Celebrating Asian Heritage Month

In recognition of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, The Actuary is honored to present a Q&A with Chunhong (Hong) Gao, FSA, MAAA, CFA, PRM, the Chief Actuary at Global Atlantic Financial Limited (Bermuda). With over two decades of experience in various actuarial fields, Hong shares her inspiring journey from rural northeast China to becoming a leading actuary in Bermuda.

In a profession driven by data, analytics, and precision, it’s refreshing to be able to examine the stories behind the numbers. Join us as Hong opens up about how her Asian heritage has influenced her career, the challenges she’s faced, and what it really means to bring your whole self to work.

During the different stages of your career, what are challenges you’ve faced, and how have you overcome them?

Hong Gao: (I’ll start with) language. It was a barrier when I first came to America. I was born and raised in a rural area in northeast China and came to the United States when I was offered a scholarship at Boston University. While I studied English since middle school in China, reading English textbooks was nothing like having live conversations. My English was hard to follow, and I had a tough time understanding others. On my third day in the US, the Fourth of July, I took the subway to the Charles River to see the fireworks. After the spectacular fireworks, Kenmore station was like a sea of people, and I was swept onto the wrong train by the crowd. Unable to discern the conductor’s announcements, I ended up riding the full route before returning to Kenmore to catch the right train. I got home after 2 a.m.! To overcome the challenges, I took every opportunity to immerse myself in English language environments. In addition to continuous learning, not being shy about speaking the language, even if my pronunciation and intonation were not perfect, helped me a lot, even to this day.

I’ve been reluctant to claim achievements. Growing up a good student, I naively assumed that my work product, just like exam scores, would speak for me and get me recognized and rewarded. I was shocked to realize that that assumption didn’t work in the U.S. In the early stages of my career, I poured my best efforts into producing high-quality work. I often wondered how others—particularly the bosses—could not see the results? The reality is everyone is busy, and people have different perspectives. Even if your work is noticed, no one could or should speak better about your work than you. Instead of expecting others to always notice your hard work, I was more mindful of clearly articulating the plans, processes, challenges and results. This mindset change is liberating. It gives me a new dimension to present myself (and, more importantly, my team), the work products and the impacts.

Born in the 1970s as the second girl in a traditional rural Chinese family, I had very limited opportunities to venture out of my hometown. However, my dad was my biggest supporter of exploring the world. Growing up, I learned to please others so that I would belong. As a people pleaser, I am motivated by the desire to be helpful and I’m reluctant to burden others or let anyone down. In contrast, Western culture values prioritizing personal goals and knowing when to say “no.” Being able to say “no” nicely is an art that I am still working to master. Saying no allows us to prioritize what’s most important in our lives, our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. When the fundamentals are right, we are happier and more productive.

“To a person with only a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.” What are some useful tools or skills you’ve acquired that’ve helped you avoid the “law of the hammer” issue?

Hong: It’s important to know your stuff. In the early stage of my career, I made tremendous efforts to learn actuarial concepts and skills and apply them at work. I liked solving actuarial problems and enjoyed working on actuarial models. I paid close attention to details and was very driven to get the numbers right. Those skills groomed me into a typical actuary, with a strong numerical sense, logical thinking aptitude and technical expertise. As my career progressed, I had opportunities to work in different functional areas of the insurance industry and gained exposure to different accounting bases, investment and capital management. Being well-versed in different insurance aspects allows me to build valuable insights and intuitions.

Knowing my stuff elevated me from an individual contributor to a people manager. As a manager, I need to delegate tasks effectively, recruit and develop talent and build trust within the team. Specifically, I need to learn about the team members’ strengths and weaknesses. This knowledge allows me to make sound judgments to help the team achieve the desired results more efficiently and effectively. Knowing your people does not stop at knowing your direct reports, it also includes knowing your peers, your managers and other key stakeholders. Managing laterally and managing up can be more challenging but rewarding. I hope to share my experiences and lessons learned with other young actuaries.

Technical expertise and people management skills are certainly important. However, communication is an integral part of everything we do in our lives. Due to the language barrier, I tended to communicate less. As my responsibilities expanded, I realized that I needed to communicate more frequently and proactively, particularly about complications and challenges. While I am comfortable communicating good news, delivering bad news requires more courage and preparation. This includes clearly and thoughtfully articulating the problems, the causes, potential impacts and recommended solutions. One key lesson that I learned from a leadership training program at West Point is to ask myself, “What do I know, who else should know, and have I communicated that?” Furthermore, knowing your audience and choosing the appropriate method—text, email, phone call or in person—is vital. My “aha” moment came when I heard our CEO say, “You need to get yourself out of your own mind to make space for your audience.”

What do you like most about your current role, and what gives you the most satisfaction?

Hong: The balance of technical and nontechnical skills. I find it rewarding to see how actuarial results can inform senior management’s financial decisions and the board’s strategic direction. It brings me great satisfaction to apply actuarial expertise to serve our policyholders’ financial security and well-being, and narrow the protection gap for working families, such as teachers and firefighters, while maintaining a strong financial position and delivering meaningful returns to our investors. Managing relationships with regulators and key stakeholders is incredibly complex and challenging but equally important.

What has inspired you in your career? How did having a mentor influence your career path, and what qualities made your mentor effective?

Hong: I’m inspired by the complexity of the insurance industry, especially its role in providing financial protection to working families and retirees while assessing, pooling, and sharing risks and rewards for social stability. The recent transition or evolution of the traditional insurance industry to a collaboration of asset management and insurance protection is very interesting.

I’ve had several mentors throughout my career. Some are more technical, like a former boss with an MIT math degree, while others are more strategic, such as board members of insurance companies and nonprofit organizations. I have gained so much insight by reading their articles, observing their activities and appreciating the influence they have in their spheres. It has been enlightening and inspiring. Their willingness to listen, to ask thought-provoking questions, and to share advice has been empowering and invaluable. One mentor gave me the book “How Women Rise” by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith, which I highly recommend. It transformed my perspective on many aspects of my professional development, including some of the points I shared above.

Can you share some examples of how your Asian education and upbringing helped you in your actuarial career?

Hong: Humility is a virtue that has been instilled in me since I can remember. It allows me to think thoroughly and not allow arrogance to blindside me. It also helped me appreciate what I have and not take anything for granted.

I was trained to follow the rules. Our education and culture taught me to respect seniority and authority. I have always believed in “doing the right thing and the right thing will follow.”

Hard work took me from a small village with very limited resources to Shanghai, the United States and Bermuda. Without that diligence, I could not imagine how I would be where I am today.

Were there any challenges you faced as an Asian actuary, and if so, how have you addressed them?

Hong: I’ve learned that confidence is as important as humility. Early in my career, language barriers and cultural differences made me lack confidence. It led to self-doubt, which in turn caused me to spend more time to worrying than acting. Deep knowledge and skills can instill confidence. But even if you are not the brightest, asking the right questions and speaking confidently can help you gain support, enhance collaboration and accomplish your goals. I have learned that confidence costs nothing, and as a contemporary saying popularized in the self-help community says, “Confidence is not walking into a room thinking you are better than everyone; it’s walking in not having to compare yourself to anyone at all.”

Contrary to the inertia of following the rules and the status quo, we are confronted today by the challenges of evolving demographics, shifting consumer financial priorities, and disrupting technologies.  To stay ahead of the transformations, we must constantly learn and adapt. In addition, we must bring in new people, embrace new ideas and think outside of the box.

While persistent diligence and attention to detail are valuable traits, these inclinations sometimes prevent us from seeing the bigger picture. Being constantly busy can leave little or no mental space for strategic thinking. However, what got us here—technical skills and diligence—won’t get us to the next level of leadership. To make progress, we need to strategically shift from “doing more” to “doing less” and focus on providing guidance and strategic direction for the team.

What advice would you give to young Asian American professionals entering the corporate world?

Stay hungry, stay foolish, but build confidence. As much as I credit humility to my Asian upbringing, I appreciate that humility can be universal. As the saying often attributed to Aristotle goes, “The more you learn, the more you know you don’t know.” In the same vein, Steve Jobs’s attributed quote, “Stay hungry, stay foolish,” also applies. Continue to learn and expand your knowledge base, round up your skill sets, think independently and outside the box. However, you must build and project confidence, as the alternative would be counterproductive.

Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Stay open-minded and balance professional ambition with personal health, relationships and happiness.  Don’t shy away from trying something new. I have experienced the challenges and enjoyed the benefits of transitioning from China to the US and  Bermuda. Get out of your comfort zone and don’t limit your horizon. It can be nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time. You don’t know how it will go unless you try it. While decisions may be difficult and could have unexpected consequences, once the decision is made, we must move forward without regret. It’s not that we are always right; it’s that we must make the best of the situation.

Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries or the respective authors’ employers.

Copyright © 2025 by the Society of Actuaries, Chicago, Illinois.