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Ray is a Manager at Willis Towers Watson working under the Insurance Consulting and Technology department. His product experiences span across traditional/non-traditional life insurance, fixed and variable annuities, disability products, and group benefit plans. Ray specializes in actuarial modelling, valuation and financial reporting, and experience studies using predictive analytics. Ray is also the Innovation Coordinator for his department, where he organizes innovation events and promotes innovative ideas across the practice.

Ray’s relevant experiences includes:
– Appointed Actuary’s duties for life insurers including liability valuation, financial condition testing, appointed actuary’s report, and valuation basis change implementation.
– IFRS 17 implementation projects including policy development, methodology reviews, model implementation and capital management under the new accounting standard.
– Actuarial model development and model validation using Moody’s AXIS Software in support of valuation, M&A appraisal, Embedded Value, and litigation projects
– Modelling of Canadian and U.S. Variable Annuity products with sophisticated guarantees.
– Predictive modelling in support of experience studies
– Reinsurance treaty review and modelling

Education and Credentials: Ray holds a bachelor degree in Actuarial Science Major with Finance Option from the University of Waterloo. Ray is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA), and a Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst of the Society of Actuaries (CERA).

Chris Lalonde is VP, Emerging Solutions and President, Symetra Bermuda Re at Symetra Financial. He is responsible for leading enterprise strategic initiatives at Symetra in its Life, Retirement, and Benefits divisions.

Chris joined Symetra in 2012 as an assistant vice president and actuary. He was named vice president of data analytics in 2018. In 2021 he joined the strategy and transformation office providing actuarial, finance, analytics, and business development leadership.

During his career, Chris has spent four years in an Enterprise Risk Management function focusing on economic framework and capital development. He has also spent six years in Symetra’s Retirement Division as head of annuity pricing and other actuarial functions.

At Symetra, Chris currently leads strategic initiatives for SwiftTerm®, a new term life insurance platform with an end-to-end digital process that takes qualified customers from application to coverage in 25 minutes or less. Launched in June 2021, SwiftTerm has been recognized with a Celent Model Insurer Award, winning in the Innovation Execution category, and a Gartner Eye on Innovation Award for Financial Services.

Chris is a Fellow and Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He graduated from Union College with a Bachelor of Science in applied mathematics.

Dustin Yoder is an insurtech entrepreneur dedicated to creating the next generation of insurance sales, service, and policyholder engagement. The son of a top Silicon Valley insurance broker, Dustin found his passion during his high school days working at the family brokerage and quality testing early benefits software. That experience brought him into the insurtech arena in 2012, making him an early leader in the space.

As a young business visionary, Dustin built, and eventually sold, Vendus Product Labs, an enterprise product development company that served clients such as Genentech, Stanford University, and Honda.

Following that success, he formed Sureify with a goal of revitalizing life insurance for the end consumer. This endeavor took him through twists, turns, and the occasional fall, but it ultimately landed him in a position of influence in the insurance space, enabling leading insurers digitally from the inside out.

Dustin’s passion for bettering the life insurance industry has not waned. He continues using his entrepreneurial spirit, product mindset, and insurance enterprise experience to meaningfully impact the industry his father started in 40 years ago.

Dustin holds a BS in finance from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He lives with his wife and daughter in San Jose, CA.