“I like to think I’m a curious person,” said Jennifer Haid (BMath ’04), a native of the Waterloo Region. When she learned about Waterloo’s Math Day from her high school math teacher, she decided to attend in hopes of learning about a career path that would leverage her aptitude for mathematics in the business world. “I remember watching a professor deliver a presentation about actuarial science and thinking two things: It was challenging, and I could do it,” she shared.
Haid’s intuition was spot on. While earning her actuarial science degree at the Faculty of Mathematics, she successfully completed co-op terms for top global consultancies, including Towers Perrin in Vancouver, where she would go on to launch her career after graduation. “My co-op experience confirmed that I was in the right field and taught me how to bridge the gap between the classroom and the workplace,” she affirmed.
After four years in Toronto, Haid moved to New York to work for EY, eventually moving on to AIG. She formed close ties at Waterloo and has stayed connected to several former classmates who also made transitions to New York. Within the larger actuarial community, she has found a home among similarly driven people who thrive in situations that require practical problem-solving abilities. “In our industry, you’re given a toolkit to address real problems in a way that secures the financial future of the people you serve,” she shared. “It’s a practical, rewarding career path.”
While leading strategy for the pensions team at AIG, Haid helped build an international reinsurance facility from the ground up. In the process, she took the initiative to identify people who could impart knowledge about longevity in the UK, leading her to Douglas Anderson, the founder of a market-leading longevity platform called Club Vita with operations in the UK, Canada, and the US. As their professional relationship developed, their conversations evolved to include strategy and broader market forces. Eventually, Anderson made her an offer to join the company.
Now, Haid serves as Club Vita’s Chief Executive Officer. “It’s an exciting place to be,” she shared. “The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on the factors that contribute to longevity. Our work is gaining more recognition as we help pension funds and insurance companies imagine what our world will be like in the next five to ten years.”
The centrality of AI and Big Data in Haid’s everyday work highlights the extent to which the actuarial science profession has evolved over time. When Haid was a student, a large component of actuarial work involved calculations. “With the help of AI and Big Data, actuaries are free to focus much more of our energy as strategists and business leaders,” explained Haid. “The world is changing and we are changing with it. My best advice to the next generation of students is this: Stay curious and commit to being a lifelong learner. If you do that, you will collect the skills and experience needed to solve the problems of the future.”