Leader Interview - Susan Pantely

Health Watch, July 2021

Recently, Health Watch interviewed Susan E. Pantely, FSA, who is a principal and consulting actuary with Milliman. She currently serves on the Society of Actuaries (SOA) Nominating Committee and the Health Practice Council of the American Academy of Actuaries, and she is chairperson of the Actuarial Standards Board General Committee. She previously served on the SOA Board of Directors, as chairperson of the Health Section and on the Course P exam committee. Her experience covers a broad spectrum, including Medicaid state agencies, managed care organizations, provider groups and companies offering digital health solutions. Susan’s experience includes assisting clients with pricing, benefit plan design, risk analysis, and claim liability estimates. She also helps clients with incentive system development, such as capitation and pay for performance.

On Being an Actuary

Health Watch (HW): How and when did you decide to become an actuary?

Susan E. Pantely (SP): About a year after I graduated from college, I was looking at job postings in the newspaper and came across a listing for actuarial analyst in a small pension firm. The skills listed were interesting to me, and I applied for the position. The circumstances weren’t ideal as they had no senior actuary to help me learn. However, it introduced me to the profession. About a year later, I applied for a position at a large insurance company where I had the support I needed and never looked back.

HW: What other careers did you consider? Or if you have had other careers, can you describe them?

SP: During high school, I considered studying engineering, pharmacy or dentistry. I entered college in the school of engineering. It didn’t take long for me to decide that was not a good fit. My sophomore year I switched to the school of arts and sciences without a clear path in mind. I gravitated to math and statistics courses and eventually got my degree in mathematics.

HW: What was your favorite job before you became an actuary?

SP: Only summer jobs: waitress and cashier at a bicycle rental shop.

HW: What has been most crucial in your development as an actuary?

SP: Learning to focus on the big picture rather than the answer that a model produces. We start our careers focused on “getting the right answer.” However, you provide much more value once you focus more on the big picture. It’s not an easy transition to make. If you just plug and play, you will never progress from being a technician. The model results can be right but not appropriate or best for the overall situation. Ultimately, it’s important to understand not only the results we are producing but how they will be used and whether they make sense in the big picture.

HW: Looking at your career as an actuary, do you see any important learning milestones or turning points in your career?

SP: After working at an insurance company for a couple of years, I moved to a consulting firm. Truthfully, I just wanted a change, and I didn’t do the research I should have done. Luckily, the consulting environment suited me, and I never looked back.

A few years after getting my FSA, I moved to a new consulting firm. Early on, I realized it was not a good fit. However, I worked there for a little over a year, and the experience taught me quite a few things that have shaped my career. Besides gaining a great new mentor and a new client that is still with me, I learned more specifically what type of environment is the best fit for me.

Finally, I moved from Milliman’s New York City office to the San Francisco office. The move came with more responsibility as the new position involved managing the practice, responsibility for financial results and revenue growth. Although I had been at Milliman for many years, I was now managing a practice—with an entirely new group of individuals and a host of new responsibilities. It certainly was a turning point and honed my decision-making skills.

HW: As an actuary, what keeps you awake at night?

SP: As a health care actuary, fixing our health care system is the number-one item keeping me up at night. There are so many stakeholders in health care that it’s difficult to make significant progress. Health care affordability and access are top concerns. As I am doing this interview, we are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upended the health care system in ways none of us have seen in our lifetime. It has shown some of the weaknesses of the system but may ultimately change some characteristics (such as acceptance of telehealth) for the better. The impact of the pandemic will not go away with the disease itself and will impact health care for the foreseeable future, if not forever. That’s plenty to keep me up at night!

HW: Where do you think the actuarial profession should focus to remain relevant?

SP: Technology is changing. We have predictive analytics, big data and new data sources. For example, in health care we soon may be able to routinely include information such as lab test results and weight in our analyses. It is important for the profession to keep up with the latest analytical tools.

Focusing on business skills should also be an area of focus to remain relevant. Actuaries are helping to solve many important problems, but without the proper business skills, we will only be the technical experts behind the scenes.

On Being a Leader

HW: How much did your actuarial training prepare you for this role? What additional training—formal, informal or otherwise—did you need to be successful?

SP: The actuarial training built an important foundation in my career. Besides the technical knowledge it provided, it prepared me in other ways with skills such as time management, critical thinking, working under pressure, prioritization and tenacity (as I admit I failed my fair share of exams!). However, to become a leader, this foundation needs to be complemented with additional training. I took both public speaking and leadership courses. Additionally, at Milliman I have been able to watch and learn from several tremendous leaders. That firsthand experience is so important, but it is also critical to find your own style as it will never ring true if you are just emulating someone else’s demeanor. Finally, I volunteered for the SOA in several roles including Health Section Council Chair and the Board of Directors, which provided valuable lessons that I believe also contributed to my success.

HW: What are the most important lessons you’ve learned in your role?

SP: Mistakes will happen—don’t delay notifying the appropriate persons, don’t make any excuses, and learn from it. Listen—to those both more and less experienced than yourself. Continue to challenge yourself and be a lifetime learner.

HW: Let’s say you’re hiring your successor. What characteristics will help you choose the correct candidate?

SP: I’ve had a pretty good track record on hiring, and I tend to rely heavily on my instincts. However, there are a few characteristics that stand out:

• Technical expertise. Especially the ability to look at results, ask the right questions, and sense if something is right or wrong.
• Strong integrity and values.
• Positivity
• Don’t assume that candidates who have passed exams quickly or graduated at the top of their class are automatically superior to others. Look for more.
• Prior job success is important, but if there is one failure, don’t dwell on it. Not every job is a good fit.

HW: Describe the biggest one or two challenges that you have faced in your role.

SP: I think my biggest challenges have been managerial. I genuinely like and respect my colleagues. I’ve had to learn that sometimes my decisions will be unpopular. I initially wanted to build consensus before a decision. In some circumstances, that still may be a good option. However, often as a manager, you have to make decisions without consensus that may not be popular. Being able to articulate the objective reasons behind that decision helps. Additionally, giving negative feedback to someone has never been easy for me. However, most people know when they haven’t lived up to expectations. Confronting it head-on, combined with an improvement plan, is better for everyone involved.

HW: What advice would you give to another actuary going into a leadership position for the first time?

SP: Be approachable and transparent. Set clear expectations and give frequent, timely feedback. Don’t micromanage—which is often the hardest goal to achieve.

 

Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries, the editors, or the respective authors’ employers.