Feifei Zhang, Actuarial Senior Associate, Aviva, London

Name: Feifei Zhang Position: Actuarial Senior Associate Studied: Finance Location: London Company: Aviva Job title: Global Complex Asset Director and Financial Risk Director for the UK & Ireland

I would describe myself as an "accidental actuary" because I worked in the investment banking industry before I came to this country about 12 years ago. After I finished my Masters in Finance from the London School of Economics, I applied for a job in Standard Life Investment hoping to join the asset management industry. Surprisingly, Standard Life came back and asked me whether I was interested in being an actuary, because they were looking for Chinese actuaries who could work for their joint venture in China.  The lady interviewing me promised that being an actuary is more exciting than a fund manager, and that's how I started my actuarial career!

Luckily for me, I joined the profession at the right time because few modern finance courses were introduced to the actuarial exam system at that time.

After working as a Life actuary in Standard Life and then in Watson Wyatt, now known as Towers Watson, I joined Deutsche Bank in 2008 as Head of Insurance and Inflation Risks, when I stepped away from the conventional actuarial career path: A decision which proved so important and valuable for me every time I look back.

Having said that, I have to admit that it is the UK actuarial qualification and the training and development programme that encourages and enables me to take new challenges - almost every senior actuary I've spoken to have all had a successful working experience in "non-conventional" functions, such as marketing, sales, M&A, asset-liabilities management, etc.

It is from these experiences that we as actuaries learn long-term value, risk/return balance, stakeholder management, and, very importantly, commercial awareness.  Having studied with the ACCA and worked in banks in the past, I will say that not many other professions provide the same level of variety and learning process as the UK, Actuarial Profession.

As I said earlier, I am now working in the Risk Management function in Aviva, and with Solvency II coming soon; my working life is almost as busy as my old days in an investment bank!

An example day for me is reviewing a few highly technical papers on complex asset modelling so that I can brief our Chief Actuary and our Chief Risk Officer. I go to meetings with the Group Credit Approval Committee to get involved in the group-wide credit risk management decisions and each day I try and speak to my colleagues in the other teams to prepare for our document submission and follow-up meetings with the FSA, the UK regulator. Of course my life isn't just about work - with Olympics being in London I'd booked a ticket to watch the basketball matches in the Olympic Park, which was a well deserved self reward for some hard work!

Finally, I know you would like to know what challenges I've come across as an overseas members.  Obviously communication is the key, but by the way, I am not talking about the communication exam because surprisingly, many overseas students, like me, pass the communication exam in their first attempt!  For me, communication is understanding, it is care. An example of this is communicating to our policyholders or shareholders. It is not about explaining technical terms in plain English but to understand what they need, to care what they need, and then you will find a natural way to get connected.  For me, different social and cultural values are among the first things an international member has to learn and to understand.

Fortunately, the UK is such an open society and every company I've worked so far are very globalized and professional. For me, working in London is another bonus because it is globalized but at the same time enables me to keep my cultural roots as a Chinese.