Managing Director at Eigengrey Consulting
- Where in the world do you work?
I live in Hong Kong, and have been here over 10 years already. Previously I’ve lived in South Africa (where I was born), Israel for a short time, and the UK.
About 15 years ago, I was based in London, but I began traveling regularly to Asia for work. Japan, China, Korea, Malaysia … every one is completely different, and I became fascinated by the region. Each time I returned to London, I would start planning my next business trip back out again!
I also decided to start learning a few phrases in Chinese, just for fun. After all, Mandarin is spoken in Mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan and also Hong Kong – so it seemed a few phrases would be useful. The problem was, I forgot to stop learning, so a couple of years later, I realized that I could hold conversations in Chinese. By mistake.
It became obvious to me that, more than anything, I actually wanted to live in Asia. The perfect role opened up in Hong Kong – and here I still am.
2. Prior to the pandemic, did you work primarily in an office or from home? What about now?
I would often make the joke that I worked more from the frequent-flyer lounges in airports around the world, than I actually worked out of the office! But yes, it was office-based work (with lots of travel), and very little work-from-home.
3. Do you travel for work? If so, how much? To where?
Yes, I travelled a lot for my work. Most of it would be around Asia, more often visiting Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and more. On top of that, I would also have quarterly overnight 12 hour flights to the UK and Europe.
The upsides of regular travel include being able to catch up in-person with my friends and family, regardless of where in the world they live, staying in nice hotels and eating in really good restaurants. The downsides include jet lag, lack of sleep, wasted time in transit, and too much time away from my family.
You can imagine how grateful I am for the time at home that this pandemic has afforded me.
4. What type of company do you work for? (Ie. Traditional Insurance, Consulting Firm, Government, etc.) Name of company?
Although I’ve been in corporate work my entire career (working at reinsurers and reinsurance brokers), I am currently working as an independent actuary, through a company I’ve called Eigengrey Consulting. There’s a long story behind the name 🙂
I am also writing a book at the moment, which I’m publishing in a non-traditional way: immediately online, chapter-by-chapter. It’s called #HashtagYourLife, and is a system built around the stories that I would tell over the years to clients and employees. Each chapter tells a story, which makes a deliberate point. Each story has a very specific name (its #hashtag), and by referencing just the labels (“It’s like the dog on a rusty nail”, I would say to my team member who wanted to qualify, but didn’t seem to be putting in the hours).
You’re welcome to read the full collection at https://www.HashtagYourLife.com/collection.
5. What do you like about this work environment? What do you find challenging or what would you change?
I’m enjoying the learning curve of being in consulting, which is still relatively new for me. This includes both the approach taken by consultants, but also the nature of my work – some of which builds on my specialties (like reinsurance, capital management and risk management), but now others areas too.
6. Culture of company/country – What type of vacation benefits do you get? How flexible is your company about when/how you get work done? Are there set “business hours” you’re expected to be working and available?
As an independent actuary with my own business, I get to decide my hours and holidays – although being client-centric, there may be a tendency to work too long and take too little time off.
7. Do you often work more than 40 hours per work?
During a busy project, I work more than a 40 hour week, but between projects it can be quieter, which allows me time with friends and family, and catching up writing new chapters for #HashtagYourLife.
8. Is there pressure from leadership or peers to do so?
Prior to my independent phase, I worked mainly at very large companies which operated globally. Not only is there an overall company culture, but there are also regional and local cultures operating too. So for example, the HK culture, compared with the Asian culture, compared with the global culture – each of which has an impact of what you do and how you do it.
Certainly Hong Kong is an incredibly fast-paced city, so the hours can be long and demanding.
I think that for most companies, there is a difference between a manager saying that people should maintain a work-life balance, and the needs of the client. It will be interesting to see how things will have changed post-Covid19.
9. What aspects of working for your company and in your geographic location do you love? What would you change?
As a location, Hong Kong is very central within Asia. There’s Japan and South Korea roughly 4 hours to the north, and Singapore and Malaysia around 4 hours to the south. Closer in there is mainland China, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, etc. So it’s a great location to be based.
I also enjoy that my work is multi-national, dealing with clients from many different countries. This makes it more interesting, but of course more challenging because it’s so much harder to know about the regulatory framework, the law, the market practices, the common products, in so many countries.
10. If you could work anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
I’m in Hong Kong because this is where I choose to be.
The great thing about being an actuary is that your skills can be applied globally – so if you have an aspiration to work from anywhere in the world, it is well within your reach to make it happen. (And if you say you want to work elsewhere, but you’re not working towards that, then perhaps you are a little like the dog lying on the rusty nail. 🙂