“I’ve been fortunate to work with an impressive array of industry professionals throughout my career and have never lacked mentors.”
Name: Susan Denike
Company: Guy Carpenter Job:
Managing director, Guy Carpenter Analytics
Timeline: 2006—Managing director, Guy Carpenter Analytics
2002—Senior vice president, Guy Carpenter Analytics 1985—Assistant vice president, Guy Carpenter Analytics 1982—Joined Guy Carpenter Facultative
Susan Denike, a managing director in analytics for Guy Carpenter, is one of the most well-respected catastrophe modellers in the industry; the epitome of a trusted advisor; and the consummate team player. With more than 30 years with the firm, her contacts and customer relationships are unparalleled. Driven by a relentless focus on impactful results for clients, in many ways she knows customers and their portfolios as well as if she were one of their own. Denike began her career with Guy Carpenter as a facultative
broker placing excess & surplus lines and industrial risks and in 1993 she joined the quantitative services team, now GC Analytics. Over the past several years, she has focused on the modelling of complex and emerging risks. Her work with global partner accounts is well known based on the positive results for multinational accounts she has helped to foster in collaboration with Guy Carpenter colleagues around the globe.
Why did you choose to work in this industry initially? My father worked in the reinsurance business and during college I worked on some special projects for his company which gave me exposure to Guy Carpenter. I found the idea of a role that would blend client focus with more quantitative skills appealing. At the time, the industry was known for having comprehensive, structured training programmes which attracted me as well.
What has been the highlight of your career so far? Overall, the best part of my career has been the people I’ve worked
www.intelligentinsurer.com
with both within Guy Carpenter and throughout the industry, many of whom I consider friends as well as colleagues. I’ve been fortunate to work with an impressive array of industry professionals throughout my career and have never lacked mentors. I’ve also had opportunities to travel, notably to Asia (Japan, Singapore and China) on a couple of
occasions to present
catastrophe modelling to clients in the region. The experiences were challenging due to language and cultural differences but the clients in the region were interested in how global companies approach catastrophe risk as opposed to regional firms and were very engaged during the presentations, so it was quite rewarding. It was an opportunity to showcase the kind of work Guy Carpenter does and how we can tailor our solutions for each client. I also was able to take a few days on each trip to hit some tourist highlights.
What has been the biggest challenge you have
encountered? The biggest challenge I had was moving from a broker role to an analytics role. I had been a broker for many years and made the decision to change my role for family reasons. After a brief hiatus from the industry, I was able to initially shift from broking to special projects. During that time, Guy Carpenter entered into a joint venture to develop catastrophe modelling software and needed people and resources who understood large commercial and industrial account structures, which was primarily the types of accounts I had been placing as a broker. I recognised that this was something that I was attracted to,
but I had very few data skills, or even computer skills at the time. Through some classwork and hands-on training, I was able to make the transition from being the broker on the receiving end of the analytics to the technical person providing the analyses to complete the transaction, and my role has evolved from there. This career change allowed me to blend what I consider my two strongest skillsets—my analytical skills and my client-facing skills. Catastrophe modelling was in its infancy and I was in a position to grow along with it. I was quite fortunate and the timing worked out.
If you had chosen a different profession/career path, what would it have been? I would most likely have ended up in a very similar role to what I have now—one that combines a sales-oriented role with technical skills.
2015 | INTELLIGENT INSURER | 37
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