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Wendy C. Liang, FSA 2008, CERA, MAAA
Director, Client Service
Delivery
Swiss Re, Zurich,
Switzerland
Brief Description of the type of work you currently do:
I have worked in the life reinsurance space for the last 10+ years with a focus in Risk Management and Reporting, first in the US and currently in Zurich, Switzerland.
Primary Area of Practice:
Life, Reinsurance
Other Areas of Practice/Interests:
International, Technology, Risk Management, Financial Reporting and Valuation/Reserving
Why do you want to be on the Board?
My volunteering journey with the SOA began shortly after I attained my FSA in 2008. Little did I know that nine years later, I'd become ever more involved and love every single aspect of it, having led the International Section Council and serving on other committees/councils. The more work I've
done, the more I realize how I can contribute and share my experiences to help shape the profession. It is with this in mind that I'd like to serve on the Board. I hope to bring my energy and experience to the Board and give back to the actuarial community.
Ethics and Transparency
Ethics and transparency are essential to professional practice and service on the board. How have you demonstrated ethics and transparency in the past? How will your own ethics and views on transparency influence your decisions and actions as a member of the SOA board?
Ethics and transparency are fundamental to building trust, and trust is imperative for a healthy relationship between two parties – in our personal life, between a company and its clients, or between the SOA and its members.
If elected, I will not only act in the best interest of all members, but also push for open and transparent communication where possible. I will behave with honesty and integrity, and disclose any potential conflicts of interests during Board discussions.
The same attitude towards ethical, transparent and honest behavior is also required for my job. In the Client Service Delivery team, I work with technical accountants and we find mistakes in account statements on a regular basis which we communicate to clients regardless of whether it is in our favor or not. The only ethical action is to communicate all findings, even if this means paying a client more than requested. Internally, I also conduct professionalism training sessions. Sometimes, the question of what's ethical or what's “right” isn't always as clear-cut as the example above but in such situations, I always ask myself how I would feel if my actions were publicized. Only 100% confidence constitutes a pass in my personal ethical test.
Team Player
Collaborative working relationships are essential to the governance function of the SOA Board of Directors, especially as board members work with each other, volunteers, and staff to achieve the strategic goals and mission of SOA. Describe a situation from either your professional or volunteer experiences that demonstrated you are a team player.
Being a team player does not mean that one simply says yes to everything. It is actually quite the opposite. A high-functioning team is one whose members are not afraid of sharing opinions and whilst the members do not actively seek conflict, conflicts are also not avoided outright. Constructive feedback is sought and shared, and eventually everyone is on the same page with a common goal and purpose. Consensus-building through open discussion is therefore important for any team.
Being an actuary means that my natural instinct is to value logic and facts above all else. I've always been a firm believer in facts (nothing wrong) and only facts (could be problematic!). In my career, I have however learned to value consensus-building more and more. In a recent simulation exercise with "Change Pro", I experienced once again the power of discussion: particularly to bring others on-board, especially when implementing changes or introducing new ideas. This is particularly relevant, given the complexity and the number of stakeholders involved as the Board members work with others to achieve the strategic goals and mission of the SOA.
I believe the well-known leadership graphic of boss vs. leader would be a good demonstration of me being a team player. In this graphic, the boss sits high above and orders the team to bring the mission forward whereas a leader stays together with the team and they push the mission forward together.
This is also my style when working together with my teams. I spend time at the beginning ensuring our goals are clear and it's only afterwards that we start working together. We voice our opinions, thoughts and concerns; we agree and disagree; and at the end, when we have a consensus, we are then able to move forward effectively and efficiently.
Intellectual Engagement
Board members need to exhibit curiosity and a desire to learn about areas that may potentially impact the SOA and the profession. How do you stay informed about what is going on nationally and internationally, and how do you apply that knowledge into your work with SOA and the profession.
I am a curious person and love learning new things. Because of my curiosity, it is important for me to always understand the problem and any background information as much as possible before making a decision. This together with my love of learning leads me to a need to stay informed both in my professional life as well as in my private life.
In today's world we are all busy professionals, often trying to juggle multiple things at once. Therefore, I rely on daily newsfeeds to keep connected to the world. Being an SOA member outside of North America, internet newsfeeds play an important role for me to remain in touch with what's happening in North America whilst paying particular attention at the same time to any developments in Europe as well as Asia which has always had a special place in my heart given my Asian background. In addition to reading newsfeeds and articles, I've also been very lucky to have a local and global network of colleagues and friends with whom I discuss current trends and industry activities. Through intellectual discussion with others, I'm able to further deepen my understanding and gain valuable insights.
In addition to my interest in actuarial topics around the world, I've also been immersed in the technology space since taking on a new role over a year ago. Currently, I serve on SOA's Technology Section Council and participate in various technology initiatives. With the SOA looking to expand globally and technology playing an increasingly more important role in our lives, I believe the combination of my international actuarial and technology interests would be a key asset to the Board.
Stewardship
Respectful and prudent use of resources is an important function of all board members. Explain how you have demonstrated this characteristic in either your work or volunteer experiences and how it will carry over to your role on the SOA Board.
The challenge of stewardship is how to prioritize the use of our limited resources effectively. This can require some difficult decisions, but when there are 20 competing demands, they logically cannot all be priorities. If we do not recognize this, there is a greater risk of failing to meet expectations on all sides, and of not achieving any of our goals.
As treasurer, vice-chair and chair of the International Section Council, my experience was that open and honest discussions are needed to prioritize the use of our resources in a way that is aligned with our goals, and this applies to both financial front as well as human resources. For example, during 2015-2016, we launched a pilot mentorship program, but in order to keep the pilot under control, we picked two areas to focus on – the Caribbean and Taiwan, in line with SOA's Latin American and Asian strategy.
In a work context, I have also managed the competing demands of various departments to share in a limited budget, which was challenging because of the dynamic nature of managing a global business, and the need to balance various potential priorities. Thanks to my range of experience within the company, I was able to understand the background to the various stakeholders’ commercial and organizational needs, and was able to see their demands in the context of the wider strategic plan. This was an advantage when evaluating the requests and communicating potential solutions to the other decision-makers, and facilitated a better quality discussion of the options for prioritization with the stakeholders involved.
Professional Background
Provide a brief description of your professional background and the type of work you currently do and explain how these experiences have prepared you for the Elected Board Member role.
I have worked in the life reinsurance space for the last 10+ years with a focus in Risk Management and Reporting, first in the US and later on in Zurich, Switzerland.
In between living in America and Europe, I also spent some time working on secondment in Australia and Hong Kong which allowed me to better understand the Asia-Pacific markets. Currently, I head up the global L&H Enabling team at Swiss Re and am responsible for ensuring our global system, process and reporting needs are met in the L&H Division. Prior to my current role, I spent several years working in Risk Management, providing actuarial oversight and governance for the quarterly reserving process. I worked with valuation actuaries across regions on challenges and issues and ensured consistency in reserving treatments.
In addition to my actuarial experience, I would like to also highlight a 1.5-year period between 2014 and 2015 where I worked in operational roles, first as an office manager in the CRO Office and later on as the Divisional Operating Officer for Business Management. In those roles, I gained valuable leadership experience, being responsible for the daily operations of a division and heavily involved with strategic planning topics.
I believe the combination of my international actuarial background in reporting and my operation and strategic planning experience would make me an ideal addition to the Board. I hope to bring international viewpoints and experience to the SOA and at the same time, utilizing my experience of working with others in a range of areas to achieve SOA's goals and mission.
Volunteer and Governance Experience
Describe how your previous volunteer, personal and governance experiences would strengthen your contributions to the SOA Board and organization.
I started my volunteering journey with the SOA shortly after obtaining my FSA credential in 2008. In 2013, after moving to Zurich, I joined the International Section Council, which I later chaired during 2015-2016. I have also served in the International Committee and am a friend to the Reinsurance Section Council. Currently, I am member of the Technology Section Council and the Greater Asia Committee. Through my volunteering experience with the SOA, I've gained a good understanding of how the SOA works, which is essential for anyone hoping to become an effective Board member.
I believe my enthusiasm for working collaboratively in an open environment, my experience running global teams, my network within the actuarial community, and my volunteering experience would all be great assets to the Board and to the SOA more widely. I’ve found that I am able to build strong relationships with colleagues from a range of backgrounds in my company, and I would like to do the same as a member of the SOA board.
