Board Member Candidate Questionnaire

Sim Ng, FSA

AI / Technology

Describe your experience understanding, applying, and/or overseeing technology, particularly AI, data, and analytics to support strategy, operations, and decision-making, including how you consider technology’s limitations, risks, and impacts on business models, workforce needs, governance, and long-term growth. 

As Chief Financial Officer of Prudential Malaysia from 2016 to 2024, a business with close to 20% market share, I led major transformation programs to strengthen systems, processes and ways of working. This included replacing the core policy administration system, which improved product speed to market and resolved close to 600 post-launch system enhancement items that had constrained efficiency and agility. I also led investment accounting and finance operations transformation, as well as the implementation of systems to support IFRS 17 reporting which helped to modernize the finance function. My focus has always been on ensuring technology initiatives deliver practical business outcomes, e.g. effective controls, faster execution, better user experience and greater organizational resilience. I attribute successful transformation not only to the technology itself, but also to stakeholder alignment, process redesign, change management and disciplined execution. In my current role as Group Chief Controller of Prudential plc, I sponsor the Group-wide Oracle–Coupa finance enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform to enhance scalability, data integrity and management insights. Success depends on disciplined sequencing of deployment across business units and accelerating execution at the right point. I also introduced AI-enabled business case governance to track and validate multi-year benefits realization, strengthening capital allocation discipline, transparency and accountability. I am pragmatic and value-focused in my approach to technology investment. The objective is not complexity, but solutions that are reliable, user-friendly and sustainable.

Board Experience and Readiness

Describe your prior nonprofit or corporate board experience and how you approach the board’s governance role (strategic oversight and mission stewardship), including how you distinguish governance from management and how you uphold fiduciary duties (care, loyalty, and obedience) in acting in the best interests of the organization. (1800-character limit)

I bring extensive board experience across Prudential plc subsidiaries (2022–current) and Commonwealth Bank Group entities (2002–2010), including roles as director, chair and board committee member across audit, risk and investment. These appointments span developed and emerging markets and include insurance, shared services and financial advisory businesses. My approach to governance is anchored in a clear distinction between oversight and management. As Chair of Prudential’s shared services business, I focus on governance and accountability, including ensuring service delivery meets obligations under arm’s-length intercompany arrangements and contractual frameworks. I pay close attention to the identification and management of potential conflicts of interest through appropriate policies, controls and board oversight, while leaving day-to-day execution to management. My role is to provide strategic direction, including guiding reinvestment priorities and capability enhancements to better serve internal stakeholders. As a Director of Prudential’s Cambodia life insurance business, I provide constructive challenge on the assumptions underpinning financial results and management’s response to business issues. I test whether strategies are aligned to sustainable long-term outcomes and whether decisions appropriately balance growth, profitability and risk. Across these roles, I bring disciplined judgment, independence of mind and a strong commitment to effective governance, supporting sound decision-making and long-term organizational stewardship.

Corporate Leadership

Describe your senior leadership experience in corporate and/or not-for-profit environments, including examples of leading people, guiding decision-making, managing complexity, and providing strategic direction while upholding strong governance standards.

I have held senior leadership roles for over 25 years, including as Appointed Actuary, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and in strategy, risk and governance. During my time as CFO, I also took on interim responsibility for sales, distribution and marketing for periods of up to six months. My experience spans a wide range of complex situations, including leading an insurance business turnaround in Hong Kong, establishing a life insurance joint venture in China, managing a portfolio of bank investments across China, overseeing acquisitions in Thailand and Vietnam, and exiting businesses that were no longer strategically aligned. I have led organizations through multiple concurrent challenges, including material regulatory change, large-scale transformation and the disruptions arising from COVID-19. My leadership is defined by execution discipline and the ability to translate strategy into measurable outcomes. This includes delivering large-scale product portfolio redesign, modernizing operating models and processes, and implementing core system upgrades to improve efficiency, speed to market and control effectiveness. I place strong emphasis on people and culture, building cohesive, high-performing teams and fostering cross-functional collaboration. I am deeply committed to developing talent, mentoring colleagues across diverse functions, strengthening succession and leaving a meaningful legacy of capable leaders. This combination of turnaround, transformation and growth experience enables me to navigate complexity, balance competing priorities and lead with urgency, rigor and strong governance.

Financial Oversight

Describe your experience providing financial oversight in a corporate setting, including your ability to understand and scrutinize key financial documents and reports, identify financial risks, develop mitigation strategies, and ensure regulatory compliance.

I have held key financial oversight roles for almost 20 years as Appointed Actuary, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Board director, with responsibility for ensuring that a company’s financial position and performance are presented fairly, in all material respects. I bring technical expertise and extensive experience in financial reporting, capital management, planning and governance across multiple markets and regulatory frameworks. My approach to financial oversight goes beyond regulatory compliance to support business value and strategic decision-making. For example, I have strengthened financial governance through initiatives such as Group-wide expense reporting to improve cost transparency and consistency, and enhanced business case evaluation processes to support disciplined capital allocation and robust tracking of benefits realization. I focus on understanding the underlying drivers of performance rather than relying solely on reported outcomes. I often say that if we understand the business well, we should have a strong sense of the financial outcomes even before the financial reports are finalized. I also place strong emphasis on anticipating key financial risks, including capital adequacy and earnings volatility, so they can be addressed early before they translate into adverse outcomes. This approach supports informed, balanced decision-making, strengthens organizational resilience and sustains long-term growth and value creation.

Global

Describe your international experience (e.g., multinational corporations or significant projects abroad) and how your understanding of global markets, cross-cultural communication, and international business practices would contribute to SOA’s strategic positioning and international relationships.

I have worked extensively across Asia and Australia, with leadership experience spanning more than a dozen markets, including Hong Kong, Malaysia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea, Australia and Fiji. My career has involved operating in both developed and emerging markets, each with distinct regulatory regimes, economic conditions and stages of industry maturity. I have led a range of cross-border initiatives, including establishing a life insurance joint venture in China with Bank of Communications, one of China’s leading banks; making minority investments in banks in China and Vietnam; acquiring a life business and bancassurance partnership in Thailand; driving regional product innovation; and delivering multi-market transformation programs. These experiences required balancing strategic ambition with local market realities, regulatory complexity and diverse stakeholder interests. As President of the Actuarial Society of Hong Kong in 2007, I represented the society at the East Asian Actuarial Congress meeting in Tokyo, where discussions included the admission of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia into the EAAC. That experience reinforced the importance of constructive dialogue, regional collaboration and professional connectivity across markets. Taken together, my business and professional leadership experience has developed strong cross-cultural judgment and practical experience working with diverse teams, regulators and partners. This perspective would enable me to contribute meaningfully to the SOA’s global agenda by supporting the profession across markets, fostering collaboration and connecting diverse practices.

Not-for-Profit

Describe how, through your involvement with not-for-profit organizations, including the SOA, you balance mission-driven objectives with strategic success and operational sustainability especially in volunteer recruitment/coordination and incorporating diverse points of view.

My not-for-profit experience spans governance, leadership and community engagement, including serving as a Trustee Director of the Kodak Staff Superannuation Plan and later as President of the Actuarial Society of Hong Kong. I have also been deeply involved in professional education and academic advisory work, including as Life Insurance Chief Examiner for the Institute of Actuaries of Australia, Adjunct Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a member of its Advisory Committee. I have been actively involved in community initiatives in Malaysia through Prudential Malaysia’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs. These included efforts to improve financial literacy for school students and, most memorably, for youths at the Sir Henry Gurney School in Malacca, a juvenile rehabilitation school. I was struck by their drive to build financial skills and their strong entrepreneurial spirit. I also supported Prudential Malaysia’s collaboration with Taylor’s Education Group on an entrepreneurship training and pitch program for B40 communities, representing the bottom 40% of households by income in Malaysia. As part of this initiative, I served on a panel that assessed business pitches and supported the provision of start-up capital. My approach is to bring diverse perspectives together with conviction and pragmatism, ensuring that outcomes are both achievable and impactful.

Professional Education and Development

Describe your experience developing professional education programs for actuaries or other professionals—for example, in a university, employer, professional association, or SOA setting. Include examples where you designed, led, or managed learning programs, curricula, mentoring frameworks, or structured development pathways and how your approach was informed by how professionals learn.

I have contributed extensively to actuarial and professional education through leadership, teaching and governance roles, including as Adjunct Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong since 2015, Chair of its Advisory Committee for the undergraduate program in Insurance, Financial and Actuarial Analysis from 2012 to 2018, a member of the Committee since 2007, and Life Insurance Chief Examiner for the Institute of Actuaries of Australia in 2006. In these roles, I have contributed to curriculum design, assessment standards, and advancing actuarial education. My focus has been on aligning professional education with evolving industry needs. This includes ensuring that actuarial training goes beyond technical proficiency to develop strong business judgment, communication skills and the ability to operate effectively in complex, real-world environments. I have also supported talent development within organizations, including mentoring actuaries and finance professionals and building capability aligned to transformation and strategic priorities. My approach emphasizes integrating theory with practice, supported by mentoring, feedback and exposure to real business challenges. I believe the profession’s sustained relevance depends on developing well-rounded actuaries who combine technical rigor with strategic insight and effective communication. I am committed to advancing education frameworks that equip actuaries to lead, adapt and create value in a rapidly changing environment.

Risk Management

Describe your risk management experience, including how you have identified and evaluated organizational risks (including reputational risks) and assessed or implemented appropriate risk mitigation measures.

Risk management has been central to my roles as Appointed Actuary, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Board director, spanning financial, operational, regulatory, reputational, and health and safety risks. My experience includes managing risk during a business turnaround in Hong Kong, establishing a life insurance joint venture in China, overseeing minority investment portfolios across Asian markets, navigating COVID-19, leading large-scale transformation and system modernization programs, and overseeing property-related risks as CFO of Prudential Malaysia, where the business occupied more than 1 million square feet. In Malaysia, my risk oversight covered issues requiring both technical judgment and practical execution. These included assessing the impact of prolonged low interest rates on the capital adequacy of the Participating Fund with guarantees, identifying product design risks in medical insurance where customer and insurer interests were not fully aligned, and managing execution and change risks arising from transformation programs and the move to a new activity-based workplace model. That move required careful attention to stakeholder engagement, change management, operational continuity, and health and safety. I also oversaw the establishment of a Montessori childcare facility in the new office, with close attention to health and safety and mitigating operational risk. My approach to risk management is forward-looking, practical and inclusive. I focus on understanding root causes, anticipating consequences and ensuring that mitigation actions are timely, proportionate and supported across the organization. Effective risk management depends on engaging stakeholders and building shared commitment so that long-term value creation remains aligned.

Strategic Planning

Describe your involvement in strategic planning (including in a corporate environment), and how you have helped formulate vision, establish priorities, and allocate resources to support long-term success and effective organizational positioning.

A strong example of my approach to strategic planning was the period leading into and during COVID-19. As CFO of Prudential Malaysia from 2016 to 2024, I saw the business benefit from strategic choices made since 2016 to increase technology adoption across functions and improve how we served distributors and customers. Our strategy was deliberately simple: “paperless,” “straight through,” and “automation,” with the objective of building a scalable operating model for future growth. The challenge was not defining the strategy, but sequencing execution. With every function wanting to accelerate change, I helped focus the organization on a practical framework: ring-fence resources for critical initiatives, prioritize lower-complexity opportunities where early benefits could be realized and reinvested, establish a disciplined project management rhythm, and ensure senior management remained closely involved in removing bottlenecks and maintaining momentum. When COVID-19 hit and the business shifted overnight to remote working and virtual meetings, we were well positioned. Employees already had laptops, and we had the infrastructure for digital premium collection and claims payment. Strategic planning did not stop there. We reassessed the operating model, rationalized property space and streamlined offices and branches as customers increasingly adopted digital servicing tools. This experience reinforced my view that effective strategic planning requires both clarity of direction and discipline in execution. My role is to translate strategy into priorities, resource allocation, governance, and measurable outcomes so that ambition becomes deliverable action. That same approach would shape how I contribute to the SOA Board.