PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS AND FUTURISM (Vote for up to three candidates) Xiaojie (Jane) Wang Wai (Ryan) Tse Michael Niemerg Jeff Huddleston Garfield L. Francis Bryon Robidoux Kathleen Wang Xiaojie (Jane) Wang, FSA, CERA Predictive Analytics Lead Swiss Re Armonk, NY Xiaojie Wang leads predictive analytics projects at Swiss Re, working with cross-functional teams in the development and implementation of predictive analytics solutions. She has had hands-on experience building predictive models for marketing, underwriting and retention business cases. Prior to this role, Xiaojie was an actuarial analyst on Swiss Re's Population Risk and Data Analytics R&D team with a focus on scenario analysis modeling and L&H research. Prior to Swiss Re, she worked at New Era Life Insurance Company as an Actuarial Analyst mainly focused on life valuation. Xiaojie Wang obtained her Master's degree in mathematics with a focus on actuarial science from the University of Texas at Austin. Planning committee for SOA Predictive Analytics Symposium in 2017 & 2018 Project Oversight Group (POG) for the Data Analytics in Asia Insurance Markets project Friend of the Council for Predictive Analytics and Futurism Section Member of Predictive Analytics and Futurism Section since 2017 Volunteered for SOA Ask the Actuary Virtual Networking Event Volunteered to lead discussion on Accelerated Underwriting during LIMRA advanced analytics study group I have worked with PAF council members to contribute to the recruitment of speakers for the Predictive Analytics Symposium. I am keen to become more deeply involved in the PAF Section in order to help actuaries better cope with ever-changing technology through career transformation and development of analytics skills sets.
Wai (Ryan) Tse, ASA, ACIA Manager WorkSafeBC Vancouver, BC I have been working in the workers compensation insurance sector for almost 19 years after finishing my Masters of Science degree in Statistics. In addition to my involvements in the more traditional actuarial functions like pricing, reserving and financial reporting, my role at WorkSafeBC has also exposed me to other areas such as predictive modeling and scenario analysis. Throughout my career, I have witnessed the increase in applications of predictive analytics techniques (e.g. machine learning) in the insurance industry. Member of the following sections: Predictive Analytics and Futurism Financial Reporting Other Relevant Experience I have been actively participating as a member in the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) Committee of Workers Compensation (CWC) since 2012. I also recently joined the CIA CWC IFRS 17 Task Force to develop guidance specific to workers compensation on implementing IFRS 17 in Canada. A while ago when a friend of mine asked me if I knew anything about Big Data and Predictive Analytics, I gave the following response Actuaries often deal with large volumes of data and we do all kinds of modeling to predict the future, so I guess the answer is yes. Our conversation also led to the discussion of one of the hottest jobs today data scientist. Then I asked myself why can t actuaries do that job? I started to learn techniques/tools such as machine learning and Python and I found that actuaries have a strong mathematical background and the analytical skills to excel in this area. I believe the role of actuaries can be extended beyond traditional actuarial functions. I would like to help share various predictive analytics techniques among actuaries and expand the career opportunities for actuarial professionals through a more active role as a council member in the Predictive Analytics and Futurism Section.
Michael Niemerg, FSA, MAAA Predictive Modeling Manager Milliman Chicago, IL Michael Niemerg, FSA, MAAA is the Predictive Modeling Manager at Milliman IntelliScript where he manages all of the practice's modeling initiatives. Previously, he worked at Health Care Service Corporation in a variety of roles supporting ancillary group insurance products. In addition to his professional responsibilities, he is currently pursuing a Master s degree in predictive analytics at DePaul University where he is performing research on using distributed representations to improve the performance of recommender systems. I am an active member of the Predictive Analytics and Futurism Section, writing articles and presenting at symposia. I firmly believe that the Predictive Analytics and Futurism Section serves two vital functions: to educate and raise awareness for predictive analytics within the actuarial community and to help move actuarial practice forward via the adoption of predictive analytic methods both in traditional actuarial areas and in new areas where actuaries can add value. I would very much like the opportunity to actively build upon and strengthen the section s successes in both of these functions. Jeff Huddleston, ASA, MAAA, CERA Manager Deloitte Consulting LLP Chicago, IL Jeff is a Manager in Deloitte Consulting LLP s Actuarial and Insurance Solutions practice with consulting and direct experience in individual life and annuity product development and pricing, product strategy and distribution, and new business transformation. Most recently, Jeff has been focused on helping traditional and non-traditional insurance consulting clients modernize and transform core business processes through the use of predictive and prescriptive analytics across product lines. Jeff has been a Friend of the Predictive Analytics and Futurism Section for the last several years, including being a regular content contributor and meeting presenter and moderator. Jeff is also a founding member of the SOA Actuarial Innovation & Technology Advisory Group and a member of the Middle Market Project Oversight Group. Jeff is a mentor for undergraduate and graduate actuarial students through University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign alumni mentorship program, is a regular contributor and advisor to several undergraduate actuarial clubs and programs at universities around the Midwest, and is active with the local youth creative writing outreach group Open Books.
Predictive Analytics and Futurism concepts are disrupting and revolutionizing a multitude of industries and professions, and have started to influence the insurance industry and the actuarial profession. As actuaries, it is critical for us to continue to assert ourselves in this space and lead the insurance industry into the future through our unique combination of technical expertise, business knowledge, and critical thinking skills. As I have become involved as a Friend of the Council over the last couple of years, I have developed an appreciation for the great work the Predictive Analytics and Futurism Section has done in helping us as a profession drive to future success. By drawing from my real-world experience deploying predictive analytics solutions to clients across product lines, I am confident I could bring a lot to the council to continue to integrate our section membership. So often, our focus is limited to our own specific areas of practice, and I believe there is huge value to be realized by helping all of us come together and learn from each other. I would like to help facilitate that coming together and make sure we are incorporating knowledge and innovation from across our section and ensuring the content and learning we facilitate brings the most value possible to the section membership. Garfield L. Francis, ASA Associate Actuary Prudential Newark, NJ As an Associate with the Society of Actuaries, I ve taken on numerus roles over the course of my career. I started as an Analyst where I worked primarily on data management. This highly technical role involved a lot of data manipulation and process automation within Excel and Access. I later moved into the role of Assistant Actuary where I drove the conversion and redesign of the Retirement Plan predictive models by providing data and reporting analytics support, communicating across functional teams, conducting source of earnings analysis and attribution analysis. Additionally, I utilized these stochastic and deterministic financial projection models to actively contribute to the analysis, communication of results, design, and planning of long term liability projections such as Embedded Value, Economic Capital, Asset Adequacy, and Budget valuation. In my most recent role, as an Associate Actuary on the Pension Risk Transfer Research and Development team, I assisted in the pricing of U.S. Funded Buyout Pension deals as well as the development of the UK Longevity Reinsurance Collateral models. I m currently a Chair for the Society s Project Oversight Group (POG). In this role, I utilize my knowledge and experience of financial and risk management methods and tools; with the goal of helping to provide research that contributes to the intellectual capital of the Actuarial profession and advances our knowledge base. Additionally, I m an active member of the Predictive Analytics and Futurism Section. In my spare time I work with Habitat for Humanity building houses for underprivileged families and working with individuals that can t read very well. This section has always been a passion of mine since the very start of my Actuarial career. I find the use of past data to make inferences about the future in order to help companies to manage their risk and uncertainty to be highly fascinating. By taking a leadership role in this section, I m hoping to continue to build on this passion by being part of a collaborative community that creates an environment where I will gain a broader perspective.
Bryon Robidoux, FSA, CERA Director and Actuary AIG Chesterfield, MO Bryon Robidoux is an actuary with extensive experience in annuity modeling and software development. While at Actuarial Resources Corporation (ARC), Bryon was responsible for the development and maintenance of the Structured Settlements and SPIA and Earning s Analyzer Lite modules. While at ARC, he was invited by Microsoft to help create the exam for High Performance Computing in.net. He moved onto ING, where he helped rebuild their in-house hedging platform to Graphics Processing Units (GPU) for hedging variable annuities. While at RGA, Bryon was involved in financial reporting, hedging, and experience analysis of their variable annuity treaties. Currently at AIG, he is modeling variable annuities and managing several technology initiatives to increase efficiency and reduce the operating costs of their models. 2014 2017: Predictive Analytics and Futurism Section Council Member 2018: Continued to be responsible for the PAF website and a Friend of the Council This section is growing by leaps and bounds, because it serves as a valuable resource for practicing actuaries. I have already spent three years on the council. I am still actively involved in maintaining their website. It is fun to be a part of PAF at such a critical time. Getting back on the council, I can be an even bigger part of this section and help bring more predictive analytics education to practicing actuaries. Kathleen Wang, FSA Strategic R&D Actuary SCOR Alamo, CA Life reinsurance R&D actuary with extensive experience with data analytics and modeling. Strong expertise in decrement experience analysis using SQL server databases. Background in machine learning and natural language processing. Involved in working with Insurtech startups to bring innovation to life insurance. Volunteered at the Life Insurance Survey Committee, designing, analyzing and publishing research surveys on important topics. Want to bring the power of machine learning to traditional actuarial modeling. Drive innovation in the insurance industry.