Candidate Questionnaire
Si Xie, FSA 2012
Head of Financial Planning and Insights
HSBC Pinnacle Venture
Shanghai China
Brief description of current work:
I manage a large cross functional team to provide digital + human hybrid financial planning and wealth management services to Chinese customers. I lead the team to design and develop smart digital tool to enable our frontline staff to meet with clients online and offline. We also leverage technology to design and provide best-in-class financial advice and product recommendation to our clients.
Primary Area of Practice:
Life insurance and financial services
Other Areas of Practice
Data and analytics
Why do you want to be on the Board?
My diverse background in education, innovation and international experience would bring new dimensions and perspectives to the SOA board, help to prepare actuaries and future candidates for the fast-changing landscape, particularly in Asia and assist SOA to achieve greater international success.
Professional Background
Provide a brief description of your professional background and the type of work you have performed and explain how these experiences have prepared you as an Elected Board Member and qualify you in carrying out the strategic direction of the SOA.
I am currently the overall lead for a large cross-functional team to deliver from design to execution for a digital-enabled Omni-channel financial planning journey for one of the most important strategic initiatives for HSBC globally. I have demonstrated my ability to drive large-scale delivery projects and leverage technology to deliver customer-focused solutions in a highly competitive market.
As a senior business leader, I have demonstrated my ability to drive business volume and profit growth through effective distribution management, innovative business strategies, and customer-focused solutions.
Last but not least, as a senior actuarial professional, I also have proven track records in product design, product innovation, and diverse experience in many aspects of product development in Life insurance and saving products.
My diverse background and non-traditional work experience is a good example of how the actuarial profession can thrive in many fields. I believe I can help members prepare for the fast-changing landscape, particularly in Asia.
Volunteer, Governance and Personal Experience
Describe how your volunteer, governance and personal experiences would strengthen your contributions to the SOA Board, the organization, and strategic plan execution. Please list your relevant volunteer experience. Please include the name of the organization, your role, and approximate dates.
SOA (2012 – 2018)
- Corporate Finance and ERM Curriculum General Officer (2016 - 2018)
- Corporate Finance and ERM Curriculum committee (2012 - 2016)
- Corporate Finance and ERM Exam committee (2012 - 2014)
Actuarial Society of Hong Kong (2018 – 2020)
- Member of Exam Task Force to launch exam system from scratch
Canadian Institute of Actuaries (2014 – 2016)
- Member of Communication Committee
Cookhouse Labs (2020 – 2021)
- 3-time judge for the 48-hour hackathon events where teams from different continents join together to compete to solve insurance problems
HSBC business case competition (2019 – 2021)
- 2-time judge for HSBC Global Business Case Competition
My diverse background in education, innovation and international experience would bring new dimensions and perspectives to the SOA board and help SOA to achieve international success.
Agility/Change
What did you learn in the COVID19 pandemic that will help you, post-pandemic?
Humanity, resilience, and agility are the three lessons that I learned during the pandemic. Being in Asia, we were the first to experience lockdown and remote working. At the same time, I was working on one of the most important strategic initiatives for HSBC. It was amazing to see the difference in team spirits when we tried to help each other and show support to each other. Because of the strong team mindset, we could change and adopt new ways of working quickly. At the same time, leaders need to create a safe environment for team members/ colleagues to voice out what is working /what could be done better. It allows us to discover risks and issues quickly and empowers all members to propose solutions.
Motivating/Influencing
Describe a constructive conversation you had in a group setting or one-on-one during which opinions varied and you needed to get to a consensus.
Frequently, we need to debate and make trade-off decisions for each system release scope, especially when IT supply is limited. Naturally, different members within the cross-functional team would have different opinions on what features to be included for the next release. My approach is to get the team to agree on a standard set of criteria to score the features. Then every member of the group would rank the features based on each criterion. We will select features with the highest average scores. This method allows everyone from the team to voice their opinion and get consensus in an open and transparent environment.
Diversity
Describe how your awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion has evolved throughout your life.
Having lived and worked in 3 different continents and being part of one of the largest global organisation, I have a deep awareness of diversity and inclusion and their impact on people’s lives. Being a champion and long-time practitioner of agile and design thinking also enables me to embrace diversity and equity among teams and members. By participating in many international innovation forums, I also have firsthand experience on how diversity, equity, and inclusion drive innovation and solve complex problems.
International
How would your experiences strengthen your understanding of international issues?
I have worked in different companies in Canada, Hong Kong, and China. My past role in a Global Product function provided me an opportunity to develop global product strategy. I also worked with local markets such as UK, France, Singapore, China, HK, and Mexico to build their product strategy that aligned with global strategy and fit for the local market landscape. I have also done significant volunteer work for Canadian Institute of Actuaries and Hong Kong Institute of Actuaries on the education side.
These experiences have given me a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges in different markets internationally. I believe I can provide unique insights to develop our actuaries and students to meet international needs.
Emerging
How does the SOA need to change to meet emerging challenges and opportunities?
Actuaries bring unique skillsets to the future of the economy. We need to help our candidates and qualified actuaries to see the possibilities. I think two key challenges for the profession are staying relevant and contributing to the critical issues such as sustainability, the ever-increasing protection gap, and changing insurance needs due to demographic and lifestyle shifts, etc.