Events - Tan Suee Chieh

Events & speaking engagements

Events & speaking engagements 2020

11 March 2020
Speaking at the Singapore University of Social Sciences

COVID-19 Risk Fear Bias and Judgement

I spoke to the actuarial risk of the COVID-19 epidemic to individuals, and the statistical factors which drive this contagion. I used an actuarial and risk-based approach in analysing the risk of infection and deaths and contrast these to other risk types. There are limits to the efficacy of this approach because of uncertainty, and fears and biases inherent in the human psyche. He will also speak to the validity and role of rationality and emotions in humankind’s evolution.

I engaged the audience in a number of vectors of analysis and create a narrative on inter-subjectivity and various paradigms at work. He will talk about the role of judgement in the context of risk, fear and biases, and the complexity of extricating true signals from noise.

March to April 2020
Online speaking engagement

Risk Uncertainty Psychology and Judgement

Between the month of March to April, I spoke to members of the following organisations

27 March 2020 – Actuarial Society of Malaysia
3 April 2020 – Actuarial Society of Malaysia
8 April 2020 – IFoA – Singapore Actuarial Society and YPO Singapore
10 April 2020 – IFoA South East Asia and Japan
20 April 2020 – IFoA Greater China

I integrated actuarial science, psychology, culture, change dynamics and other disciplines, as a personal narrative on the unfolding COVID-19 crisis. I spoke on risk, uncertainty, the psychology of risk preferences in different contexts in the COVID-19 crisis, and how good judgment can and need to be brought to bear. In in an increasingly uncertain world, where risks cannot be modelled on a probabilistic basis, actuaries will increasingly need to develop, use and rely on judgement.

1 May 2020
Conversation with the Actuarial Society of Zimbabwe (Online)

My Journey to become an Actuary

This is a career conversation and I covered five areas – my journey to be an actuary, rising up the executive ranks, culture skills and markets, impact of machine learning and on jobs and the actuarial profession and how to manage investments. The presentation inspired me to write ‘61 Tips for Young Actuaries‘.

16 May 2020
A UCSI ASA Webinar

Adjusting to the COVID-19 World

Conversation with some 60 students of the UCSI on motivation in a world of uncertainty.

18 June 2020
IFoA Presidential Address (Online)

Strategy. Culture. Imagination.

A new strategy with a focus on vision, skillsets, mindsets and domains for the profession. We want to enable our members and the profession to thrive in the digital age, and in a future filled with both uncertainty and opportunity. We also want to ensure that the generations who come after us have the right range of skills and the growth mindset to succeed as the industrial landscapes we work in are re-drawn. The goal is to be recognised as actuaries and analytical problem solvers, not only in our core fields but across a wide range of domains, wherever our unique attributes can add value.

We now have a unique opportunity to shape the future, instead of simply responding to it. I think it is imperative that the IFoA takes this opportunity to reinvent itself for the digital age and for a rapidly transforming social agenda. Now more than ever, the actuarial profession must consider how it can best contribute to social impact and influence policy and regulatory change in the public interest around the world.

Watch the Presidential address video

23 August 2020
Webinar organised by Chinese Actuarial Network (CAN) UK

Conversation with the President of IFoA - Skills, Mindsets, Careers and Corporate Success.

Webinar event organised by Chinese Actuarial Network (CANUK). Watch the video

1- 3 September 2020
Webinar by Proactuary

The Digital Actuary Virtual Summit

What is Digital Actuary? I talked about the digital actuary by drawing on our history, our DNA and our orientation to mathematics, and the character and essence of the IFoA actuary. Watch the videos

14 September 2020
IFoA Economic Members Interest Group Colloquium (Online)

Opening Remarks “Inter-subjectivity and why New Values are required for New Orthodoxies”

The IFoA Economics Members Interest Group has a mission of stimulating diverse economic thinking within the actuarial profession. I was asked to make some opening remarks at their meeting on 4 September 2020. Watch the video on my YouTube Channel.

24-25 September 2020
Webinar by German Actuarial Society

The Cultural Transformation of the Actuarial Profession

30 September 2020
Online event by Willis Tower Watson

Engagement with actuaries at Willis Tower Watson

On 30 September, I spoke to about 60 actuaries of Watson Towers Watson. Below are some topics covered during the Q&A session.

Over-regulation & excessive influence of Life and Pensions. Watch the video
Thought leadership & defending the IFoA executive team. Watch the video
The IFoA Foundation, role models and Elon Musk. Watch the video

30 September 2020
Online event by LSESU Actuarial Society

Opening Remarks to “Actuaries in the Covid-19 Era” webinar

I was delighted to speak to the LSESU Actuarial Society on the 30th of September. This was an opening session to “Actuaries in the COVID-19 Era: How do we adapt and react?” presented by Stuart Macdonald and Matthew Edwards.

I was happy to relate my experience at the LSE between 1978 to 1981 – the journey and the lessons learned. I introduced two leading actuaries at the IFoA, Stuart and Matthew – how we met, and what they have been doing and how they are acting with incredible courage capability and judgement in response to the greatest global crisis of our lifetime.

As President of the IFoA, I was delighted to share the many exciting developments happening within the profession and the IFoA to support young aspiring actuaries – what we plan to do to thrive in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world; and how we can be relevant, influential and impactful at the workplace, in the industry we operate and in the society we live in.

Watch the video on my YouTube Channel.

3 October 2020
Online event by MASA Actuarialogy

The Mindset of a 21st Century Actuary

I gave a history of mathematics, drawing in names like Pascal Fermat, and Edmund Halley as part of our lineage, to developments in the last forty years and how we will reposition IFoA and the profession in the world of digital and the fourth industrial revolution and of great uncertainty caused by COVID-19. That the new values we have will put us in good stead.

13 October 2020
Online interview with Bryce Shepherd