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Special interview by Guardian Actuarial Leadership Program graduates Jennifer Ng and Peter Whittigan. 

In this interview, guest hosts Jennifer and Peter put strategic thinking under the microscope with Alissa Holz, CEO of RGA Australia and New Zealand. 

Peter and Jennifer asked: 

1. What made you want to move from being an actuary to taking on the CEO role? Was that always the plan, or did it just happen over time?

2. How do you define “strategic thinking” within the context of a life reinsurance business?

3. What frameworks or tools do you rely on when formulating strategy?

4. As CEO, you’re bound to make decisions not everyone agrees with—how do you handle those moments when you have to go against the grain or make an unpopular call?

5. How do you balance short term targets or objectives with long term strategic goals?

Alissa Holz is Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, RGA Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), for RGA Reinsurance Australia. Appointed to the role of CEO in April 2025, she has overall responsibility for the management of RGA’s operations in ANZ, including strategy, client engagement and financial results. With over 25 years of experience in the life insurance industry, Alissa brings a wealth of client experience and depth of market knowledge to her role with a proven track record of leadership within RGA. Alissa received her Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Mathematics from the Queensland University of Technology, is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia (FIAA) and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD).

Jennifer Ng is a Principal Pricing Actuary at Gen Re with over 18 years of life insurance experience in the Australian and Asia. Jennifer has extensive experience in group and retail pricing and held roles at both local and regional levels in a global reinsurer, where she was responsible for leading pricing tenders, assessing profitability of existing portfolios and providing pricing oversight to local offices. Before joining Gen Re, Jennifer was a Director in Deloitte’s Consulting practice in Australia.
Jennifer is a Fellow of the Actuaries Institute and a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.

Peter Whittigan is a qualified actuary with over 15 years’ experience in the general insurance industry. His career spans a diverse range of roles across reserving, capital management, and pricing, in both consulting and corporate environments. Peter brings deep expertise in both short-tail and long-tail insurance, covering personal and commercial lines. Currently at IAG, he is focused on the development and deployment of advanced machine learning models safely into live pricing systems.

Find out more about the Guardian Actuarial Leadership Program: https://www.guardianactuarial.com.au/ga-leadership-program

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