise ranges from retirement consulting to investment management, with a particular focus on quantitative strategies.

Kieran has previously designed and implemented alpha and volatility management strategies for leading investment managers and hedge funds. These strategies cover a diverse range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income and currencies.

In addition to his work on the investment side, Kieran has previously consulted to some of the world’s largest companies in designing retirement solutions for their employee base. This breadth of work gives Kieran insight into both sides of the asset liability equation.

Kieran has worked directly with clients across Australia, Europe and North America.

Lesley has had an extensive career in international recruitment and human resources in the Actuarial market.  This began in 1993 in London, following experience in sales and marketing in Life Insurance companies in the UK. 

In 2000 she came to Australia to continue her actuarial recruitment career in a warmer climate and in 2003 Lesley established the International Division of DW Simpson where she was responsible for growing the business in Australia/New Zealand, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

After 3 years as Head of HR for Quantium, in 2014, Lesley became part of the Talent Insights Group and enjoys being immersed again recruiting for the actuarial profession.  She focuses' on actuarial roles at all levels and works closely with her colleagues at Talent Insights who specialise in Data Analytics roles.

Lesley holds a degree in Business Studies, a Master of Asian Studies, a Graduate Certificate in Human Resources, and has just completed a Master of Culture Studies at the University of Sydney.  She has carried out a number of volunteer roles for the Institute over the years, including the CPD committee, the DIWG, on the editorial team of Actuaries Digital and numerous conference organising gigs.

Not one for always relaxing quietly, Lesley enjoys the freedom of flying aeroplanes via her Private Pilot’s license, often upside down!

Liesje Jansen van Rensburg
Senior Pricing Actuary
Gen Re Australia

Liesje is a life insurance actuary with extensive experience across pricing, product development and valuations. She started her career in valuations at Discovery Life in South Africa and then moved to do pricing and product development at BrightRock, an innovative start-up life insurer.  In 2016 Liesje moved to Australia where she did embedded value reporting and FP&A at MLC and then consulting at EY before joining the Gen Re pricing team in February 2020.

Liesje has a keen interest in start-ups and using technology to streamline operational processes and enhance customer experience.

Linda Cunningham
Head of Debt and Alternatives, Cbus Super
Bachelor of Business (Accounting), CPA, GAICD

Linda is Head of Debt and Alternatives at Cbus, a $60B industry super fund and is responsible for overseeing the credit, fixed interest, cash and absolute return strategies.  In this role, Linda oversees external investment managers as well as managing the Fund’s Australian direct debt strategy, which invests across corporates, infrastructure and property debt. Linda joined Cbus in 2016 and is an experienced debt and credit portfolio manager with over 30 years’ experience with a background across Australian banks and retail and institutional fund management.

Louis is a qualified actuary and a Partner in Deloitte’s Actuarial and Insurance Solution practice based in the Hong Kong office, where leads the practice for the General and Health Insurance sector. He joined the firm in 2020, and has more than 20 years experience in the insurance and reinsurance industry across Asia and Australia, for both General and Life & Health Insurance companies. Most recently, he was the Asia Pacific Chief Financial Officer for Scor Global Life.

Louis has extensive experience in strategy, M&A, market expansions, ecosystem and Insurtech partnerships, products and propositions, pricing, customer analytics, finance transformations, actuarial reviews, and reinsurance optimization.

Marc Sofer is Head of Data and Strategic Analytics – Asian markets for RGA Reinsurance Company, based in Hong Kong. In his role, Marc is responsible for leading and executing RGA’s regional data and analytics strategy aimed at creating, commercializing and extracting maximum value from data driven initiatives.

Marc has a wealth of actuarial, risk management and business development experience. He has held both local and regional level pricing and business development roles since joining RGA in Australia in 2010. He most recently served as Head of Malaysia and Indonesia Markets, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Before joining RGA, Marc was with Swiss Re Australia, where he was a Marketing Actuary in Life and Health Client Markets. Prior to that, he was with MBF Australia (now part of Bupa Australia Health Pty Ltd), where he participated in both actuarial and business development work. Marc has also worked for Discovery Health South Africa.

Marc’s Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Actuarial Science and Statistics is from Wits University, Johannesburg, South Africa, and he also holds a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A) from the University of Western Ontario, Ivey Business School. He is a Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries (FFA) and of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia (FIAA).

Mark Samuels is a Principal and Senior Actuarial Consultant in Mercer’s Institutional Wealth business having joined Mercer in 2018 following his move to Australia in 2016. Mark is responsible for managing client relationships, advising defined benefit and accumulation superannuation plans on regulatory and contribution rate requirements, accounting valuations and strategic asset allocations. Over the last 18 months, Mark has also focussed his time providing strategic advice relating to the Member Outcomes Framework requirements.

Mark holds a Bachelor of Actuarial Science (First Class Honours) from Heriot Watt University in Scotland, is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in Australia and the UK.

Matt Battersby is the Chief Behavioural Scientist at RGA. Based in RGA’s London office, he is responsible for the effective development and deployment of behavioural science-informed models to RGA and to its clients for use in underwriting, claims, risk management and customer engagement.

Prior to joining RGA, Matt was Managing Director and head of the behavioural science team for the communications firm Hill+Knowlton Strategies, where he worked with a wide range of organizations to implement behaviour change strategies to help meet diverse business goals such as increasing sales, improving customer engagement, and encouraging healthier lifestyles. While there, he also developed the SMARTER™ behavioural communications model for analysing and influencing audience behaviour.

Matt has a Master of Science (MSc) in Behavioural Science and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics and Philosophy.

Matt is the owner and founder of MNC, a firm of consulting actuaries, data scientists and researchers. Matt’s career in insurance spans more than 25 years and he previously held leadership roles at Swiss Re and CommInsure. MNC is conducting research on mental illness, which is supported by the Entrepreneurs’ Programme, an Australian Government initiative. MNC is also developing a decentralised finance solution for life insurance, using blockchain technology.

Matthew Buckle

Matthew is a Manager EY’s Life Insurance and Wealth Management Actuarial Services practice based in Sydney.  He has experience in the insurance industry in South Africa and Australia, having started his career in Cape Town before moving to Sydney with EY in 2019.  

Matthew has significant technical expertise in Life Insurance valuations, capital management and process improvement and is an active member of EY’s Global IFRS 17 Implementation Network as well as an active contributor to IFRS 17 thought leadership.

Matthew Dabrowski

Matthew is a consultant at Taylor Fry, where he joined the insurance team as a graduate in 2020. He has experience in traditional actuarial work for general insurers and self-insurers, as well as non-traditional experience supporting health sector organisations. Matthew holds Bachelor degrees in Actuarial Studies and Science (Statistics) from Macquarie University and is working towards qualifying as a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia. 

Matthew is a Senior Consultant with Dynamo Analytics, an international consulting and software provider headquartered in London. He has 8 years' experience in general insurance consulting across the Australian, United Kingdom and Nordic markets. He has advised insurers and government clients in a range of areas, with a particular focus on reserving and process industrialisation. Matthew is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.

A Fellow of the Actuaries Institute, Matthew Wood is the Chief Compliance & Risk Officer of AXA Life Re Australia, having joined the team late last year. Matthew has over 25 years’ experience working in senior consulting and corporate life insurance roles across Australia, Europe and America including pricing, reserving, business planning, strategy, capital management, M&A, compliance and risk management. Matthew has had regular involvement with the Actuaries Institute, with a particular interest and experience in actuarial education, including as Chief Examiner for the Part 3 Life exams. While Matthew was born and bred in the UK, shortly after qualifying at the turn of the millennium he travelled around the world, fell in love with Australia and hasn’t quite managed to leave since.

Melanie is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and her work focuses on retirement solutions and modelling, calculator development, and risk management.  Melanie has experience using actuarial techniques to develop models, strategies, and tools that assist with product development and the provision of financial advice that allows for uncertainty and risk. She has experience in SMSFs, superannuation and retirement, with extensive knowledge of Australia’s retirement system, best practices and legislation. Melanie is a member of the Actuaries Institute Retirement Income Working Group and Wealth Distribution Working Group, and the SMSF Association Regulatory Committee.

Dr Michael Neary

Michael is the Director and General Manager of DXC Technology, a leading IT company focusing on workplace modernisation. With more than 20 years’ experience in financial services, including numerous executive and board roles, he is responsible for software, claims processing and technology for the firm’s insurance clients.

Michael is passionate about innovation and sees cyber insurance as the next growth area, bringing technology and insurance together. He has led numerous new product initiatives and completed a doctorate in Corporate Entrepreneurship Innovation and in Australian Financial Services. 

Michael is a Senior Manager at QBE with over 10 years of experience in general insurance and is currently leading the transformation of the actuarial reserving process for the Australian, New Zealand and Pacific business. Michael has an abiding interest in the role of the actuary in driving better business decisions, supported by efficient data, systems, and processes. Michael is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.

Michael specialises in providing strategic advice to the superannuation industry. He founded the firm in December 1987 and was the Chief Executive Officer until March 2019, when he stepped down to focus on key client work and public policy.

Michael contributes to Rice Warner’s public policy work, which includes submissions to government inquiries and research.  He has undertaken pioneering research into Age Pension dependency and trends.  He has a keen interest in the integration of social security and superannuation, as well as measuring the adequacy of retirement incomes.

Michael has had several industry roles over the years, including being:

• A former Councillor of the Actuaries Institute and an active volunteer. He is a former member of its Public Policy Council Committee from 2014-2019 and was awarded Actuary of the Year for 2017.
• A member of the Advisory Board of the ANU College of Business and Economics (2014 to present).
• A Trustee director of StatePlus from October 2016 to June 2019.
• Chair of QSuper’s Investment Committee from January 2009 to June 2013, remaining as an independent investment expert on the Committee until March 2016.

In 2020, Michael was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia, “for distinguished service to business and economics, particularly to the actuarial profession, and through advisory roles”.

Michael has been with RGA since 2006 and in his current role of Technical Product Consultant he assesses changes to products and provides technical advice to both internal and external stakeholders.

Having worked for direct insurers and reinsurers over more than 35 years, Michael has gained broad experience in the areas of claims management, product development, underwriting, new business, policy administration and operational risk & compliance. He is a passionate advocate for consumers interests being met.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Sydney, as well as a Master of Dispute Resolution from the University of New South Wales, and is a Fellow of both ANZIIF and ALUCA.

Michael Sherris is a part time Professor in the School of Risk and Actuarial Studies having retired in 2016. His part time role concentrates on research, research student supervision and mentoring of early career researchers particularly through the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research where he is a Chief Investigator and Director of Industry Engagement. He was Head of Actuarial Studies at UNSW until 2010 having been appointed to UNSW in 1998 to establish the Actuarial Studies program. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia, the Institute of Actuaries (UK) and the Society of Actuaries (North America).  His research focuses on longevity, health and functional disability risk modelling, long term care insurance and longevity risk management.

His research has won a number of awards including the International Actuarial Association Bob Alting von Gesau AFIR Prize, Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) annual prize for the most valuable contribution to casualty actuarial science published in American Risk and Insurance Association (ARIA) literature, a Geneva Association/IIS Research Program Shin Research Award For Excellence, the Redington Prize of the Society of Actuaries, Best Paper prize for the North American Actuarial Journal and the H M Jackson Memorial Prize of The Institute of Actuaries of Australia. In 2007 he was awarded Australian Actuary of the Year in recognition of his contributions to actuarial research and education both internationally and within Australia.

Forward-thinking insurance leader with a passion for data science and actuarial innovation to deliver insight driven outcomes. Michael is a qualified actuary with broad general insurance experience focusing on delivering strategic value through data science, helping start-up ventures, cloud analytics, underwriting, reserving, product development and pricing in diverse global markets. 

Michelle is a qualified actuary in actuarial consulting at Deloitte. She has previously worked in life insurance pricing, valuation, capital, and R&D roles, Michelle is passionate about understanding the broader impacts of climate change, particularly on life and health, and roles that actuaries can play in forming solutions. She is a member of the Institute’s Climate Change Working Group and the COVID-19 Working Group, and has contributed to major publications and information notes.

Mudit Gupta

Mudit Gupta is an actuary specializing in data analytics and risk management. He is part of Deloitte’s Business Algorithms unit helping organisations design, implement and monitor data solutions and algorithms that are consistent with an organisation’s corporate and social objectives.

He has led a wide spectrum of initiatives within insurance companies and banks in Australia and Asia region including standing up actuarial functions, led pricing and product development unit, launched new digital products, led claims effectiveness initiatives, led insurance procurement for complex organizations and managed financial advisor risk through data.

Mudit is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales.

Nathan Thomas

Nathan Thomas has over 20 years of global life insurance experience and has previously held the roles of Chief Actuary, Appointed Actuary and Head of Customer Propositions. Nathan is currently the Director of Data Science & Multinational Sales at Montoux based in NZ while completing an Executive MBA at Victoria University of Wellington. Nathan is passionate about improving the experience and value customers get from life insurance products and is exploring ways this can be achieved through the innovative use of data and technology.

Pallav Bajracharya

Pallav is a Senior Manager in EY’s Actuarial Services practice and has over 9 years’ experience in the Life Insurance industry in Australia. During his time in time in EY, he has worked across a number of life insurance product, pricing and claims data roles. Prior to joining EY, Pallav worked at CMLA as a Pricing Manager in the group life insurance pricing team.

Peter Godbolt

Peter was born in Cambridge, England, and studied and worked in London, before moving to Sydney, Australia over 15 years ago. He has been involved in software development for over 20 years, working as a full stack developer with a wide range of experience before being bitten by the blockchain bug in 2013.

A veteran of many technological cycles, Peter values a pragmatic approach, seeking to harness technology and tools which share the values of openness, clarity, and quality. His experience ranges from participation in the token sale to raise funds to create the Ethereum blockchain, to the development of protocols and tools to tokenise, capitalise and exchange value across the globe in the blockchain space.

He has been a founder and tech lead on a number of projects, and continues to build notable applications and tools, including Frankl Open Science, and The Hut34 Project. These projects are building tools to power academic data hubs, and the new data and decentralised financial economies.

In addition, he is the architect of the world's first Google powered Ethereum wallet and the hutX data exchange protocol - Facilitating secure, trustless, data exchange and sharing across enterprise and academia.

He also enjoys sailing, the piano, and as much sleep as 3 children allow.

Philip Chu

Philip has over ten years’ experience as an Actuary with exposure in superannuation consulting and wealth management.  Recently, he has been pursuing his passion for looking after members’ best interests providing support on superannuation trustee matters. He has recently taken the reigns of the Wealth Management Sub-Committee from Doug Isles.  

Phin Wern Ting
Group Pricing Actuary
Hannover Re

Phin is a Group Pricing Actuary at Hannover Re, focusing on product, pricing and reinsurance solutions for group life business. She is a fellow of the Actuaries Institute, with a broad range of experience in product and pricing, financial reporting, valuation and capital. Prior to her current role, she was at ClearView and TAL where she held roles in different functions across retail and group businesses.

Ramanuj Bhangdiya

Ramanuj is a manager in EY Australia’s actuarial team. He has about 12 years of experience in the Life Insurance in Australia and India and in the UK Pension. He has experience of working on multiple valuation and reporting standards including MoS, IFRS 17, USGAAP and Indian GAAP. He has worked on multiple complex model design, implementation and validation projects.

Ramanuj is a qualified actuary from Institute of Actuaries, Australia and Institute of Actuaries, India.

Rein is the Head of Investment Performance and Operations, where he is also leading the investment performance and data capability for the $100bn fund. Rein holds a number of board and committee positions, including being the Australian representative on the IAA Education Committee, Education Council Committee for the Actuaries Institute, CFA Society Sydney Director, Investment & Wealth Institute’s APAC Advisory Council, the CIMA® Society of Australia’s Education Committee, the Wealth Management Practice Committee of the Actuaries Institute and Convenor of the Investment Management and Finance Education

Richard joined Rice Warner in June 2015 while putting the final touches on a thesis in Quantitative Risk.  Now graduated, Richard applies his experience to the wealth management sector to:

• Produce a range of Rice Warner’s Public Policy submissions, particularly regarding the development of retirement products and assessing the long-term sustainability of the superannuation sector.
• Review and provide guidance on the behaviour of investment strategies.
• Provide strategic advice to superannuation funds regarding their market position, potential member retention strategies, mergers and acquisitions.
• Leverage data analytics to improve member outcomes through Rice Warner’s Super Insights research.

In addition to a combined Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science (Adv. Math) degree from the University of New South Wales Richard has qualified for fellowship of the Institute of Actuaries Australia (FIAA). During this study Richard specialised in Investment Management and Finance and was subsequently awarded two Andrew Prescott Prizes for the highest performance in each examined course. 

In his spare time Richard researches artificial intelligence, spends hours in the kitchen and is currently training for his first Ironman triathlon.

Richard Hartigan is a general insurance actuary working in London. He graduated from Macquarie University (BEc) in 1992, and completed a MBA (with Distinction) at Cornell University’s Johnson School in 2003. He is a member of both UK (FIA) and Australian (FIAA) institutes.

Richard is Head of Actuarial (Transformation and IFRS) at TAL, a position that he has held since June 2019. Before that, he was Head of Actuarial (Individual Risk) at TAL, a position that he had held since October 2016.

Previously, he was a Director of the actuarial consulting firm PFS (Professional Financial Solutions).

In addition to his current role and his many years of consulting, Richard has been CFO of a medical indemnity underwriting agency, Chief Actuary of a life office and a Partner in the actuarial practice of an accounting firm.

Richard is a co-author and co-editor of both editions of the Control Cycle textbook, Understanding Actuarial Management: the actuarial control cycle.  He has served on several committees, task forces and working groups of the Actuaries Institute and was a member of Council many years ago.

Richard currently leads a sub-group of the Institute’s Covid-19 Working Group. He also spends a bit of time in his day job supporting TAL’s Covid-19 response.

Ross Simmonds

Ross is a Director at Taylor Fry and President of the New Zealand Society of Actuaries. He has more than 20 years of actuarial experience in general insurance across pricing, reserving, strategy and analytics. Ross has held Appointed Actuary roles and worked with a variety of government and corporate organisations in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. 

Sara Goldberg
Head of Global Products and Analytics
Gen Re

Sara Goldberg joined Gen Re Life/Health in Cologne in 2011, where she first worked in R&D and then for the Asian markets, serving as Regional Chief Actuary for Life/Health business in eastern Asia. She re-joined R&D in 2020 and heads Global Products & Analytics.  Prior to joining Gen Re in Germany, she practiced as a life and health actuary in the US; she is a member and former board member of the Society of Actuaries, and holds her masters in data science from Johns Hopkins University.

Sarah Hogekamp
Pricing Actuary
Gen Re Cologne

Sarah Hogekamp joined Gen Re in January 2018 after completing a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Bonn.

Within the Global Life/Health Research and Development department she is a product specialist for critical illness and health insurance and supports Gen Re’s clients worldwide with the design and pricing of life insurance products.

Sarah is currently finalizing her professional education to become a member of the German Association of Actuaries (DAV).

Shahzad Karamally

Shahzad is a qualified actuary with over a decade of actuarial experience in the financial services industry, primarily within Australia and Singapore. He has worked across wide range of actuarial projects within the wealth and life insurance space. He is experienced in commercial management, appointed actuary services, product development and launch, systems testing, transaction support, and analytics. He has also been an active member of the Singapore actuarial community and worked across the industry to launch a life insurance comparator tool. More recently, he has been focusing on developing the wealth management offering and reviewing regulatory compliance of new legislation for major industry participants.

Shang Wu is a Senior Investment Analyst in the Investment Strategy team at Aware Super, formally known as First State Super. Shang joined Aware Super in August 2017 and in this time has focused on retirement strategy research including the development of retirement solution for the fund. He is responsible for member outcomes modelling and the collaboration between the fund and academia. Shang also provides research support to the fund’s national-wide financial planning network and contribute to the active asset allocation process of the fund. Shang has over 8 years of experience in the retirement strategy research. 

Prior to joining Aware Super, Shang was a Senior Research Associate at the University of New South Wales where he obtained his PhD in Actuarial Studies. His academic research focuses on financial decision making in retirement. He has published several papers in leading international economic journals.

Shang is also an Associate Investigator of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) and is a member of the Retirement Income Working Group of the Actuaries Institute.

Sharanjit Paddam
Head of ESG Risk, QBE Insurance Group

Sharanjit is Head of ESG Risk at QBE Insurance Group, where his responsibilities include reporting on climate-related risks & opportunities.  He was previously an actuarial consultant to general insurers and banks in the UK and Australia, specialising in natural disasters and climate risk management, disclosure and strategy.

Sharanjit is co-chair of technical working group 3 – on Better Informed Decisions – of the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative. He leads the secretariat for the Climate Measurement Standards Initiative, is a member of the Actuaries Institute's Climate Change Working Group, the Investor Group on Climate Change’s Resilience and Adaptation Working Group, the Insurance Council of Australia’s Climate Change Action Committee, and a contributing author to the IPCC AR6 Working Group II Australasia.

Siu Yin Liu
Senior Pricing Actuary
Gen Re

Siu has held roles in life insurance, general insurance and risk management, having worked in London, Hong Kong and Sydney.  She joined Gen Re in 1997 as part of the Hong Kong Life/Health operation and moved to Sydney in 2002; here, she has served as Appointed Actuary for the general reinsurance operation and Chief Risk Officer for both subsidiaries, before re-joining the life side in 2020 as Senior Pricing Actuary.

Stuart Rodger 

Stuart is a company director on the Boards of the San Foundation and the International Actuarial Association Health Section.

Previously a partner in Deloitte and the leader of the firm’s health actuarial and health insurance businesses, his career has focussed on health and health finance for nearly two decades.

Earlier he has worked as a business manager and actuary in several different countries and industries.

Tim has over 25 years of financial services experience across both banking and wealth management and currently consults independently as a senior financial services and ERM actuary.  Tim also teaches Enterprise Risk Management at the Australian National University in Canberra and for the Actuaries Institute of Australia.  Tim is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and a Chartered Enterprise Risk Actuary.

Tim Spicer

Tim has over 25 years actuarial experience in a variety of roles in consulting and corporate, private and government, in Australia and New Zealand, and largely as a GI Actuary. For much of 2015 - 2019 he was Appointed Actuary to an insurer that sold Add-On Insurance products through car dealerships. During this time he was heavily involved in the reviews and reforms undertaken by ASIC, which ultimately resulted in the Hayne Royal Commission of Inquiry and monetary remediation paid to adversely affected consumers by his employer (and other Add-On Insurers). He was also involved in the re-design, re-pricing and implementation of better products whose aim was to deliver fairer outcomes to consumers.

Tin Long Ho 

Tin Long Ho is an Associate of Institute of Actuaries of Australia and a Scientia PhD candidate from the School of Risk and Actuarial Studies of UNSW. His research focuses on the optimal retirement financial decisions of older households and the design of retirement financial products including long-term care insurance and reverse mortgages. Before starting his PhD, he worked in a pricing team of a life insurance company in Hong Kong. He completed his Bachelor (Honours) Degree from the University of Melbourne.

Tony Diep
Senior Consullttant
EY

Tonnyis a Senior Consultant in EY's Actuarial practice who focuses on providing actuarial and strategic consulting advice to wealth management and superannuation clients.

Victor is a Director within EY's Financial Services Risk Management Team and has over 17 years' experience across across life, health & general insurance. He has a background in underwriting, product design & governance, market entry strategy, digital platforms and health/medical data. His experience has included launching direct life insurance for Amex across Asia, managing the market entry strategy, operational assurance program and APRA registration of a specialist corporate health insurance startup and designing a market-first insurance platform, delivering health technology, health services and retail PHI services to 24,000 CBA staff across Australia, recognised as Best International Wellbeing Program at the 2018 HRD Awards. Victor works with insurers & other financial institutions focused on governance, regulatory and risk management, compliance, claims practices, conduct and culture.

Vivian is an Actuary with over 10 years experience in superannuation consulting. He is currently working as a Senior Strategy Analyst at UniSuper and was previously Senior Consultant at MLC Wealth and a Consulting Actuary at The Heron Partnership and Russell Investments, providing actuarial and strategic advice to a wide range of superannuation funds and employers. Vivian is a member of the Actuaries Institute’s Superannuation Practice Committee, the Life Insurance and Retirement Education Faculty and helped educate a generation of Part 3 superannuation students through course leader roles across the 6A, 6B and CAP subjects. 

Vivian Yu

Vivian has over 10 years professional experience as an Actuary whose career has spanned areas ranging from technical and operational roles in Valuation and Wealth Management through to product development in both the investment and life insurance sectors. She is passionate about creating better financial outcomes for all Australians who are in retirement or approaching retirement. Her recent roles include working as the capital manager in the innovation and development team and as senior pricing manager in group insurance of MLC Life. Her role sees her carrying out research, development and implementation of innovative ideas to make life insurance, one of the oldest financial products, more relevant in the contemporary context and in meeting the ever changing needs of Australian customers.

Dr Weihao Choo leads the consulting team at Munich Re, which develops and provides solutions to reinsurance clients across Asia. The consulting team comprises of actuaries and data scientists, and works closely with underwriters, natural catastrophe experts, IT and other specialists.

Weihao started his career in a primary insurer in Singapore before joining a consultancy in Sydney. When Weihao joined Munich Re back in Singapore in 2017, he was the head of enterprise risk management for the APAC MEA region. Weihao subsequently took on the head of consulting role in 2019.

Wilfred Tung

Wilfred is Regional Head of Pricing - Research and Development, Asia. Prior to assuming this role, he served as Chief Pricing Actuary for Hong Kong and Southeast Asia and Head of Product Development, Asia. He has been involved in developing numerous products for the insurance industry including early critical illness, cancer reimbursement and many other new risks.

Wilfred has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of New South Wales and has a Masters of Business Administration from Macquarie University. Wilfred is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia (FIAA).

Win-Li Toh

Win-Li is an actuary with more than 25 years of consulting experience in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. As a Principal at Taylor Fry, she is co-lead of the insurance practice, responsible for actuarial and analytics strategic management. She also advises workers compensation schemes, and assists insurers through legislative change, mergers and acquisitions.

Win-Li is a keen advocate for the industry and young actuaries, with a focus on collaboration and new ideas towards a sustainable future. She is convenor for the Actuaries Institute General Insurance Practice Committee, and is a regular panel facilitator and event speaker. 

Dr. Xiao Xu is a Lecturer in the School of Risk and Actuarial Studies and the Academic Mentor for the Actuarial Society of UNSW. Her research interests centre around variable annuities, retirement planning and artificial intelligence (AI) deep learning. Before joining UNSW, Xiao had three years of industry work experience in life insurance, consulting business and VC entrepreneurship. Xiao holds several professional qualifications: Chartered Financial Analyst, Chartered Accountant - Australia, Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia, Certified Public Accountant – USA, Financial Risk Manager (2016), Fellow of Society of Actuaries and Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst.

Young is the Manager of Actuarial & Research at UniSuper. He is currently a member of the Institute’s Superannuation, Projections and Disclosures Sub-Committee, the Commercial Actuarial Practice Faculty, and the Life Insurance & Retirement Education Faculty.

Nick Callil is Head of Retirement Solutions for Willis Towers Watson Australia. He leads the firm’s research in the area of retirement strategy, and consults to Australia’s leading superannuation funds, financial institutions and government bodies on superannuation and retirement, advising on retirement and accumulation phase design, default investment option strategy, longevity risk solutions, safe spending rates in retirement, lifecycle design and digital provision of retirement income projections.  He has authored papers spanning topics including retirement strategy for Trustees, bucket strategies in retirement, dynamic lifecycle strategies and evaluation metrics for retirement products. 

Nick is an actuary, an Adjunct Fellow at the Macquarie Applied Finance Centre and a member of ASFA’s Super System Design Policy Council. He is a regular speaker and presenter at industry and professional conferences in Australia and internationally.

Dr Ramona Meyricke

Ramona is an actuary and a Director at Taylor Fry, with experience across the superannuation, life insurance, health and government sectors. Her recent projects have focused on using data, analytics and actuarial modelling to improve government, health and disability systems and services.

Ramona is an active member of the Institute’s Climate Change Working Group and has a particular interest in helping businesses and government manage climate transition risk.

Previously, Ramona presented to the Actuaries Institute on the impacts of climate change on heat-related deaths, air pollution and bushfires, and the subsequent health costs to government. Her work encompassed further wide-ranging implications of climate change, such as lower investment returns and superannuation contributions, which result in lower retirement incomes.