Candidate Questionnaire
Sara Goldberg, FSA 2008
Head of Global Products & Analytics
Cologne Germany
Brief description of current work:
Oversee actuarial research; assist our markets and clients through advanced analytics projects, product development and risk assessment, pricing, as well as digital solutions (insurtechs).
Primary Area of Practice:
Life, Health
Other Areas of Practice
Analytics, research, innovation/tech, climate risk
Why do you want to be on the Board?
I have been fortunate to sample many niches within actuarial practice, and become expert in a few – some of which happen to align with some profiles and descriptions I have seen in the “actuary of the future”, when I read the Actuary magazine articles I help to publish. I am at ease in intercultural communication and familiar with market differences through my international experiences. As part of my current job I am responsible for tracking emerging risks and opportunities – for my employer, for our clients, and implicitly for actuaries. This includes being tasked with research around climate risk, tracking software developments and opportunities with insurtechs, along with having one ear to the ground for the “basics”, such as mis-shapen actuarial mortality tables. I am both an actuary and data scientist in terms of education. I would like to bring my recent observations back to the Board for a second term, to help secure our future professionally.
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.
My actuarial skills and my commitment to the profession have allowed me to serve in a variety of rewarding professional roles.
I have been with Gen Re since 2011, where I worked closely with clients and colleagues in East Asia (including Japan, S Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia) until 2020 as chief actuary for that region, where the SOA has significant membership, and have met with many of the local actuarial associations through my employer, with the SOA, and during presentations. In my current role, having rejoined R&D in Cologne in 2020, I have a strong birds-eye view of both emerging topics and the state of research and analytics in the life & health segments. For example, I currently see actuaries grappling with emerging areas with major needs and opportunity for the industry – mortality improvements in the face of COVID-19, automated underwriting and confidence in pricing and actuarial tables.
I manage a team of actuaries, data scientists and IT specialists, where I have a sense of recent skill development and competitive advantages among actuaries. Perhaps also of interest is that I went back to obtain a master’s degree in data science through Johns Hopkins University in 2017-2019, though if the SOA certificate had been available, I may have pursued that instead. On that note, I also oversee the analytics hub (competence center) for my employer, which consists of both data scientists, actuaries, and other professionals, where I observe what sort of training works and doesn’t work. I also see what motivates young actuaries to connect, which surely has implications in member engagement.
Prior to joining Gen Re in 2011, I practiced primarily as a US health actuary, so in total I am fortunate to have a broad understanding of both life and health, from financial reporting to pricing and product development to consulting and client management.
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.
I have shown both commitment to and ability to execute ideas with the SOA in various volunteer capacities:
- SOA Board member, 2014-2017
- Member of the Greater Asia Committee, 2016-2019
- Contributing editor, Actuary flagship magazine, 2019-2021 (final issue this summer)
- Member of select other groups (Climate Data Analysis Group, Project Oversight Groups for both analytics and climate research projects)
- Chair of steering committee for Catastrophe & Climate Research, 2019-2021
I would highlight the last bullet as unique in terms of contributing to future employment opportunities and areas for actuaries to practice. Also, perhaps my greatest contribution as former Board member was as liaison to Research to launch the 5 Strategic Research Programs – the underpinning of this Catastrophe & Climate steering committee.
I have also volunteered scores of weekend hours to researching and writing a range of public reports and articles, some for the SOA, which I hope will offer strategic leadership to the profession.
Lastly, prior to my increasing contributions to the SOA, I had volunteered significant time and leadership outside of the profession to various non-profit organizations in the environmental and music sectors.
Agility/Change
What did you learn in the COVID19 pandemic that will help you, post-pandemic?
Resilience is a popular word these days, and how that is achieved or where it is derived is the subject of books – at a personal level, professional, and an organizational or even country-level (think Bloomberg’s Resilience Index for COVID-19). Yesterday a friend paid me a high compliment, calling me “the most resilient person” she knows. I believe on a personal level I have shown this through the pandemic, which probably comes down to agility, meeting the moment, and some creativity. COVID-19 has been a year of impatience and looking to the future (or past) for many, not to mention one of trauma, but for me I have learned a degree of patience and living in the moment – not traditionally my strong suits. If this week, there is no childcare, let’s build a cardboard airplane in the basement and take the kids on a “trip”; let’s also use the week to officially remove items #8, 9, and 10 from the to-do list at work, which weren’t really game changers anyway. If we’re the last to be vaccinated, 2021 won’t be the summer where we return to the classic European vacation but where we pull out the loom and some woodworking (respectively).
Professionally, managing a department remotely has strengthened empathy and taught me closer listening skills – meeting people in their moments (see Motivating/Influencing below). The world could surely do with better listening, even post-pandemic.
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.
Response was provided by the candidate for use by the Nominating Committee selection process but redacted for ballot publication for confidentiality reasons.
Diversity
Describe how your awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion has evolved throughout your life.
For decades I sat complacently thinking I was well-versed and an advocate of DEI, well-trained from my days as the only girl on the math team, only girl in the classroom, and now only girl on some executive calls. The past couple of years of increased public discourse have shown me that no one should be complacent – and that only through continuous learning will we evolve, and address both blatant and subtle areas of exclusion and injustices. My listening to a Reply All podcast on what went wrong in the Bon Appetit test kitchen around discrimination, only to see the very podcast canceled for the same reason, shows that we all need to take stock and refrain from preachiness here. Nonetheless a couple of recent observations of mine:
Sometimes it takes much more, but I have also learned that sometimes all it takes is a voice to correct daily injustices in the workplace – I cannot be everyone’s advocate, but sometimes one (semi-)influential voice can raise awareness. I have recent examples where informal alliances are formed, and where someone of color is not thought of for inclusion at the table – it need not be a confrontation but a simple comment “I think Max might have some helpful experience to bring to that discussion…”
I believe cultural differences and tolerance is part of inclusion. For instance, I have noted that (Anglo-Saxon) extroversion tends to dominate roundtables and learning sessions, which leaves a skewed perception for some, of who the experts are, and who may have leadership potential, etc. I have tried to correct this in small ways for example with an Analytics monthly roundtable we hold, where I recently prepped a couple of colleagues from corners which may be either shier or at a language disadvantage, to make sure they get either floor time or contribute in alternate ways.
International
How would your experiences strengthen your understanding of international issues?
Let me be brief, saying that I have practiced as an actuary in multiple Asian markets for many years, I am proficient in 4.75 languages, reside in Germany and am responsible for global actuarial research with my employer, as head of products and analytics, where we operate in nearly every major insurance market except Brazil. So I understand what our clients (insurers) need, how they are changing in different regions, and also how the SOA and generally actuaries are perceived internationally.
Emerging
How does the SOA need to change to meet emerging challenges and opportunities?
Whilst difficult for the SOA as an organization to show the nimbleness that e.g. small employers or research-producing consulting firms can, I would argue the SOA has shown high and increasing agility and relevance this past year – taking DEI on with gusto (which was more of a blip than a focus on the original Strategic Plan going into 2017). It also showed agility in timely COVID-19 briefings from the Research department. Such initiatives are important, and while we need to meet the foundational needs of members through e.g. experience studies and strong credentialing, being relevant in the increasingly frenetic news cycle requires agility.
Nonetheless, we need to pick our targets. During my previous SOA Board service, I recall too many briefings and initiatives to sense that we had genuine deep impact on anyone. I know the efforts that go into creating the Strategic Plan to create focus and would assume the next iteration is in the making. In the meantime, the 2017-2021 Strategic Plan articulates head-on a few threats – data science and automation, and I suggest we keep laser focus on those two areas through both research and more modular education, and through working closely with our employers. Last but not least, it has been a strategic goal for some time to achieve more effective relationships with other organizations; achieving this with other actuarial organizations may bolster our ability to tackle emerging threats together and should also present more opportunities. We may need to be both more targeted and open in brainstorming with other organizations at various levels – for instance with the IFoA, which is enthusiastic in being a frontrunner on climate risk, where we have picked up discussions at the steering committee level for Cat & Climate research.