WHEN I contacted Kartina Tahir Thomson, who made headlines in Malay-sia when the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) announced her as its president-elect, she was on a much-needed family holiday.
Kartina, a senior director of Willis Towers Watson in the United Kingdom, is the first Malay-sian woman to be elected president of IFoA, the United Kingdom's only chartered professional body that develops and regulates actuaries in the UK and globally.
It was the Easter break, and I believe, she wanted to spend time with her family before she jets off on a working trip.
Kartina will helm the organisation in June next year, which is set to be an exciting and challenging journey.
However, I assume many would want to know about the path that took this mother of twins from Perak to where she is now. And she kindly obliged.
"It is a series of small but incremental life decisions," said Kartina, who was born in Ipoh but had spent most of her primary and secondary school years in Kota Kinabalu, where her lecturer father worked.
She left home at 15 to attend Maktab Rendah Sains Mara in Taiping, where her talent and gift in certain subjects, especially Maths, were spotted.
"That was a pivotal moment as it set off a series of events that included receiving a scholarship to read actuarial science in the UK at 17."
Kartina studied hard and played hard — her chosen game was tennis and she played the piano during assemblies and events at the school, whose vision it was to become an innovative and world-class education centre.
"My Physical Education coach, who also happened to be a guidance counsellor, suggested that I should consider actuarial science as a profession.
"I think he saw grit and determination in my general personality, and I was good in Maths.
"So, with those two traits, he thought that it might be something worth investigating."
Friends from her school days were not at all surprised by her meteoric rise.
"The more I looked into it, the more interested I became because it uses mathematics and quantitative modelling and analysis to solve problems.
"My decision was cemented when I was offered a scholarship to read the subject in the UK."
She did her A levels at Bosworth College in Northampton before reading Actuarial Science at Bayes Business School in London, a leading institution known for world-class business education, excellent research reputation and deep engagement with practice.
Kartina initially intended to go back and work in Malaysia after graduating, but the Asian economic crisis was in full swing.
"I was advised to receive my actuarial training in the UK. I trained at a couple of large, global insurance companies and qualified in 2006.
"As someone who is keen to diversify her experience, I decided to join one of the largest insurance brokers in the world to experience non-traditional actuarial work.
"A few years after that, the European insurance market was experiencing radical changes in regulation called Solvency II and I pivoted to become the chief risk officer for an insurance company to experience this first hand."
She then joined the Bank of England (BoE) to influence the policies and market expectation of Solvency II as a regulator.
"After six years at the BoE, I decided to support clients, add value through risk management and regulation as a director with one of the Big Four (global consultancy firms), and now as a senior director with the largest insurance consultancy in the world.
"I am also on the board of directors of a Financial Times Stock Exchange-listed company.
"In parallel, I was elected to the IFoA council, the governing body of the IFoA, for the past six years.
"I also grew the IFoA Foundation, the charitable arm of the IFoA from its start-up phase to where it is today, experiencing exponential growth in the last three years, as the chair."
She is driven by the desire to help people and making an impact on the lives of others, "no matter how small".
"This is what I have been working on, chairing the IFoA Foundation for the past three years, where I am focused on attracting a more diverse next generation of actuaries to the profession.
"In terms of who drives me on, my children and their future drive me on, where I hope for a more equitable world for them to live in."
She said if she wasn't doing what she is doing now, she would be exploring the third sector, the part of an economy or society comprising non-governmental and non-profit-making organisations or associations, including charities and voluntary groups — more permanently and as a career.
"As such, I do charity work with the IFoA Foundation and I love the work."
With a string of responsibilities, she said she has to be clear about her priorities, structures, focus and personal life to ensure a work-life balance.
"I always ensure that I am there for my girls and my family is my priority.
"The ability to be flexible day to day is also important, to be able to 'flex' what needs to be achieved.
"Finally, knowing my why's helps with prioritisation, that is, why I am doing different tasks."
Being at the top in so many of her portfolios and responsibilities, she has this to say to women who aspire to climb the corporate ladder: "Be secure in your worth and your contribution.
"Don't be too distracted with the traditional definition and timing of success. Enjoy what you do and the reward and recognition will come.
"Also, accept help and support. We are not an island and we shouldn't expect to do everything ourselves."
The senior director at WTW, with 25 years of actuarial, risk, governance and regulatory experiences, said she would like to attract more people with diverse backgrounds and thought to actuarial science for a more sustainable profession.
"With diversity of thought, we can be even more impactful to help solve the world's challenges."
I jokingly told her that the announcement of her appointment had caused excitement in Malay-sia, similar to the announcement of Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh winning an Oscar for Best Actress.
"Hardly!" she said, brushing it aside.
The only similarities, she said were that they were both born
in Ipoh and had attended Convent Ipoh.
"It's as different as night and day. I just hope that I have the impact and inspiration Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh has on people across the world."
