My Actuarial and Insurtech Journey
Spring 2023 Actuarial Science and Financial Mathematics Seminar
Date and Time: Friday, March 3, 2023, 2:00 PM (CST)
Speaker: Sherry Chan, FSA, EA, MAAA (Atidot)
About: Sherry Chan is an award-winning actuary with 20+ years of outstanding leadership in strategic policy, operations, relationship management, and communications, currently serving as Chief Strategy Officer of Atidot, a $20+ million funded insurtech startup that provides state-of-the-art predictive analytics and artificial intelligence to life insurance companies.
Previously, Ms. Chan was chosen unanimously by New York City elected officials and union presidents to serve as the City’s 5th Chief Actuary in its 100+ year history, becoming one of the highest ranked Asian-American officials in the City’s administration. In this prior role, Ms. Chan provided technical expertise to the City’s five retirement systems and pension funds with approximately 800,000 active and retired members and over $250 billion of assets. Ms. Chan certified the $10 billion annual required pension contributions for these retirement systems and pension funds, ensuring accuracy, and oversaw a City agency with a professional staff who has decades of experience in and out of City service.
Ms. Chan also previously served as the Chief Actuarial Officer for the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and as Chief Actuary for the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, the two largest state pension systems in Ohio with assets of approximately $100 billion and $80 billion, respectively.
A Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary with the Joint Board, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a conferee of an Executive MBA and Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and actuarial science from The Ohio State University, Ms. Chan regularly gives presentations at colleges, conferences, and on webinars.
Ms. Chan is on the Boards of the American Academy of Actuaries, The Ohio State University’s College of Arts & Sciences, and Abacus Actuaries. Ms. Chan established the University’s first actuarial endowment in its 150+ history, the Sherry S. Chan Actuarial Endowment. She is also the original co-founder of Abacus Actuaries, an international non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Asians to achieve success in the actuarial profession.
Pieces written by and interviews of Ms. Chan have been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Crain’s New York Business, the New York Daily News, the Chief Leader, and TEXPERS Pension Observer. Ms. Chan also produced a documentary on the history of New York City’s pensions and role of the New York City Chief Actuary which aired on New York City cable stations.
From local recognitions to international recognitions, Ms. Chan was honored by the Ascend Foundation with its Trailblazer Award in 2021, selected for the City & State NY Power of Diversity: Asian 100 list both in 2020 and 2021, and was named both a 2019 Crain’s New York 40 under 40 and a 2017 City & State 40 under 40 Rising Star of New York City. In 2018, Ms. Chan received both the Community Hero Award from Assembly member Yuh-Line Niou and the Geoffrey Heywood Award from the International Association of Consulting Actuaries (IACA) at the International Actuaries Congress in Berlin, Germany. The Geoffrey Heywood Award, named after the founding Chairman of IACA, is given every two years to one young consulting actuary from across the globe who has provided significant services to the public and the actuarial profession.