Meet the actuaries

Annie Girard

FSA, FCIA
Assistant Vice President, Development
RGA Life Reinsurance Company of Canada

Annie Girard’s actuarial career started as a challenge over the actuarial exams. "One of my professors challenged me to try one!" explained Annie. Apparently one exam was all it took for Annie to get hooked. Six years later, she is a fellow of both the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

Annie started her career with RGA in 2001, soon after completing her undergraduate degree in actuarial sciences. She started as an analyst in the corporate actuarial (valuation) area. In 2003, she transferred to RGA Australia in Sydney, which provided her with opportunities to expand and grow in her role. Two years later, while still in Sydney, she became the executive director of pricing for RGA Japan.

Annie recalls the opportunity to travel and her three years in Australia as one of the most exciting aspects of her job. "During the last months of my stay there, I was working for our Japanese office and I visited Tokyo once to meet with my colleagues," she said. "Working abroad is definitely an experience I would recommend."

In 2006, Annie moved back to Montreal, this time working in the development area for RGA Canada. Annie was promoted to assistant vice president earlier this year, and now spends her time preparing reinsurance quotes for insurance companies, answering various client requests and working on special projects such as developing non traditional reinsurance structures for expanding into new product lines.

Annie looks back at her varied experiences and recalls her most challenging ones as also being her most rewarding, saying they provided her with the opportunity to grow professionally. For example, Annie was once a member of a team that experienced high turnover. "Within a few months of my arrival, I was the one with the most seniority because the other two had left! However, this gave me a chance to prove myself, because I took over more responsibilities," she explained.

Annie graduated with a degree in actuarial sciences from Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM), where her favorite course was actuarial mathematics taught by Professor Claude Pichet. "I enjoy probabilities, but this class also took it to the next level for me. It also was very relevant given the career path I had chosen," she recalls.

Annie continues to enjoy the challenges presented by the actuarial profession, and looks forward to mentoring the next generation of actuaries that also have accepted the challenge.