Under the Spotlight – Rashi Bansal
Title… Chief Actuary
Organisation… BT Financial Group, Westpac
Summarise yourself in one sentence… Enjoys raising a family and achieving the best in her career at the same time
My interesting/quirky hobbies… Making character cakes and costumes for kids
My favourite energetic pursuit… I am not a very sporty person, but I enjoy going for walks or cycling with my family
The sport I most like to watch… Tennis
The last book I read… The Life of Pi over the Christmas holidays. I spend most of my time reading kids books to my daughters otherwise
My favourite artist/album/film… I am a huge Bollywood movies fan
The person I’d most like to cook for… I love to cook for my family and friends, but I wouldn’t say no at the opportunity to cook for a famous Bollywood star
I’m most passionate about… My two daughters (10 and 7) who make me put life into perspective
What gets my goat… People who are not genuine
I’d like to be brave enough to… Give up communications including my iPhone and iPad for a month
Four words that sum me up… Responsible, Hardworking, Learner, Family-orientated
What I wanted to be when I grew up… As a child I wanted to be a dentist. Sounds awful now that I think about it again
Why and how I became an actuary… I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do at university other than something involving economics and maths. So I enrolled in actuarial studies as it sounded interesting. Some friends also warned me that it was a difficult course and I thought I was up for the challenge
Where I studied to become an actuary and qualifications obtained… Bachelor of Commerce, Macquarie University
My work history… I started as a graduate in super consulting for a year at Mercer. I then joined PWC consulting where I spent nearly 10 years working predominately in GI. I moved to BT five years ago to widen my experience in the corporate world. I started up leading the GI valuation team, and quickly expanded my role to take on LMI responsibilities. In the past year I have taken on the role as Chief Actuary, heading up the Life, GI and Capital teams. I’m also the Appointed Actuary for both GI and LMI
What I find most interesting about my current role… The breadth of experience and opportunities that are available to me. I am currently involved in general, lenders mortgage and life insurance
My role’s greatest challenges… In my current role it is managing multiple stakeholders all with differing expectations and motivations
Who has been the biggest influence on my career (and why)… From a professional sense, I have been very lucky to work with some amazing role models. Most recently my mentor Tim Andrews has been the biggest influence on my career. From a personal sense my husband has had a huge influence
My proudest career achievement to date is… Adapting to different situations and learning from them. Juggling a rewarding career and also running a family at the same time is also something I am very proud of
10 years from now, I will be… Still having fun and trying new challenges
When I retire, my legacy will be… Promoting diversity and gender balance at work
Why I’m proud to be an actuary… Because of the insight we bring to such a wide range of areas
The most valuable skill an actuary can possess is… Explaining all the analytical work we do in simple terms to non-actuarial stakeholders
If I were President of the Institute, one thing I would improve is… Marketing the value of actuaries outside traditional areas
At least once in their life, every actuary should… Try to think like a non actuary i.e. outside the square
My best advice for younger actuaries… Don’t underestimate the value of networking and building relationships with colleagues
If I could travel back in time I would… Not change anything. I believe in learning from the past and putting your best foot forward
If I win the lottery, I would… Take a long holiday, travelling the world with my family
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