anticipating that I'll finish Stephen Fry's second autobiography 'The Fry
Chronicles' by the time this goes to the printers. My favourite artist/album/film…
Artist –.
Under the spotlight
Solai Valliappan
[email protected]
Solai Valliappan Name… Solai Valliappan Title… Actuarial Analyst (GI) Organisation… Zurich
I’d like to be brave enough to… Scuba dive
Summarise yourself in one sentence… “The glass is always half full”
In my life I’m planning to change… The number of countries I have travelled to
My interesting/quirky hobbies… TV series marathons. I’ve watched Boston Legal and The Thick of it, now for West Wing
Not many people know this but I… am a new Assistant Editor on the Actuaries magazine Editorial Committee
My favourite energetic pursuit… Salsa dancing
Four words that sum me up… Friendly, trustworthy, astute, sociable
The sport I most like to watch… Tennis, but tipping season is starting soon so in winter AFL
What I wanted to be when I grew up… An artist (I was 7) Why and how I became an actuary… The job guide said the course would be 80% male… sadly that statistic was not reflective of my cohort. On a more serious note, the mix of business and maths was quite appealing and the offer of a scholarship sealed the deal
The last book I read (and when)… I’m anticipating that I’ll finish Stephen Fry’s second autobiography ‘The Fry Chronicles’ by the time this goes to the printers My favourite artist/album/film… Artist – Phoenix; Album – Hopes and Fears by Keane; Film – You’ve got mail The person I’d most like to cook for… My grandmother because she always spoils me so much with her cooking I’m most passionate about… Chocolate cake. Family and friends also rate highly, and I think it’s important to give back to charity with your time What gets my goat… Arrogance and slow walkers (especially at lunch time!)
Where I studied to become an actuary and qualifications obtained… Bachelor of Commerce at UNSW on the actuarial studies co-op program (Part 1 and 2). I’m an Associate currently half way through Part 3 exams
email you’ve already lost 13 hours before the deadline. There’s also the occasional Friday night phone call with Switzerland that clashes with drinks Who has been the biggest influence on my career (and why)… Robert Thomson (APRA) – how to explain complicated concepts, James Makin (Zurich) – best mentor ever!, David Whittle (Zurich) – insightful knowledge and Elsa Cheung (Zurich) – peer support My proudest career achievement to date is… This may sound trivial to seniors, but I’m sure my peers will agree that securing a graduate position at the height of the GFC was certainly a big deal 10 years from now, I will be… X+10 years old
My work history… My 3 co-op placements during uni were at Finity, APRA and Suncorp. I started at Zurich as a graduate, spent a few years in pricing and now about a year in the valuation team
When I retire, my legacy will be… Promoting the profession in a positive light
What I find most interesting about my current role… Interacting with other parts of the business – underwriting, claims, pricing actuaries, accounting, reinsurance and senior management. I also enjoy how my work leads to interaction with people both in Australia and overseas – Switzerland, Hong Kong, London and even Bermuda!
If I was President of the Institute, one thing I would improve is… Get a twitter account – see the President’s blog “To tweet or not to tweet? That is the question”
My role’s greatest challenges… Working with different time zones. Because of where we’re placed in the world by the time you read an overseas
The most valuable skill an actuary can possess is… Confidence
At least once in their life, every actuary should… Underwrite some business My best advice for younger actuaries… Seek a mentor If I could travel back in time I would… See the dinosaurs If I win the lottery, I would… Buy an Aston Martin (the DB9) March 2012 Actuaries
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