2015 42 Bermuda:Re/insurance+ILS
Bermuda. It was a leap of faith to leave my home country and city life in Boston for a 21-mile island with 60,000 inhabitants—a big move for a risk-averse actuary. But it didn’t take long for me to become charmed by the Bermuda. For such a small island, Bermuda is surprisingly cosmopolitan, with a steady influx of workers from all over the world.
Rubbing elbows with the Island’s high concentration of
forward-thinking intellectuals has been inspiring and motivating. New companies spring up year after year, as innovative ideas and structures are put to the test The lifestyle, the weather and the friendliness of the people are all ideal. Bermuda greeted me with open arms, and I’m thankful that my career brought me to this beautiful place.
Sylvia Oliveira
Job: CEO Company: Wilton Re Bermuda Career path 2012—CEO, Wilton Re Bermuda 2003—SVP and chief actuary, Ace Tempest Life Re 1999—AVP and life actuary, Annuity & Life Re 1992—Actuarial associate, assistant investment policy officer, John Hancock Life Insurance
Sylvia Oliveira is chief executive officer of Wilton Re Bermuda. Prior to joining the Company in April 2012, Oliveira served as senior vice president and chief actuary of ACE Tempest Life Reinsurance. Prior to ACE, Oliveira worked as an actuary at Annuity & Life Reinsurance Bermuda and at John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company in Boston.
She has over 20 years of experience in the life insurance industry.
Oliveira is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Chartered Financial Analyst She holds a BA and an MA in Mathematics, both from Boston University.
Why did you choose to work in this industry initially?
My career path started in the actuarial field, stemming from my love of math with a sprinkling of influence from my mother. I have two mathematics degrees, and I am thrilled whenever my children ask for help with their homework. My mother also has a math degree. She started sitting for the actuarial exams in the 1970s but found it too difficult to balance a career, actuarial exams and a small child (me). She was the one who introduced the actuarial profession to me when I was in high school. I knew that I wanted to continue learning and using math after graduating college, so the actuarial profession was a natural fit. Taking the exams while maintaining my workload was gruelling at times, but I loved the challenge.
What has been the highlight of your career so far? One major highlight in my career was accepting a position in
What has been the biggest challenge you have encountered?
Upon starting a family, work-life balance became a difficult challenge for me, especially during the financial crisis, where I was trying to manage 60 to 70-hour working weeks with two young children. My keys to survival were being able to work from home in the evenings and having a supportive partner. I still struggle with obtaining the right balance. I strive to be 100 percent present in whatever I am doing. During family-time I want to be 100 percent focused on my family and not thinking about work. It doesn’t always happen that way, but it’s a helpful mindset for me to target.
If you had chosen a different profession/career path, what would it have been?
I’ve always been intrigued by the medical profession and the idea of being able to help someone in need. Being a math teacher has been a dream of mine too. Many people who hate math blame a bad experience with a teacher. It would be great for me to be able to spread my enthusiasm for math to young minds. ■
“Bermuda greeted me with open arms, and I’m thankful that my career brought me to this beautiful place.”
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