Under the Spotlight – Brnic Van Wyk
Title…
Senior Manager, Investment Liabilities
Organisation…
QSuper Limited
Summarise yourself in one sentence…
I am an authentic, outgoing, fun loving and opinionated obsessive-compulsive
My interesting/quirky hobbies…
Playing golf and over many years still managing to keep my handicap greater than my age
My favourite energetic pursuit…
Now that I live in Queensland, attempting surfing
The sport I most like to watch…
Rugby union (my blood is green!)
The last book I read…
Freakonomics (still busy)
My favourite artist/album/film…
Queen – it’s a pity I never got to see Freddy Mercury (a)live. I don’t go to the movies often, but I recall Shawshank Redemption and Weekend at Bernie’s
The person I’d most like to cook for…
My partner, who’s a qualified chef
I’m most passionate about…
Always being passionate, whether at home, at work, with family and friends or just alone
What gets my goat…
Pretentiousness
I’d like to be brave enough to…
Start my own business
In my life I’m planning to change…
The way the Australian superannuation system provides for post-retirement consumption needs
Not many people know this but I…
Am a Fellow of three actuarial institutes: Australia, United Kingdom and South Africa
Four words that sum me up…
I answered this already?!
What I wanted to be when I grew up…
Grown up! I was always the smallest in my class
Why and how I became an actuary…
Why? I was told that’s what people do who are good at maths, and I didn’t fancy medicine. How? Attempted exams for about 15 years!
Where I studied to become an actuary and qualifications obtained…
Where? In my study. Qualifications? B.Com degree at the University of Pretoria, South Africa and completed fellowship by correspondence through the Institute of Actuaries in the UK
My work history…
14 years as employee benefits consultant at Alexander Forbes in Johannesburg and the last five years in the Investments Division at QSuper in Brisbane
What I find most interesting about my current role…
The clean slate we are working from. Innovating and introducing new concepts is a challenging responsibility that demands the kind of thinking actuaries are trained for
My role’s greatest challenges…
The clean slate we are working from. Innovating and introducing new concepts is a challenging responsibility that demands the kind of thinking actuaries are trained for
Who has been the biggest influence on my career (and why)…
My parents. They always believed in me and supported me in everything and anything I did
My proudest career achievement to date is…
Eventually qualifying!
10 years from now, I will be…
Continuously improving on the member retirement outcomes we are responsible for. And I’ll be counting down the days for my children to start earning their own income!
When I retire, my legacy will be…
That I had fun while working on it
Why I’m proud to be an actuary…
It is an exclusive qualification that provides immediate recognition of skill and intellect globally
The most valuable skill an actuary can possess is…
EQ
If I were president of the Institute, one thing I would improve is…
The proportion of Institute members who actively participate in, volunteer for and contribute to Institute activities
At least once in their life, every actuary should…
Stand up in public and present something at a conference
My best advice for younger actuaries…
Understand that as an actuary the only guarantee you can provide is that your answer is wrong. There’s a 50/50 chance that the actual outcome will be more/ less than your calculation. It’s the law of averages
If I could travel back in time I would…
Do it all over again
If I win the lottery, I would…
Travel back in time!
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