Candidate Questionnaire

David Boettcher, FSA 1987, FCIA 1987, MAAA 1997
Retired Executive Vice President
Corporate Development
RGA
Brief description of current work:
I recently led the Corporate Development team at RGA which pursued strategic, entity and large in-force block acquisition opportunities, strategic partnerships, and alternative capital solutions (such as RGA’s recently launched sidecar or the use of strategic retrocession). Prior to this, I led Global Business Development for Global Financial Solutions at RGA for a number of years. Team members were located in Asia, EMEA, and North America. Business development included both client engagement and the development of reinsurance solutions.
Primary Area of Practice:
Reinsurance with a focus on capital and risk management. Also, as I previously led the entry into and development of RGA’s global Pension Risk Transfer business, I continue to share a strong passion for the Retirement section and the continued development of insurance and reinsurance solutions in support of the financial security of retirees.
Other Areas of Practice:
International, Investments, Financial Reporting, Taxation, Product Development
Professional Background
Provide a description of your professional background and the type of work you have performed. 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 extensive experience in international reinsurance, pricing and leading Corporate Development equips me to contribute strategically to the SOA Board. At RGA, I led the entry into new products and markets, developed reinsurance solutions, and managed global teams. This background provides a strong foundation for understanding the global challenges facing the actuarial profession and for guiding the SOA’s strategic direction.
My professional career includes Board experience, membership on the Risk Management Steering Committee, establishing the global governance framework for international pricing as chief international pricing officer, acting as executive sponsor for an Employee Resource Group on Mental Health, and leading a large international team of professionals in global business development. I have met actuaries of many countries and cultures across the world, both in highly developed countries like Japan where I have presented to the IAJ on risk management for life insurance companies, and in developing countries like India, South Africa, and Malaysia. I have interacted with both regulatory and tax authorities in numerous countries including working with them on the development of new regulations.
I believe this varied experience over more than 40 years in internationally active roles supported by a strong North American core matches well with the SOA’s own North American and global ambitions.
Volunteer and Governance Experience
Describe how your volunteer and governance experiences would strengthen your contributions to the SOA Board, the SOA, and strategic plan execution. List your relevant volunteer experience. Include the name of the organization, your role, and approximate dates.
After a strong start early in my career volunteering on various CIA and SOA committees including chairing the Exam 220 committee, I reduced my involvement in volunteer work to the occasional participation or leadership of a panel at a CIA or SOA meeting, presenting to international actuarial associations and regulators, or by writing an article.
I have extensive governance experience through my roles as Chief International Pricing Officer, membership on the Risk Management Steering Committee, and membership on various Boards of Directors. In leading the Corporate Development team at RGA, I engaged with members of our Executive Team and our Board of Directors in the delivery of our strategy. I am very aware of the need for a practical and effective framework for such governance that meets the needs of many stakeholders with varied interests including the needs of regulators, tax authorities, investors, and the general public.
Having now just retired, I welcome the opportunity to offer more of my time to the SOA and would appreciate the opportunity to reengage with the SOA through membership on the Board. I retire at a very interesting time for the industry with the advancement of Artificial Intelligence, the continued deployment of private equity into the insurance market, the need for strong model governance, data protection, and quick and effective response to cyber attacks, an aging population focused on retirement security and health, and continued medical and capital market developments.
Leadership/Managing Change
Describe a significant project that you led in the workplace or in your volunteer activities. Describe how you addressed changes that were proposed, whether changes were made, or were not made after considering all options. How did you influence alignment in the final outcome, and what were the biggest challenges you had to overcome?
I have a proven track record of leading complex projects and managing change, which is crucial for the SOA’s adaptability and success. I recall many times where we needed to step back and reevaluate a strategy in order to continue down the path to success, and to evaluate the tradeoffs among timely execution, resource availability and cost, and desired outcomes to ensure a successful launch. It is important to be thorough, but equally important not to strive for perfection in an innovative and competitive environment where one desires to attract the best talent.
One project I was leading involved revising a previous initiative, requiring stakeholder engagement, strategy reevaluation, and risk management. We received a broad range of suggestions, some of which were at odds with each other. We gathered extensive feedback both internally and externally from advisors and interested parties. We took our proposed revisions back to these stakeholders for subsequent discussion and further refinement, and then made our final recommendations to our executive sponsors who provided their unanimous support to proceed. My ability to navigate challenges and align teams will be valuable in guiding the SOA through changes and ensuring effective execution of its strategic plan.
One of the biggest challenges with this project was ensuring a high probability of success in a changing environment where success could not be assured. By spending the time upfront to engage with stakeholders and advisors, and tapping into additional internal resources to manage workload against timely delivery, we were able to substantially improve our probability of success. Filtering through the extensive stakeholder feedback we received ensured what was finally recommended was practical, achievable, and met the key underlying objectives for the project.
Diversity
What should the SOA’s goals be in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion? You can read more about current efforts by the organization at www.soa.org/programs/diversity-inclusion.
I really like the SOA’s goal: “for all members and candidates to feel fully included and have equitable opportunities to enter, develop, grow and succeed in our chosen profession”. I have been the executive sponsor for an Employee Resource Group focused on mental health and recognize the challenges faced in helping those individuals who might not feel fully engaged or included or feel they are at a disadvantage due to their own personal circumstances. This is particularly challenging for mental health as it is frequently not socialized, may not be visible, not always publicly accepted, and there may be challenges in addressing overall equity or performance requirements in order to provide support to individuals in order that they may thrive.
One needs to balance the greater good with optimizing the outcome for individual members. For example, how much additional time should the SOA allow a disadvantaged candidate that needs more time to complete an exam for that candidate to have an equitable opportunity? It will be important to clearly articulate the principles behind such decisions made to achieve our vision of full inclusion, participation, and equitable opportunities for all. We need sufficient resourcing and support to address this ambition and we should learn from what other professions have done.
The immediate focus for the SOA should be to ensure it understands the barriers that still exist today in attracting diverse candidates to the profession and to the extent possible remove them. Despite our best efforts to date, these may still include the cost of early exams, the approach taken to test and qualify candidates, or the length of time and commitment required to be fully qualified. Members of the SOA Board should act as role models in demonstrating our DEI goals.
International
The SOA has been growing internationally. How would your experiences help the SOA further the needs of the membership outside of North America?
Having worked in various international markets, I understand the importance of adapting global visions to local contexts. My experiences in establishing and supporting international offices and developing region-specific strategies can help the SOA further its international objectives and meet the needs of members outside North America.
Through working with actuaries throughout the world, and engaging with clients in various markets, I have appreciated the differences between cultures and the ways in which we conduct our business and the pursuit of the actuarial profession. I believe the best response to international opportunities is to think globally but act locally. Providing a strong global vision and then paying attention to how that vision should be executed locally will pay valuable dividends to the SOA membership over time. I have spent a lot of time working with diverse teams in different locations to achieve similar results for my employer supported by a unifying vision and objectives. This vision was further supported through the governance and resource framework developed to address the opportunity in each region. There was considerable customization required to reflect the size of the opportunity, available local talent, and level of local client engagement. Designed well, engagement across local and central teams will be high. Designed poorly, the network may fracture and open the door to alternatives which may in turn conflict with SOA international ambitions.
Emerging
The SOA needs to continue to attract the brightest students to our actuarial profession and now there are more technical career options available. What do you recommend that the SOA do to continue to attract the right people to the actuarial profession?
I would like to differentiate between the “brightest students” and the “most talented students” as I worry that the creative and practical strengths of many talented candidates might not be getting the proper recognition by a focus on the brightest determined largely by testing through an exam curriculum. Thinking about how to engage with talented students through other means (say, contests involving modeling contest or large data analysis) prior to their pursuit of a formal exam curriculum may attract additional talented individuals to the profession.
Other ways to attract students would be for continued support for SOA members to engage with the public through social media including TED talks, or You Tube videos. I would also recommend that we consider encouraging the mentoring of actuaries at an early stage in their careers by providing access to experienced actuaries as mentors as a further way of accelerating student development and enticing entrants into the profession who would benefit from this opportunity for an experienced mentor. This is particularly valuable at a time where much more of one’s work experience is gained virtually.
Personal Experience
Share a personal experience, trait, or characteristic that will help the membership to better understand you and your candidacy.
It never hurts to ask. Practicing this has led to some of my best personal experiences. Offering this advice to others encouraged one colleague to reach out and apply for a position for which they did not have the qualifications requested. They got the job.
Questioning provides clarification, a key requirement for collaboration and resolving conflict. In reinsurance and throughout the actuarial profession, we are problem solvers and we tend to focus on providing a solution. But it is through spending the time questioning what the true objectives are or perhaps should be that we often find a better problem to solve, and a more valuable solution to offer. One approach I have used is to ask the question “Why?” three times. Each time you ask, you gain additional insight and the benefit of further clarification and expansion regarding the opportunity under consideration.
Aligned with this, I am very empathetic and look to consider and understand the other person’s point of view, particularly when there might be a conflict in our objectives. This practice promotes inclusion, and offers a safe environment for people to speak up and contribute.