Leadership Reflections with Susanne Szoldra
Susanne Szoldra joined APRA in 2009 as an advisor to APRA’s Insurance Capital review project and has managed a team providing technical advice on life insurance to other areas of APRA. Prior to commencing at APRA, Susanne held the position of Life Actuarial Services Manager at Zurich Financial Services Australia. In this role she managed the team of actuaries supporting Zurich’s Australian life insurance business.
In this interview I asked Susanne to share learnings from her significant experience as an actuary, including:
What it's like being an actuary working for a regulator,
How she navigates new situations requiring skills outside her experience,
How she finds purpose and meaning in her actuarial work,
How she makes decisions about her career path,
What she enjoys about coaching actuarial students, and
Her advice for actuaries stepping into management roles.
Interview
Julia Lessing: Susanne, can you tell me more about where your actuarial career started?
Susanne Szoldra: Initially at AMP (for only six months), but on returning to Canberra for personal reasons I joined the Australian Government Actuary’s office. It was a small team, with only two actuaries and three students, myself included. The AGA provided actuarial advice to government departments, including Finance, Social Security and even Foreign Affairs. At the time, we were designing new defined benefit super schemes for Commonwealth public servants and the Australian Defence Force.
I had a maths degree and was commencing actuarial studies by correspondence with the UK Institute. I was studying the Mathematics of Finance course, and was outposted to Defence to assist in designing the Military Superannuation & Benefits Scheme. Talk about throwing me in the deep end!
JL: That experience of designing a solution for an unfamiliar problem would be quite frightening for many of us! How did you navigate this, and what approach do you take when faced with a new situation that requires skills outside your experience?
SS: Back then, I probably had the confidence that comes from not knowing what you don’t know. I also took a lot of comfort from knowing that there was a safety net: if ever I got stuck, I could ask the AGA. It amazed me that experienced actuaries seemed know what answer to expect before I had done the supporting analysis. I used to wonder whether I too would acquire this skill when I qualified as FIAA. Upon qualifying I was a little disappointed, though unsurprised, that no miraculous transformation had occurred overnight. Fast forward nearly 30 years and the tables are turned. I see recent graduates being surprised when I know what answer to expect.
Now I understand that the knowledge and experience that you gain over your career can be applied to novel problems. I have also learned the importance of looking for solutions adopted in other industries or countries and seeking input from a broad range of people.
Thomas Edison famously said that genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. In my career, inspiration strikes when I make the effort to research and explore, to consider examples and discuss with others.
JL: Can you tell me more about your current role at APRA? What is it like to be an actuary working for a regulator?
SS: I have been managing a team that provides technical advice on life insurance to other areas of APRA, such as Supervision, Policy Development, Licensing or Resolution & Enforcement.
We assist frontline supervisors with interpreting and applying prudential standards. We provide specialist actuarial support, reviewing life company Financial Condition Reports, Actuarial Valuation Reports and Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Processes. We work closely with Policy Development on reviewing capital standards.
The work is incredibly varied. Working for a regulator, you get to look across the supervised entities and interact with their senior staff. We face the challenge of developing policies that can be applied to a diverse range of entities. We interact with a wide range of industry stakeholders. We must respond to emerging risks and adapt the prudential framework. We liaise with other regulators, both domestic and foreign, to address industry issues and share insights.
JL: It sounds like you really enjoy the technical side of actuarial work. How have you found purpose and meaning in your actuarial work, and what criteria have you applied when making career decisions?
SS: Rather than setting career goals and creating detailed career plans, I tend to be guided by what I enjoy. For me, that includes mastering the technical side of actuarial work and working in a role that offers variety, an opportunity to problem-solve and a sense of purpose (protecting the interests of policyholders).
I really enjoyed the Life Contingencies course and transferred from superannuation to a life insurance role when I was studying the life insurance professional subject. In my first life insurance role, I was involved in developing and implementing the 1995 Life Act and associated actuarial standards. I found this work exciting then moved to a corporate role to gain practical experience. In 2009, I returned to APRA to work on reviewing life company capital standards.
My current role provides me with the variety, technical challenge and meaning that I seek. I also enjoy collaborating with APRA staff who have deep expertise in other fields.
JL: Susanne, others have described you as a natural teacher and someone who is good at explaining things. What have you learned from coaching actuarial students, and do you think great actuarial leaders and managers are born or made?
SS: I enjoy coaching actuarial students and explaining technical concepts to non-actuaries in a way that they understand. I find it helps to ask questions and explore what a person already knows. I am also conscious that preferred learning styles differ from person to person. Some people like diagrams, others like analogies or worked examples. I try to adapt my teaching style to suit the audience.
On the question of whether great leaders and managers are born or made, I agree with the conclusion in your article Are great actuarial leaders born or made? Born leaders might have an edge, but the development of skills is needed to be great.
JL: What is the best piece of advice you would give an actuary stepping into their first management role?
SS: Communicate. When you step into your first management role, you go from doing the work yourself to getting work done through others. To achieve this, you will need to inspire and support your team. Learn about the people in your team: what they enjoy, their strengths & development goals. Seek feedback from stakeholders about what the team does well and what can be improved.
People enjoy working for a manager who supports them to achieve and grow.
