Candidate Questionnaire

Victor Chun Chiu Chen, FSA 2010, CERA 2013, FCIA 2011
RGA Reinsurance Company
VP, Chief of Staff, Asia Pacific
Hong Kong
Brief description of current work:
I currently hold the position of Chief of Staff, Asia Pacific at RGA. In this role, I support the Head of Asia Pacific on strategic planning, communication, execution, and oversight of key organizational initiatives. Prior to joining RGA, I served as the Chief Actuary - APAC L&H for another global reinsurer.
Primary Area of Practice:
Life Insurance
Other Areas of Practice:
Risk Management
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.
Background:
- I am the Chief of Staff, APAC at RGA, responsible for strategy, communication, and oversight on behalf of the Head of APAC office.
- I am an actuary with over 17 years of experience.
- Prior to my current role, I held multiple regional leadership positions including Chief Actuary and Chief Operating Officer, APAC L&H, with another global reinsurer.
- My career journey, spanning across Canada, Japan, and Hong Kong, exposed me to diverse contexts in life insurance, reinsurance, and consulting.
Passion for Our Profession:
- I am passionate about our profession and have been a long-term volunteer with the SOA.
- Our profession’s powerful purpose of serving the public motivates me to consistently engage in volunteering, making a meaningful impact.
Leadership and Values:
- I am a collaborative leader, guided by empathy and integrity. Having an inquisitive, empathetic mindset has been at the forefront of my interactions.
- I am someone who ‘lead by example’.
Areas of Excellence:
- Beyond my technical acumen, I am experienced in:
- Fostering partnerships
- Facilitating cross-functional collaborations
- Effectively managing internal and external stakeholders (actuaries and non-actuaries)
- Establishing actuarial and back-office functions, implementing robust processes and controls
- Advocating for data governance, analytics, and technology
- Contributing to board-level discussions through material preparation and presentations.
International:
- As an international actuary, I understand the difficulties and importance in staying connected.
- In my APAC role, I interact with local actuaries and stakeholders across different markets. Understanding their challenges allows me to bring valuable insights back to our profession, contributing to SOA’s accelerated international strategy in a region with strong growth potential.
The SOA Board plays a crucial governance role, ensuring our strategy empowers our members and volunteers to address life's financial risks. With my experienced skillset, I am committed to serving our profession as a board member.
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.
Since 2011, I have been actively volunteering with the SOA in various roles and committees. Recently, I completed a six-year term with the Research Executive Committee and am now in my second year with the Greater Asia Committee.
In addition, I have been involved in numerous research oversight, event organization, and speaking engagements for the SOA. Some of my recent contributions are highlighted below:
- Research Project Oversight Groups: For the past decade, I have played a key role in the annual Emerging Risk Survey, helping actuaries stay informed of the challenges ahead.
- Projects: As the co-chair of the recently released International Longevity Illustrator, I have championed innovative solutions that address social issues.
- Event Organizing Committees: Over the past three years, I have helped shape the SOA Annual Asia Pacific Symposium, fostering community engagement and networking.
- Frequent Speaker: At various SOA events last year, I shared insights on Generative AI (partnering with data scientist) and Senior & Retirement research, raising awareness on key industry topics.
Leveraging my extensive professional and volunteer experience, I am committed to executing the SOA’s strategic plan and advancing our profession. I will continue to advocate for research and partner with other experts like data scientists to enhance actuaries’ skills and toolkit, ensuring our continued relevance and visibility. With a keen eye on oversight and governance, I look forward to helping the Board in achieving its ambitious targets.
List of SOA committees:
- Greater Asia Committee – Mar. 2022 – Present
- Joint Risk Management Research – 2014 – Present
- Research Executive – Nov. 2017 to Oct 2023
- Research Communication Oversight – Mar. 2018 – Oct. 2022
- Pension Continuing Education – 2011 - 2013
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?
Our actuarial community is home to some exceptionally bright and knowledgeable individuals. We will find the most success when everyone can collaborate and contribute to the success of a common objective.
In 2018, I served as the co-chair for the SOA “ERM Stakeholder Engagement” research. Our project oversight group comprised of numerous experts, each offering diverse opinions on how to shape the final paper. As we neared completion, it became evident that reconciling these different but valued perspectives posed a challenge. The researcher, despite putting forth the best effort, struggled to accommodate every proposed change, risking significant delays.
Individual Engagement: A Path Forward
To address this, I took a deliberate approach and engaged individually with each team member. By understanding their unique perspectives and concerns, I provided a platform for them to voice their opinions. I reminded everyone of the overall project’s purpose and the desired outcome. Armed with this context, I inquired deeper: What were the critical points requiring attention? Which aspects can be considered “good to have”?
Navigating Remaining Differences
However, our journey did not end there. Remaining differences persisted amongst the team members. I objectively presented the rationale behind each opinion, fostering understanding and alignment. At the end, our shared commitment to success propelled the research forward.
Influencing outcome through collaborative leadership
As a leader, I recognize that no one solution is ever 100% perfect. Our complex environment demands adaptability. Our role is to create a framework that empowers experts to thrive together – knowing when “good enough” suffices, understanding the limits of change, and navigating with patience and a purpose in mind.
In summary, my experience underscores the importance of active listening, strategic compromise, and unwavering dedication to achieving shared goals.
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.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) extend beyond gender or ethnicity, taking an intersectional approach to DEI will add value to our members, contribute to their wellbeing and equity. This is also an important objective in my current Chief of Staff role. Together, we need to foster an environment where diverse voices, perspectives, and opinions not only exist but are also welcomed, respected, and supported.
As actuaries, our work significantly impacts the society and pipeline talents to this field. The DEI goals can expand into the following areas:
- Inclusive Culture: Foster an inclusive and welcoming culture where all individuals feel valued, respected, and have equal opportunities to contribute and succeed. This can be achieved through training, awareness programs, and promoting inclusive behaviors.
- Outreach and Recruitment: Develop strategies to attract diverse talent to the profession and the SOA. This may include partnerships with schools and organizations that serve underrepresented communities, targeted recruitment efforts, and scholarships or mentorship programs for aspiring actuaries.
- Professional Development and Advancement: Ensure that individuals from diverse backgrounds have access to professional development opportunities, mentorship, and career advancement resources. This can include providing training, networking events, and development initiatives specifically designed to support underrepresented groups.
- Data Collection and Transparency: Establish mechanisms to identify, collect and analyze data within the SOA to measure progress, identify areas for improvement, and hold the organization accountable. Transparency in reporting toward DEI goals is important for maintaining accountability.
- Collaboration and Partnerships: Engage with external organizations, industry stakeholders, and affinity groups to collaborate on DEI initiatives, share best practices, and leverage collective resources to drive meaningful change.
- Continuous Learning and Improvement: To ensure that members and candidates fully understand the rationale behind DEI efforts. By emphasizing the “why,” while tracking progress, we foster a deeper commitment to inclusivity while keeping “flexibility” on the tactics.
International
The SOA has been growing internationally. How would your experiences help the SOA further the needs of the membership outside of North America?
As an international actuary with extensive experience navigating stakeholders across diverse regions, I recognize the unique challenges of operating across different time zones while maintaining meaningful connections. “80% of the success is a matter of showing up” – in our globalized world, this common saying resonates profoundly.
The Impact of Physical Presence
My experience managing remote teams across different locations has taught me that building successful relationships and bridging cultural gaps requires intentional visits. Showing up signals to the international membership that they truly matter. It’s a powerful affirmation: “You are seen, and your voice is heard.”
Connecting Communities
In my current role, I constantly engage with local actuaries and stakeholders across various markets in the Asia Pacific region. I am privileged to meet many inspiring local champions - tireless advocates who lead powerful actuarial communities. They are the connectors linking our global network. By identifying and empowering these connectors, we enable more impactful interactions between local actuarial communities and the broader SOA. This will foster more effective idea-sharing and collaboration, key components of our profession.
Likewise, I spend considerable amount of time connecting with colleagues in North America, sharing trends and aligning on strategic efforts across regions, acting as a connector myself. When this is done effectively, the results are powerful.
The SOA has made great strides in expanding its global reach through regional content, events, research, and education initiatives. As a board member, I aim to represent the SOA by being a bridge to the connectors and international communities, foster impactful partnership by taking time to engage with members, understand local challenges, and bring valuable insights back to our profession. I hope to continue to contribute to accelerate the international growth of the SOA.
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?
The SOA has already taken steps to modernize the education process to better aligned to the needs of candidates and employers. There are also considerable efforts on universities outreaches by volunteers and staffs.
he candidate of the future will be very different. Gen Alpha (and Beta) are digitally adapted. They are motivated by creative work that makes an impact and want opportunity to growth. They are a global generation and technology have transformed how and where they learn and work. Mobility will be important.
Talent & culture is a critical part of an organization’s strategy and an important part of my work. As our workforce shift, we need to adapt and focus on development, diversity, and providing opportunities for growth. The SOA can continue to incorporate the following into our efforts,
Communication:
- Utilize social media, podcasts, and YouTube channels to disseminate information about the actuarial profession.
- Introduce actuarial concepts early in education. Collaborating with schools to offer workshops, webinars, related to actuarial science content through social platforms.
Creative work making a difference:
- Highlight how actuaries contribute to society by managing risk and expanding financial protection. Highlight community impact.
- Emphasize the dynamic and creative nature of actuarial work, combining data insights with judgement to solve complex problems.
Continuing Growth:
- Highlight the profession’s potential for international career mobility, diverse roles, and continuous learning.
- Develop leadership skills: Actuaries can become strategic business partners by understanding organizational dynamics.
Finally, acknowledge career trajectories are changing. Actuaries can pivot into diverse roles—risk management, data science, finance, and beyond. Highlight transferable skills – analytical thinking, problem-solving, and communication that transcend specific roles. Invest in professional development programs that empower actuaries to become strategic business leaders to ensure relevant. Often, the most desirable skill is the ability to bridge gaps between technical experts, business leaders, and clients.
Personal Experience
Share a personal experience, trait, or characteristic that will help the membership to better understand you and your candidacy.
People often describe me as a friendly and approachable individual. When faced with pressure, I am a calm and clear-headed problem solver, I often find myself offering a stabilizing presence in the organization. I am easy-going and low-key but am steadfast in my commitment and obligations to the organization seriously. I understand and accept my roles and responsibilities and I am not afraid to step up when important tasks need attention.
Outside of work, I enjoy the nature, exploring the picturesque countryside of Japan when I lived there and now you will often find me hiking the majestic mountains of Hong Kong and taking drone videography of the landscape - a blend of art, adventure, and exploration. I also enjoy playing badminton and the thrill of competition.
But it’s our actuarial profession that truly ignites my passion. The SOA’s future excites me – I see boundless opportunities ahead as we continue to grow together, leveraging innovative technology and expanding international influences. With my blend of professional expertise and volunteer experience, I am committed to contributing to the delivery of the SOA’s strategic vision.
Thank you for taking the time to review my candidacy and considering me as you cast your vote.