“When you're in industry, you have very specific objectives, many by a given date. In research, you don't know what you're going to find before you've done it. So rather than starting from the end, you decide where you're going to put your energy and resources.”
Dr Benjamin Avanzi
Actuary and Professor
This interview is part of the “Academic Actuaries” mini-series with guest host Martin Mulcare. You can also listen to the interview on the We Are Actuaries podcast episode number 96.
Martin Mulcare asks Dr Benjamin Avanzi to share his experience as an actuary in academia.
In this interview, Benjamin highlights the following:
Understand the 40-40-20 split - most Australian academics spend about 40% on research, 40% on education and 20% on leadership, engagement and admin.
Recognise the research pivot - Benjamin’s own shifts, from insurer-funded reserving work to a climate-risk model and the Resilient Homes research, started with the right people, a real problem and good timing.
Bridge the mindset gap - industry works backwards from a deadline, while research starts with where to put your energy and sees what emerges.
Measure impact, not just output - promotion depends on whether you’ve changed how people think or act, not only on papers published.
Build resilience before brilliance - a PhD asks for self-motivation and persistence far more than genius.
Benjamin Avanzi PhD FIAA CERA GAICD is Professor of Actuarial Studies at the University of Melbourne and a Swiss and Australian actuary. After a PhD at the University of Lausanne, work in group life insurance and chairing a Swiss pension fund, he held academic positions at UNSW (2008–2013), the Université de Montréal (2013–2015) and UNSW again (2015–2020), before joining Melbourne in 2020. With students, colleagues and industry partners, he develops statistical and machine-learning models for claims reserving, dependence and capital, and the climate and disaster risks facing insurers, households and communities. This joint work has won two Hachemeister Prizes from the Casualty Actuarial Society, a Highly Commended Paper Prize from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, and the Melville and Carol Dolan Actuaries Summit Prizes. He is an Editor of ASTIN Bulletin, an Associate Editor of Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, and a Non-Executive Director of the Theatre Royal, Hobart.
Our guest host, Martin Mulcare, is a qualified actuary, experienced senior leader and a talented facilitator. He enjoys working with different types of people and he loves sharing ideas. Formerly the facilitator of the Professionalism Course, Martin is a member of both the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Ethics Centre and is the Chairman of the Board of The Growth Project.
Connect with Benjamin on LinkedIn.
Connect with Martin on LinkedIn.
Views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not represent the views of their places of work.
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