Debarshi Chatterjee, FCIA(2019)
Position: Director candidate
Province: Ontario
Primary Practice Area: P&C insurance
Position statement
Hello all,
I am very excited to apply for the position of Director for the CIA Board!
With more than 20 years of experience as an actuary, I have had the opportunity to work with actuaries across five countries and three continents. I have worked in insurance companies of all sizes and in diverse jurisdictions, consulting firms – Big 4 – as well as smaller ones, and for a global reinsurer. This has provided me with a comprehensive understanding of different working styles, cultures and regulatory frameworks. In all my varied experiences, the one common theme has been the joy of working with actuaries who exhibit unshakeable professional integrity, base their conclusions on information, and are smart, curious, and articulate.
I have been an active volunteer with the CIA. For the past 1.5 years, I have been volunteering for the CIA Committee on Risk Management and Capital Requirements, where I support Canadian actuaries through developing educational notes, practice resource documents, and research papers on various capital and risk management-related activities. Before that, I volunteered for 2.5 years with the CIA’s P&C Financial Reporting Committee, where I was heavily involved in drafting several educational notes to support the P&C actuaries in the transition to IFRS 17. I had the opportunity to present to large groups of actuaries in the CIA’s Appointed Actuary Seminars and Annual Conferences as part of these committees.
I have also volunteered with different actuarial societies throughout my career. Before coming to Canada, I acted as Secretary for the Advisory Group for General Insurance in India, presented on different topics at various seminars and helped organize the Global Conference of Actuaries. I have also played the role of International Career Ambassador for the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), UK, where I helped support budding actuarial talents from across the world. I am currently volunteering with their Sustainability Working Party where we are developing educational materials related to climate scenarios.
In my current role at Definity Insurance Company, I oversee our Strategic Risk team which is responsible for various capital and risk-related activities, including assessing the impact of climate change. Whereas most of my experience has been in the P&C area, I have had the opportunity to lead the actuarial practice for a consulting firm that consisted of life, pensions and P&C actuaries, which provided me with a broader view of the different areas of actuarial practice.
I am inspired by the CIA’s strategic plan for 2023-2026, which lists five priorities for the upcoming years. These priorities are to build the CIA brand, cultivate member engagement, be a technology-savvy organization, provide knowledge-based services and products, and serve the public interest. I am eager to support the CIA in turning these priorities into actionable goals and implementing them.
I believe that the CIA can play a leadership role in assessing and mitigating the impact of climate change given its significant influence on our core industries and the tools and expertise that are available to our profession, along with our focus on serving the public interest. Additionally, the actuarial profession is at a crossroads with the explosion of artificial intelligence, machine learning techniques and the development of data science. Our future students now have a wider choice of possible careers. It will be crucial for us to stay ahead of these developments and radically transform our profession to remain competitive and relevant. As these are global challenges, it will require us to collaborate with other actuarial societies from all over the globe.
I am ready to take up this challenge along with the rest of the CIA Board!
Thank you.
2022-Present – Committee on Risk Management and Capital Requirements
2023 – OSFI Climate Scenario Exercise – Advice Statement Drafting Entity
2019-22 – Property and Casualty Insurance Financial Reporting Committee
- 2019-22 – Member
- 2021-22 – Risk Adjustment Subcommittee
- 2021-22 – Fall Letter Subcommittee
- 2020-22 – Liability for Remaining Coverage Subcommittee
2019-20 – Volunteer Engagement and Development Advisory Group
I am actively involved in our company’s Environment and Climate Action employee group where we organize several events to provide our employees the opportunity to make a positive impact on the environment. I was a panelist in our first-ever “My Cool Culture” learning panel.
I am one of the three directors in our ethnic community’s cultural group where we organize several events throughout the year. I have previously sponsored several underprivileged children in India through a non-governmental organization and have been a sponsor-member of Greenpeace India. More recently, I was a regular donor with GiveIndia foundation. I currently support Doctors Without Borders, who provide critical medical assistance to people facing humanitarian crises worldwide.
I have received several awards for speaking and volunteering with the Institute of Actuaries of India and the IFoA.
On the work front, I was a recipient of the Definity CEO award in 2023.
Question: What do you think of the effectiveness and importance of the CIA in its core functions (e.g., qualification, continuing education, professional development, promotion of the profession, research, standard-setting and professional conduct)?
Answer: I think the CIA took a step in the right direction by starting the University Accreditation Program (UAP). Many junior actuaries drop out of actuarial careers due to the severe demand on time that’s needed for preparing for actuarial exams. The UAP will reduce a lot of double work for students who graduate with an actuarial science degree from one of the recognized universities.
Besides this, the CIA has been effective in providing a Canadian perspective to the exams conducted by the Society of Actuaries and Casualty Actuarial Society in the US by creating a Canadian-specific exam (Exam 6C). This is great international collaboration and efficient use of resources across North America.
On continuing education, I have found the Seeing Beyond Risk podcast episodes to be quite useful. Also, the Appointed Actuary Seminar and Annual General Meeting are good ways to create a close-knit actuarial community. The CIA has been very active in setting standards and supporting significant changes like IFRS 17 with several educational notes and practice resource documents.