Q . WHO WAS YOUR CHILDHOOD HERO AND WHY ?
» I can ’ t really say that I had a childhood hero . But since joining Akur8 , I ’ ve taken a liking to Batman because of The Actuary character . In one of the comics , Penguin ( the villain ) meets The Actuary , an interesting character who counts cards – which is the only legal way to beat a casino . This extra perceptive actuary tells Penguin that Batman foils criminals only at night ! Using this key observation , The Actuary recommends that Penguin order a hit at a big gardening expo in the middle of the day . It ’ s a fun story , and , at Akur8 , we love actuaries – they ’ re superheroes who dedicate their skills to assessing and managing risks , a noble and highly valuable role !
Q . WHAT ' S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU EVER RECEIVED ?
» “ There ’ s no such thing as adults ”, meaning that when you have to make a decision , there ’ s not going to be an expert or knowit-all in the room to rely on , who will know for sure what to do or where to go . You ultimately make your decisions following
ure your best judgement and gut feeling and manage the consequences the best you can . This was true in my previous roles , but even more so as the COO of a fastgrowing , ever-changing insurtech where you have to adapt and adjust constantly , under ever-changing circumstances and featuring many unknowns in the equation .
Akur8 has grown from under 10 to over 100 employees in less than two years ; from one to five offices ; from 0 to 45 clients ; and from only a handful to 700 users . There was no user manual to build all that , and we ’ ve been adapting as a team to scale as a company for our employees , and as a business solution for our clients .
Q . WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ - AND HOW LONG AGO DID YOU READ IT ?
» ‘ Becoming ’ by Michelle Obama . It ’ s actually not the last one I ’ ve read , but it made an impression on several levels – including how , at the end of the day , your personal and professional selves are one and the same . You bring your personal self to your job everyday ; it is a major building block of your professionalism , achievements and drive for results , often weighing more in the balance than all the qualifications you have accumulated .
“ We are seeing the momentum grow as insurance carriers embrace the power of data and analytics ”