A Senior Principal in Oliver Wyman’s Actuarial Practice, Simone has two decades of life insurance consulting experience spanning valuation, solvency, and pricing in the European, North American, and Caribbean insurance markets. Simone was born in Barbados and has strong consulting experience in the region and also serves as our Caribbean Market Leader. Prior to joining the firm in 2002, Simone worked in various areas of Marsh and McLennan, Oliver Wyman’s parent company.
Working across several different geographies, backgrounds, management styles at Marsh McLennan was an invaluable experience as to how to create value and strength from other perspectives.
A major turning point early on in Simone’s career was taking on a role with the Canadian regulator for two years. “I was placed in meetings with the CEOs of the largest insurers in Canada. It helped me see what we do in the round, from the perspective of the firm and the regulator and to see more clearly the multiple ways our reports and decisions impacted our customers’ strategy.” I was able to see what the regulators were concerned about and what my clients cared about and how actuarial reports and decisions impact their strategic objectives. I became more of a strategic thinker and developed an ability to draw my team out of the weeds and communicate key insights that really mattered to the client,” she says.
Simone assists clients with their financial objectives, helping them understand, quantify, and communicate the implications of challenges to various stakeholders, and assessing and eventually implementing solutions to manage these challenges. Clients and team members seek out Simone for her expertise in M&As, valuations, risk management solutions, and growth while ensuring regulatory compliance.
Looking ahead, Simone sees both challenges and opportunities for her clients. “A challenge will be to leverage new technologies to both improve the service they offer to their customers and lowers their cost,” she says.
COVID-19 provided a unique moment for insurers to challenge the way things are done... and to make the case for fundamental transformations that will have lasting impact.
Simone’s advice to fellow professionals entering the field is to “focus on the client’s needs and understand what value you bring to them. Learn how you can use your areas of strength to contribute to the team and the client.” Outside of her client work, Simone is a mother to three. She is a Fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries and is the President-Elect of the Caribbean Actuarial Association.