Career and Leadership
Other

The Communication Gap – When Being Right Isn't Enough: Brisbane Watch Party

Presented by Jess Chen, Iain Bulcraig & Fiona MacGillivray - Chaired by Sophia Songberg

Heritage Lane, 80 Ann St, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia

4 CPD Points (In-Person Registration attendance)

May 14 2026 5:30PM - May 14 2026 7:30PM

Man presenting at front of room

You've done the analysis. The model is sound. The numbers tell a clear story.

But when you present it — the room nods, the meeting ends, and nothing changes.

Sound familiar?

For most early-career actuaries, the gap isn't technical. It's the moment between finishing the work and getting it used. Communicating complex findings to people who don't think the way you do — a CFO, a CRO, a CMO — is one of the hardest transitions in this career. And almost nobody teaches you how to do it.

This session is designed to change that.

The Communication Gap is a practical, hands-on session built around a real-world scenario: a major east coast flood event, incomplete data, and quarterly results due in two weeks. You'll work in small groups to take the same actuarial findings and reframe them — for three different executive audiences, each with a different set of priorities, pressures, and blind spots.

In this session, you will:

  • Step into the scenario — work through a live case study as a Portfolio Actuary navigating a catastrophe event, uncertain data, and a room full of non-actuaries who need to make decisions
  • Practise the reframe — take the same core findings and translate them for a CRO, a CFO, and a CMO, each time adjusting what you keep, what you cut, and what you add
  • Hear what actually lands — receive direct feedback from the executives in the room on what worked, what was missing, and what they'd need to act
  • Leave with one thing — a concrete communication habit you can take into your next stakeholder conversation, not just a set of slides

This isn't a presentation session. It's a career skills session for actuaries who want their work to make a real impact beyond the model. No hypotheticals. Just practical, real-world learning for making technical work drive decisions. 

Join us at one of these venues:  
Sydney  – In-Person Event - Bluefin Resources , Level 43, Australia Square, 264 George Street, Sydney, NSW
Melbourne Watch Party  – QBE, Level 18, 839 Collins Street, Docklands VIC 3008
Canberra Watch Party – ANU, The Allan Barton Forum, Level 2, CBE Building 26C, Acton, ACT 
Brisbane Watch Party – Heritage Lanes, 80 Ann Street, Brisbane, QLD 
Adelaide Watch Party – Brett & Watson, Level 1, 26 Flinders Street, Adelaide, SA 
or join Virtually

All In-Person sessions and Watch Parties enjoy Pizza and Networking for the first 45mins, then move into the workshop after that.

This is event is part of our  Career Support Series  and the Young Actuaries Program. Throughout the year we offer specialised workshops to assist early-career actuaries to help shape their career direction and strengthen key professional competencies. 

By registering for the this event, you acknowledge and accept the  Event Registration Terms and Conditions . 

Pricing

In-person Member Registration: $0.00

In-person University Subscriber Registration: $0.00

About the presenter(s)
Jessica Chen, GM Financial Performance, QBE | Council Member, Actuaries Institute 
Jessica Chen is an experienced actuary working in the life insurance industry. She is passionate about social issues and exploring their potential consequences to businesses and the actuarial profession.
Iain Bulcraig
Iain is an actuary with a passion for storytelling, mentoring and enhancing risk culture. He is currently Chief Risk Officer at SCOR Australia having previously worked as CFO and in SCOR’s Paris office. Iain has over 25 years of life insurance experience across consulting, insurance and reinsurance firms, both in Australia and his native Scotland. Iain is a member of the Risk Management Practice Committee, he mentors a number of actuaries and is a qualified ethics teacher, bringing this learning to primary school children each week.
Fiona MacGillivray stands in front of a wall
Fiona MacGillivray
Executive General Manager, Marketing & Communications at the Actuaries Institute, Fiona is a strategic Brand, Marketing and Communications Leader who has worked in regional and global positions for over 20 years. Previously, she was Marketing Director at SEC Newgate, Australia's largest strategic communications agency, a Global Brand, Marketing and Communications Director at EY leading a multidisciplinary team located across the world, and the Asia Pacific Marketing and BD Manager at Allens. As an innovative and agile leader, Fiona has extensive experience in building multi-year brand, marketing and communications programs to support growth for large, complex organisations. She has a sound understanding of highly regulated industries having worked across tax, audit, legal, resources, advisory, professional services and not for profits.
Sophia Songberg
Sophia is a Manager at Scyne Advisory in Sydney, where she works on government health & social service analytics. She is the Deputy 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.

Register for this event

Log in or create account to register