Describe Data is an InsurTech start-up using alternative data sources, machine learning and AI to develop products for the insurance industry. Describe Data has developed a risk engine called Kompreno. Combining internal data with external data sources Kompreno provides insights into insurance risks along with comprehensive risk modelling and portfolio analysis.

Agrippa Data Consulting provides machine learning, software development and management consulting services to the financial sector.

Leading the Data & Analytics practice, responsible for managing the team, developing data & analytics products and providing high quality advice and support to clients.

Applied AI is a data science consultancy providing data-driven insights and solutions using applied artificial intelligence. Applied AI has a small but dedicated team with rich expertise in data science, financial modelling, risk management, software development and interface design.

In this role, reporting to the head of Enterprise Systems, I hade responsibility for managing actuarial projects and business as usual work-streams within Zurich Life IT. The role involved the following: Defining and agreeing project scope and deliverables with all business, actuarial and IT stakeholders.Working to ensure success of the overall IT function providing direct support to heads of Change Delivery and Enterprise Systems with Zurich Life IT.Developing and managing delivery plans across IT, business and actuarial teams within agreed budget and time lines.Leading projects teams in the delivery of multiple projects running simultaneously.Managing scope, risk, issues and contingency plans associated with all projects.Providing regular detailed progress reports to project stakeholders, covering compliance, governance, sign-off, close down and post-implementation review.Supporting and mentoring both actuarial and IT project staff.

1) Documentation of Life Risk Model.The documentation process consisted of reviewing, collating and summarising existing technical documentation in a language and form suitable for submission to the regulators. I was also involved in identifying and rectifying gaps in the documentation. Completion of the project necessitated gaining a rapid understanding of the underlying model both from a business and IT perspective. This was done using existing technical and IT documentation together with rapid prototyping of various underlying processes. The results were further refined using workshops and meetings with the designers and specifiers of the model.2) Validation of the SCOR Economic Scenario Generator (ESG)My role was to perform and document the validation of the SCOR ESG as it pertained to a subset of companies within the SCOR Group. The SCOR ESG provides a large number of economic scenarios that are used as inputs to further internal models. To complete the validation the ESG model was back-tested using actual returns for modelled indicators. Finally the whole process was documented for submission to the regulators.3) Validation of the calibration of SCOR longevity improvement modelAs part of the validation of the life risk engine my role was to perform an independent validation of both the choice of, and the calibration, of the model used to estimate the effects of future mortality improvement reinsurance portfolio. This task involved researching various models for mortality improvement and ensuring the model chosen was fit for purpose. An independent calibration of the model was also performed. This task was completed by building a version of the mortality improvement model in R, using data from the online Human Mortality Database. The final product was a fully documented validation process for inclusion in the Solvency II validation report.

Percana is an Irish software company the developr of a life insurance administration platform called Eclipse. Percana also outsources life assurance administration using their administration platform. Percana's largest client is Inora, the life insurance arm of Société Générale, has approximately €600 million under management in 25,000 unit-linked contracts, spread over 300 specialised funds, with clients in eight European countries.I was employed to project manage the outsourcing of the implementation of their Eclipse administration platform for Inora. I was brought in to cover the maternity leave for the existing project manager as my background in both business and IT meant I would be able to get up to speed very quickly. The project involved drawing up a detailed list of outstanding requirements across all areas of the project; IT, finance and business requirements, document production in six languages, reporting etc, assigning available resources, monitoring progress and reporting on progress to the client via weekly and monthly meetings. I was also involved in the day-to-day running of the business and IT operation and also managing improvements to the business processes that were already in place for the client.

I was employed by Standard Life on a contract basis to provide business analysis expertise for a new pension product designed to take advantage of the differences between pensions legislation in UK and Ireland so as to provide the maximum benefit flexibility for high net worth customers. The product was designed to use the HMRC QROPS rules to facilitate the international transfer of pension benefits.This role required that I generate the high level business requirements and then produce a gap analysis of the additional business and IT functionality that needed to be in place to sell and service the product. The business analysis requirements were generated using an iterative proces. Firstly a series of workshops were held, the results of these workshops were used to develop a rapid prototype of the underlying functionality required. In turn the prototype was presented in a workshop setting and the functionality required refined further. Once the requirements gathering was complete a comprehensive business requirements document was drawn up and signed off. This document was then used by the IT department to generate technical documentation and project plans.

I was employed on contract basis by Exaxe to provide actuarial business analysis to a client of their Cap Gemini. I was involved in providing business analysis expertise during the migration of AXA’s unit linked life and conventional pension products, particularly where the background required both technical and actuarial knowledge.I was responsible for the a number of workstreams; Allocations, Charges, Reinsurance, Indexation, Claims, Projections, Surrenders and Maturities.My responsibilities included the following:Preparing and facilitating and running business analysis workshops with the client.Production and monitoring of detailed business requirement specification documents.Production and monitoring of detailed design requirement specification documents.Mentoring Cap Gemini actuarial business analysts.The project was completed with the sign off, by AXA, of the business requirement specification documents for each of the work streams.

I was employed on a contract basis by Exaxe to provide IT and actuarial consultancy for their client Chesnara, formerly Countrywide Assured. My role was to develop an independent quotation system for endowment mortgage projections. This system needed to be able to perform calculations for projections, alterations, disclosure requirements and mortgage review purposes.To complete this project a review of the technical product documentation was carried out and the projection system was written in line with UK regulations. The system was then used by the internal actuaries to test their mainframe quotation system that had been developed independently. The project was completed within the required time frame.

Exaxe is a Dublin based IT company providing quotation and administration software solutions and consultancy to the Life and Pensions industry. I was hired on a contract basis to provide actuarial business analysis for one of their client’s, Liberata, who were transferring approximately two million Barclays Life contracts onto their Unix Amarta based system. My initial role was to provide business analysis and documentation for the workstreams that had an actuarial background. During the course of the project the documenting and implementing the required Reinsurance functionality proved problematic and I was put in charge of the project management, design, implementation and testing of this area of the project. Using a small team of developers and testers we implemented the reinsurance functionality on the Amarta system and developed an independent test system. Tools were also developed to automate the extraction, collation and comparison of results from both systems. This process enabled the quick identification, triage and rectification of all issues and the project was completed on time.

In the run up to demutalisation in 2006 Standard Life was committed to updating and overhauling its IT infrastructure. The company’s aim was to use IT as a major input into providing a more responsive service to its policyholders and also to deliver a range of new products to the Irish market.With my background in IT development and Financial Services, I was hired on a contract basis with a general brief to design and implement PC applications which leverage the company’s existing investment in Mainframe and AS400 technologies. The applications developed & deployed were as follows:Developing and deploying a generic set of screen scraper business objects to query and update both legacy mainframe systems.Developing and deploying user friendly VB GUIs to automate day to day tasks for the customer service representatives. These include retrieving and updating mainframe information, document generation and automated calculations.Designing and prototype development of generic workflow application with the aim of speeding up and automating the complicated Pensions Retirements Process.Technologies used: Windows NT, Oracle 8, Toad, SQL, VB/COM+, HTML, XML, XSLT.

I was employed on contract to upgrade and add requested features to a large online Microsoft order entry system called MOET. Working from formal business specifications I was responsible for coding the requested changes and working with the System and UAT testers to ensure that the functionality works as requested and does not impact on what is an extremely stable mission critical application.MOET is a legacy Microsoft’s online order entry system used by resellers and channel partners across the globe. The system processes in excess of €8 billion in orders annually, representing 20% of Microsoft’s annual turnover and is a mission critical Microsoft application. To accommodate user demand and perform within acceptable limits the system is distributed over many separate machines and is hosted on a web farm IIS Servers backing onto 4 synchronized SQL Servers. The MOET system also connects to a host of other internal systems, such as SAP, to ensure order fulfillment. The data is also replicated to a SQL Server data warehouse that is used to produce MIS reports using SQL Server Analysis Services.Coding and maintaining such a disconnected system is a highly specialised task requiring a detailed knowledge of how technology of each tier and works on its own and how it relates to its neighbouring systems. The system is constructed as a completely session-less web application using transactions within the database to ensure data integrity. MOET is written using ASP and Transact SQL with various middle tier components written in Visual Basic. The HTML front-end is dynamically localized depending on the client’s login details. The majority of the business logic is encapsulated in a host of database tables, constraints and T-SQL stored procedures.Technologies used: Windows 2000\2003, ASP, SQL Server 2000, SQL Server Agent, Transact-SQL Stored procedures , IIS6, VB/COM+, HTML, JavaScript, VSS. VB Script & WSH.

Open Financial Services offers exclusive retail financial services products to employees using a multi-channel approach that includes the employer’s intranet, a call centre, face-to-face worksite clinics. I was a founding members and was responsible for the overall design and project management of the company’s front and back office internet technology solution. I was also personally responsible for a large portion of the software development.The web application delivers product information, online up to date quotations and application processing via an internet/intranet link for mortgages, personal loans, deposits, credit cards, life insurance, car insurance, home insurance, travel insurance and investments. The web application was designed to integrate with each employer’s intranet.The project was completed on schedule and within budget and the company expanded rapidly and has an employee base of over 100,000 (clients include PWC, KPMG, Citigroup, Vodafone, Oracle, Apple, Dell and Eircom) members.Initial design commenced in September 2001 and the first release was rolled out to client employers commencing May 2002. Reporting to the managing director & board I was responsible for all aspects of design, development, updates and maintenance of the Open internet site and setting the technology agenda for the company. I was also involved in business planning, presenting to prospective and actual clients, marketing and the day to day running of the company.Designed and coded reporting engine for site visits, quotations and product applications.Project Planning - resources, timescales and budgets. Hiring, scheduling and managing all project staff both fulltime and external contractors. Architecture & Development of software. QA and rollout of software solution. Purchasing assembling and configuring hardware.Liaising with employers and financial product providers to ensure smooth operation of business.

finance2u.com was a dot com startup, established by one of Irelands premier IT consultancies, providing retail financial services distributed over the web to the general public. I was responsible for the development of all the site’s quotation software and calculators as well as a large portion of the business analysis and project planning. The site was launched in October 2000. In the event the company was put into liquidation in February 2001 due to the failure of its funding arrangements.Managed web development team.Managed technical role out of site.Designed & developed all calculators and quotation enginesLiased with business resources in financial services companies to elicit product structures, requirements and QA.Technologies used: NT, VB/MTS, ASP, Oracle 8i, HTML, CSS, XML/XSLT, Interdev, and C++/STL.

Based on the successful completion of Scottish Provident Life and Pensions quotation system we were approached by the board of Scottish Provident and asked to design a software solution to provide point of sale documentation and quotation functionality for the company’s first foray into the Group Pensions market. The system was designed to provide group pension quotations and comprehensive documentaion such as benefit statements, scheme booklets, trust deeds etc.Responsibilities included: Project management Design, development, QA and implementation of group pensions quotation system. Responsible for business analysis of system. Design and development of all actuarial and quotation modules of system. Project delivered on time and on budget. Technologies used: NT, VB/MTS, Oracle 8, and Word.

My company New Life Technologies Ltd. won the tender to redevelop Scottish Provident Ireland broker quotation system. Conversion from a Dos based system to Windows and Y2K compliance were the driving forces for the project. The tender was won after demonstrating an detailed understanding of life insurance business, software development and also the actuarial background. I also had a proven track record delivering similar mathematical software based solutions within the Irish financial services industry.Responsibilities included: Business analysis, requirements gathering, system architecture. Development of User Interface and back end calculation routines. Quotation development and quality assurance for all Scottish Provident products Ensuring all quotations complied with legislation and industry practice. Deployment approximately 1,000 brokers. Project was delivered on time and on budget. Technologies used: NT/95/98, Visual Basic, Access

I was employed on a contract basis to perform business analysis during a system migration from Friends First's legacy mainframe system onto Life 400 system.I was also contracted by Friend First pensions department to design and write external systems to process and manage retirement maturity claims.

Projects Included: Market research, product development and profit testing unit linked pension products. Design and development of individual & group quotation systems unit linked pension products. Design and development of various broker quotation systems for savings and protection products. Design and development of numerous internal systems for actuarial, IT, pensions and marketing departments. Business analysis and test system development for Y2K project on proprietary unit linked investment system.

Prepared pensions, investment and general insurance actuarial reports for clients.Responsible for development of valuation models and network maintenance.