The Zurich Actuarial Society ('the Society' or 'ZAS') is a regional community working with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA)
Zurich Actuarial Society (ZAS) has the following objectives:
Any member in good standing of the IFoA or any equivalent actuarial professional body is eligible to become a member of the Society
The Committee at its sole discretion may admit as a member anyone else provided that person's membership is consistent with achieving the objectives of the Society.
Alexander Summers, Chair
After starting his career at Tillinghast in London, Alex has been working for Zurich Insurance Company in Zurich since 2009 in a variety of actuarial roles: in the Group Actuarial team, as Chief Life Actuary for Zurich’s international group life and disability protection businesses, and as Head of Capital Management for Switzerland. Alex is a Fellow of the UK Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and has master's degrees in mathematics and statistics from Cambridge University.
Adina Ciobotea, Secretary
Adina is Partner and Switzerland Actuarial Service Leader at Oliver Wyman in Zurich. She has more than ten years of actuarial experience in Life Insurance, Reinsurance and Consultancy. Before moving to Switzerland she lived and worked in several European markets including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Romania and the Czech Republic. Adina is the Continental Europe representative for IFRoA students on the International Students Consultative Forum.
Jeffery Yong, Communications Lead
Jeff is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries with nearly two decades’ experience in insurance regulation. He currently works in Basel at the Financial Stability Institute (FSI), Bank for International Settlements (BIS), where he is a Principal Advisor. The FSI’s objectives include promoting the implementation of international financial supervisory standards globally. Jeff has also worked at the Central Bank of Malaysia and the Secretariat of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors.
Leeanne O'Callaghan, Committee Member
Leeanne has ten years of pensions actuarial experience. She has been working with KPMG’s International Pensions Team, based in Zurich, since 2016. She focusses on international accounting for employee benefits and pensions issues in corporate transactions for multinational organisations. Before moving to Switzerland, Leeanne worked for five years with Willis Towers Watson in Ireland. Leeanne is a Fellow of the UK Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
Louise Adams, Committee Member
Louise has a decade of insurance and finance industry experience and works as a life risk management actuary at Swiss Re in Zurich. Prior to that Louise worked at PwC as a qualified accountant and has master’s degrees in economics, banking, and finance from Cambridge University and St Gallen University.
Iain Richardson, Committee Member
Iain has over twenty years of pensions actuarial experience. He has been working with Aon’s Retirement & Investment business, based in Zurich, since 2006. He focusses on international accounting for employee benefits and pensions issues, also total benefits benchmarking, for a portfolio of multinational clients with operations in Switzerland. Before moving to Switzerland, Iain worked in the UK for five years. He is an Institute and Faculty of Actuaries-qualified UK actuary.
James Norman, Committee Member
James is Partner and Swiss Actuarial Services & Modelling Solutions Leader at PwC in Zurich, where his areas of focus include insurance transformation & disruption; predictive modelling & responsible AI; predictive modelling and value measurement; capital and balance sheet management; and IFRS 9, 17 and CECL. James is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and has worked in the UK, USA and Switzerland.
Jethro De Decker, Committee Member
Jethro De Decker is responsible for the global Pricing methodology, governance and peer review function of PartnerRe’s Life & Health business. He is based in Zürich and works with a team across APAC, EMEA, Latam and North America. Before moving to Switzerland, Jethro was in Singapore where he was responsible for the product proposition of Metlife in Asia. He also spend time at Citibank in Singapore developing the landmark Citi-AIA bancassurance relationship. He is an IFoA-qualified South African actuary with over 15 years of global insurance experience.
The Committee at its sole discretion may admit as a member anyone else provided that person's membership is consistent with achieving the objectives of the Society.
Membership of the Society is free of charge.
Please contact ZAS at zurichas@outlook.com if you want to be added to the ZAS distribution list and kept up to date with the ZAS activities/events.