Who will lead the SOA? You decide.

Candidate Questionnaire

Amanda Hug, FSA 2013, MAAA, MBA
Director
Willis Towers Watson (WTW)
New York, NY

Brief description of current work:

At WTW I serve my clients in the transformation, analytics, and litigation spaces. Previously I worked at MassMutual as Chief of Staff to the CFO, in addition to a variety of actuarial roles across life, annuity, retirement, and supplemental health products. I am an Elected Board Member for the SOA and past President of the Actuaries’ Club of Hartford & Springfield (400+ members).

Primary Area of Practice:

Life, Finance

Other Areas of Practice:

Transformation, Analytics, Litigation

Professional Background

Provide a brief description of your professional background and the type of work you have performed and explain how these experiences have uniquely prepared you as an Elected Board Member and qualify you in carrying out the strategic direction of the SOA.

My career is best characterized by pushing the bounds on what actuaries can do and leveraging those experiences to lead the advancement of our great profession. I believe that my background coupled with my passion for the value actuaries bring to companies and society makes me a strong candidate for President.

• SOA Board Member – I have joyfully served the last three years as an SOA Elected Board Member and am eager to build upon my knowledge and relationships in an expanded role as President.
• Carrier and Consulting Actuarial Roles – I started my career at MassMutual, where I gained expertise through valuation and product development roles in life, annuity, retirement, supplemental health, and worksite. Now as a Director at WTW, I work in the transformation and analytics spaces while also managing the development program for our actuarial students. My career spans practice areas, functions, and roles, giving me the actuarial knowledge and experience to support the SOA’s strategy to Emphasize Education.
• Chief of Staff to the CFO – As Chief of Staff at MassMutual, I oversaw the strategic planning and execution for the 350-person division. I translated this experience to the SOA on the Strategic Plan Task Force, where I was an integral part of writing the new SOA purpose statement and 2022 – 2024 strategy. I now monitor and challenge our strategic progress and will continue to focus on this as President.
• Master in Business Administration (MBA) – I hold an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where I graduated first in my class of 216 students. The international program taught me to think critically about the world's interconnected dependencies and opportunities, which prepared me to advise on the SOA’s strategy to Accelerate International in markets beyond North America.

Volunteer, Governance and Personal Experience

Describe how your volunteer, governance and personal experiences would strengthen your contributions to the SOA Board, the organization, and strategic plan execution. Please list your relevant volunteer experience. Please include the name of the organization, your role, and approximate dates.

As an SOA Elected Board Member, I have enthusiastically volunteered 600+ hours to support the SOA purpose and strategy, while building relationships and respect among fellow board members. Serving as Chair of the Governance and Policy Board Committee prepared me to lead our full board with strong adherence to SOA bylaws and governance. My role as Chair of the Task Force for a high impact strategic initiative demonstrated and strengthened my skills to lead bold transformational initiatives. I pursued many Board Liaison roles (below) to acquire a complete picture of the initiatives underway for our strategic pillars to Cultivate Community, Enhance Education, and Spotlight Purpose. These broad experiences working with SOA volunteers, staff, and the board to advance SOA’s strategy position me to serve effectively as President.

Beyond the SOA, I was a member of the board of Lakeside Christian Camp and my church Finance Committee. Leading in governance roles for other non-profits provides me insight into the strengths and opportunities for the SOA board.

• Elected Board Member, SOA (2020 – Present)
• Chair, Governance and Policy Committee (2022 – Present)
• Chair, Task Force for a high impact strategic initiative (2022 – 2023)
• Board Liaison
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee (2022 – 2023)
• Research Executive Committee (2021 – 2022)
• Sections/Communities (2021 – 2022)
• Young Professional Advisory Committee (2020 – 2021)
• Professional Development Committee (2020 – 2021)
• Member, Strategic Plan Task Force (2020 – 2021)
• Chair, SOA Community Engagement Strategy Working Group (2020)
• Vice-Chair, SOA Leadership & Development Section (2019 – 2020)
• President, Actuaries’ Club of Boston (150+ members) (2018 – 2020)
• President, Actuaries’ Club of Hartford & Springfield (400+ members) (2016 – 2018)
• Presenter/Author, SOA (2014 – Present)
• Board Member, University of Hartford Industry Advisory Board (2014 – 2016)
• Board Member, Lakeside Christian Camp (2019 – 2020)
• Finance Committee, Valley Community Baptist Church (2,000+ members) (2014 – 2016)

Agility/Change

Describe a significant change that you led in the workplace or in your volunteer activities. What were the largest obstacles you overcame, and what would you have done differently to ensure greater success.

A significant change I led for the SOA occurred in my capacity as Chair of a Task Force for a high impact strategic initiative. In my three years on the board, this initiative was the most transformational change we undertook and approved. The largest obstacle I overcame was managing a wide spectrum of passionate perspectives on the best path forward, given that our 12-member task force represented all practice areas, multiple geographies, and deep experience with the SOA. We spent 50+ hours together defining the problem, brainstorming, and creating the plan for change.

To lead the group toward the most optimal outcome given the challenge of differing opinions, I:

• Held space for individual brainstorming to allow introverts and extroverts to contribute to idea generation
• Called for frequent directional votes on issues to gather all opinions and interrupt the bias of groupthink
• Documented decisions in writing to avoid relitigating past debates
• Sought an even balance of airtime among members to hear all perspectives
• Connected offline with members to further explore opposing views; and
• Solicited regular feedback on my leadership and our progress to continually improve

Using this careful approach, I both addressed the passionate and divergent opinions and unified our group. We produced a strong recommendation that the full task force supported, and the board approved. My experience leading first the task force and then the board towards a transformational change for the SOA will serve me well to lead as President as we collectively pursue positive change for the organization.

During the process, after spending six months refining a working proposal, we learned that some aspects of the proposal did not test well. From this experience I learned to perform market research early and often to uncover issues and more efficiently progress towards the best recommendation.

Motivating/Influencing

Describe a time when you helped resolve a difficult situation in a professional setting. Describe the situation, the actions you took, and the outcome.

In my role as Chief of Staff to the CFO, I was responsible for identifying and resolving conflicts among the CFO's executive team. One particularly difficult conflict arose between two leaders regarding a financial transformation initiative in which one of the leader's work product was being questioned by the other leader. The tension between the two leaders escalated to a point to where it needed to be addressed.

To resolve the issue, I first met with each leader individually and listened to their perspectives. It became clear from the meetings that the root cause of disagreement was the use of different data sources to evaluate work progress. I worked with the respective teams to reconcile the data differences, facilitated agreement on a common evaluation process, and the project moved forward.

Conflict resolution scenarios occur frequently in business endeavors, and our 18-member board is no exception. We value the open expression of different opinions, as diversity of thought generates better business decisions. However, there are times where opposing opinions on high stakes matters can evoke strong passions and emotions that need to be managed. As chair of the board, the President plays a vital role in making sure all members are heard and respected, while also keeping the board on task and aligned on facts pertinent to the current topic. My experience managing through conflict among senior executives positions me to do the same among members of the board.

Diversity

What steps might the SOA take to improve its diversity, equity and inclusion? You can read more about current efforts by the organization at www.soa.org/programs/diversity-inclusion.

I currently serve as the Board Liaison to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEIC), where I witness firsthand the thoughtful work of our key volunteers. As part of the team, I participate in generating new ideas to reach the SOA’s DEI goal: “for all members and candidates to feel fully included and have equitable opportunities to enter, develop, grow and succeed in our chosen profession.”

While all stages of the journey in an actuarial career need attention from a DEI perspective, I have advocated for a focus on making equitable opportunities to enter, specifically through the expansion of the Diversity Extension of University-Earned Credit Program. I believe a powerful way to increase diversity into our pipeline is for the SOA to increase the number of relationships we have with schools who serve predominantly underrepresented populations, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI’s). The diversity extension of our university-earned credit program is structured to provide support to these universities in offering a rigorous course in the Financial Mathematics (FM) exam that can be taken for actuarial exam credit. The SOA started with a small cohort of participating schools, but I believe the SOA can rapidly expand the program to create more equitable opportunities for students of all ethnicities and backgrounds to enter our profession.

For our existing members, I support creating opportunities for growth and success by diversifying our volunteer pipeline. Volunteer participation is strong among more experienced actuaries, but less so among early to mid-career members. While celebrating our current volunteers, we should also aim to increase engagement among young professionals. This has a dual benefit: 1) the SOA receives an infusion of new energy and ideas and 2) young professionals build leadership skills through volunteering that drive personal career growth.

International

The 2022-2024 Strategic Plan includes an objective to Accelerate International Growth. Please explain how you will help the Board accomplish this.

Given that the U.S. and Canada are mature insurance markets, a focus on the less developed and growing insurance market outside of North America is critical to increase SOA membership and strengthen the SOA’s position as the leading actuarial credential globally.

One way I have already contributed to the Accelerate International Growth objective is by deepening my understanding of the international market and our competitors globally. The board frequently requests market research to ensure any initiatives we undertake are well positioned for success. One insight is that actuaries practicing outside of North America often work across practice areas such as life, health, and retirement, rather than specializing in one practice area as is often the case in North America. Furthermore, one of our main international competitors, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), accommodates international career paths by offering candidates more flexibility of content in the FSA pathway. I believe the SOA should respond to these insights by considering a more flexible FSA pathway that is more appealing to prospective international candidates.

Another area where I will contribute to our international strategy is advocacy for more localized expressions of services and products, aided by increased local staff on the ground in key regions such as Singapore, India, the Middle East, Africa, and Pakistan. Two examples where an enhanced local presence would make a difference are 1) marketing campaigns aimed at attracting first time candidates and 2) partnerships with local universities to increase SOA awareness and utilization. I believe these types of initiatives will be more successful internationally if local SOA staff are advising on strategy and assisting with execution.

Emerging

The SOA Long-Term Growth Strategy outlines the six critical issues our research has identified as the trends changing our environment and impacting our work as actuaries. How might the Board address any of these issues to keep the SOA successful?

The Long-Term Growth Strategy was completed in 2020 and the six critical issues are just as pressing today. I take particular concern with the rise of data science and AI, along with strengthening member and candidate engagement. While I am fully supportive of our strategic plan, over the last three years I have been a persistent voice in the boardroom that we need to act bolder and move faster to successfully execute on this plan so that our profession continues to flourish and provide critical service to society.

While actuaries and data scientists have made excellent strides in collaborating in the workplace, the picture is more concerning at the university level: enrollment in data science programs is rising while enrollment in actuarial science programs is declining. There is important work for both roles in the industry, and our responsibility to the actuarial profession is to better attract new candidates to the SOA. We must enhance our marketing efforts in a way that resonates with young people, by spotlighting how actuarial work contributes to the societal good.

On the issue of strengthening engagement, I propose bolder action on the strategic pillar to Cultivate Community. I served as Chair of the Community Engagement Strategy Working Group to develop an enhanced community model, which led to the existing pilot of Communities. While a strong start, we can and should do more. In today’s virtual world, an online community is vital to facilitating connection among members across companies, practice areas, and regions. Over half of SOA members are millennials, and there are already successful communities of early career actuaries on Actuarial Outpost, Go Actuary, and Reddit (r/actuary). By learning from these forums to create an SOA-sponsored virtual community, we will create a sense of belonging among members and drive enhanced engagement with the SOA.