Description: A drive to push through the fear of failure is one of the traits that separates successful entrepreneurs from the pack. And as Nazir Valani learned early in his career, that drive is especially important when doubts come from people he looked to for encouragement.

Description: Meet Dorothy Andrews. As a consulting actuary at Merlinos & Associates, Dorothy leverages her knowledge in statistical and data analytics, which she acquired through a variety of diverse experiences.

Description: The SOA provides information about the actuarial career path in health care and predictive analytics. Throughout 2016, we will share more about actuaries who are tackling some of the industry's biggest challenges and hear from top employers in healthcare analytics.

Description: Carol McCall led three teams – predictive analytics, health economics and outcomes research, and personalized medicine. The “river running through them” was that they all leveraged data. Her predictive analytics team eventually built a broad portfolio of models with some of them having a significant impact on Humana’s top and bottom lines.

Description: Data is everywhere. Health care generates as much as 30% of the world’s data, and new technologies are changing how life insurers analyze consumer information. Actuaries are business-savvy problem solvers. They understand how to leverage the latest technologies and techniques to turn data into actionable insights and solutions for businesses and can communicate those findings to multiple audiences. SOA-credentialed actuaries use predictive analytics to inform organizational and business strategies, with efforts such as identifying chronic conditions in their early stage or determining stress levels through sweat patterns.