An actuary by training, Douglas first joined Platinum in 2003 as an investment analyst, having spent some time at the Commonwealth Bank as a product actuary and, prior to that, as an investment…

As the eldest of four, I’ve comfortably worn the hat of manager and leader since my childhood. In my after-school casual work, weekend Army cadets, then in my actuarial career, my leadership qualities were…

2021, is it over yet? We have had another unusual year, where we’ve been juggling home-schooling, vaccination debates, and learning all about our LGA boundaries. So, as the deadlines loom on the home…

We know that diverse teams yield better results in business. However, managing a team of diverse individuals can often feel harder than managing a team of similar individuals…

Whether you work in financial services, insurance, superannuation, wealth management, government or other sectors, actuaries play an important role in contributing to the wellbeing of others…

Sally* was an experienced director who had started a new role leading a busy team of 60 allied health professionals. The managers in her team were highly experienced, and the workers were qualified…

A regional hospital was planning to establish a dedicated palliative care inpatient ward. But first, the hospital needed to understand the likely need for this service to estimate the number of beds required…

The 2016 Census shows that 30.4% of the Australian labour force works part time. This appears to be an increasing trend, rising steadily from about 10% in the 1960s. In fact, the Aussie labour force has the third…

Around the dinner table this week, my teenagers and I have been talking a lot about work. Our conversations have focussed on how much we get paid from the work we do. One of my kids has a few…

I have a confession to make. I love working from home. Some of my best work has been done wearing jeans and sneakers, with the background hum of the washing machine and dogs barking…

One of the nice features of LinkedIn is the ability to connect with people in your network around important milestones. Over the last week I’ve been delighted to hear from so many of you, sending…

Last week I participated in the Actuaries Summit as a plenary speaker, encouraging delegates to “Think Differently” about the role of actuaries in tackling some of society’s wicked problems…

My eldest daughter is 17 and has just finished high school. She told me she’d seen a newspaper article showing actuaries on the list of the 50 best paid occupations in Australia, but noticed that female actuaries…

“What do you do?” is such a common question at social gatherings. It’s also a question that many actuaries dread. The extroverts among us might glance from our shoes to yours before we answer the question…

Many of the skills I regularly utilise at work were not learned at university or in the workplace. I was recently invited to share some career tips at a Young Actuaries Program session…

Some might say that business is in my DNA. I grew up watching my mum working out of the lounge room as a dressmaker, making cabbage patch doll clothes and school uniforms for local families…