Rising Star Gokul Sudarsana
Actuary Gokul Sudarsana credits a former manager with giving him the confidence to move to Bermuda and to enter the life re/insurance sector, where the 33-year-old is now chief investment officer for life at HSCM Bermuda.
Give us a snapshot of your career to date.
I started my career in the Canadian life insurance industry in a variety of actuarial roles at Munich Re and Sun Life Financial. I made the move to the Bermuda market in 2016 and joined Deloitte to lead their actuarial consulting practice. I’ve been with HSCM Bermuda since 2020 on the reinsurance investment team, most recently being named Chief Investment Officer for our Life Insurance strategy.
How did you come to choose a career in re/insurance?
I was particularly interested in maths and statistics in high school, which led me to discover the actuarial profession as an exciting way to apply those subjects in the real world.
What makes the re/insurance industry attractive to young professionals?
The re/insurance industry is very diverse in terms of lines of business as well as functionally, so it presents very exciting opportunities across a range of professional and academic backgrounds. The industry is also large, consistently profitable, and contributes a very positive social impact, so there are many attractive features here for young professionals to learn a lot, stay engaged, and take pride in their work.
What are the opportunities and challenges you’ve faced?
I’ve enjoyed the amazing opportunity to be immersed in the dynamic Bermuda life insurance industry over the past eight years. This is an historic moment when the opportunities are truly unlimited for young professionals to make a global impact at the scale we are seeing in life insurance. Honestly, my biggest challenge over the same period is probably convincing others that life insurance is cool. Bermuda is of course historically a centre for P&C risk transfer and life insurance is a relative newcomer, so I understand why young professionals gravitate toward the former, but I do encourage everyone looking at opportunities in insurance to look very closely at what’s happening in the life insurance sector.
Was there someone who inspired you or acted as a mentor in your career?
Early in my career at Sun Life Financial, my manager encouraged his staff to take ownership and accountability of their work product, and this environment was very conducive to accelerating technical and professional development. This is a management style I now consciously try to adopt within my own team. I believe it also gave me the foundation to confidently enter new markets and industries, to move to Bermuda, to work in consulting, and now, to have moved over to asset management. All of these steps have had a very positive impact on my career growth.
What differences does your generation bring to the industry?
Growing up in an era of impressive computing power and rich data availability, I would say my generation embraces an analytical approach to problem solving that is particularly imperative in a data-driven industry like insurance.
Is the industry welcoming to younger people?
The industry is particularly welcoming in Bermuda, given its outsized contribution to the overall economy. It was a welcome surprise when I moved here and I didn’t have to explain to people what an actuary does! I think it’s a tremendous opportunity for young professionals in the industry to work within such globally influential organisations that are committed to investing in local talent and professional development.
What are your career goals?
While I’d like to take credit for planning how the past eight years of my career have unfolded since moving to Bermuda, I have to admit it was largely fortunate circumstances of being in the right place at the right time.
Initially, I had a great vantage point at Deloitte, while the life insurance sector grew exponentially, to build out my technical expertise and professional network. Then, it was a great moment (and still is) to invest in the life insurance sector when I made the move to HSCM Bermuda, and this led to us building out a compelling life insurance franchise that continues to grow.
As I look ahead, my goal is to make a meaningful impact in the continued convergence of life insurance and asset management.
If you had chosen a different career, what would it have been?
As I mentioned, I was led to re/insurance by virtue of my interest in maths and statistics. While I thoroughly enjoy applying those subjects in a business context, I could also envision an alternative career path where I became a maths teacher. So, I think the common element here is that I like to talk about maths!
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