YAC 2026 Program

Simone is an experienced actuary with a career spanning the insurance industry, where she has worked across extreme event modelling, pricing, claims reserving, reinsurance, and financial modelling. She is currently Chief Actuary at Picnic Labs, a start-up seeking to overhaul the current insurance business model, and was previously Head of Corporate Actuarial at Youi Insurance.

Jonathan Chin leads the Actuarial recruitment desk at Bluefin Resources. As a specialist recruiter, his work provides a unique perspective on the changing skills, career pathways and capabilities sought by employers, as well as the evolving role of actuaries in Australia. Since 2018, Jonathan has partnered with leading insurers, reinsurers, superannuation funds, consulting firms and government agencies, giving him a broad perspective of the actuarial profession across the market.

Chair: Michael Jacinto, Career and Leadership Taskforce member

Elayne Grace is CEO of the Actuaries Institute. She was previously Deputy CEO and Head of Public Policy from 2013 – 2017, responsible for the development and implementation of the Institute’s public policy strategy.  Elayne has 25 years’ international experience with leading consulting firms and major insurers. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (UK) and has a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Finance.

Hugh is a principal at Taylor Fry and the 2021 Actuary of the Year. He is also part of Institute of Actuaries of Australia’s Public Policy Council Committee, and is Data Analytics Editor of the Institute’s magazine Actuaries Digital and pens the column ‘Normal Deviance’.

Shang Wu is a Portfolio Manager, Retirement Strategy in the Investments team at Aware Super. His role focuses on investment and retirement strategy for members, including retirement solutions and members’ asset allocation. He is also responsible for fostering research collaboration between the fund and academia in these areas and contributes to retirement policy development. Shang holds a PhD in Actuarial Studies from UNSW Australia. His research focuses on financial decision-making in retirement, and he has published several papers in leading international economics journals. Shang is a qualified actuary, Chair of the Actuaries Institute’s Retirement Income Sub-Committee, and a member of the Superannuation and Investments Practice Committee.

Alfie is an actuary and director at management consultancy Simon-Kucher, with experience advising financial services organisations on strategy, pricing and growth. As a member of the Actuaries Institute’s Aged Care Working Group, she is focused on simplifying complex information and designing practical solutions that help people make more informed decisions. 

Maathu is an actuary with experience in the disability, health and general insurance sectors. She is also an award-winning researcher and a recognised leader in the Australian Public Service, having been awarded the prestigious Sir Roland Wilson scholarship to conduct doctoral research at the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy.
Prior to this, Maathu was a Senior Actuary at the National Disability Insurance Agency, leading the Actuarial Strategic Initiatives team to evaluate key priorities in strategic policy and service delivery. 

Kirsten Armstrong is a director and adviser with 25 years of experience in health, disability, insurance and international development. As an actuary, she brings evidence and fresh thinking to government, business and not-for-profit organisations, with a focus on better health systems and greater social impact.
Kirsten has advised on major health funding reforms in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, and on insurance system reforms in Russia, Estonia and Mongolia. Her work in Russia helped lay the foundations for a pension system that now supports more than 20 million members.

Steph is a qualified actuary and expert in data-driven decision making in the public sector. In her current role as a Principal at Ember Advisors she leads teams leveraging advanced analytics and actuarial modelling to support policy design, operational efficiency and decision making, and to ensure compliance and integrity in health, social services and education sectors.

Sophia is a Manager at Scyne Advisory in Sydney, where she works on government health & social service analytics. She is the 2026 Chair on the Young Actuaries Advisory Board (YAAB) and is passionate about improving experiences for younger members and helping to shape their future. She is a Fellow of the Actuaries Institute and was part of the UNSW Actuarial Co-op Program.