Career Advancement | Global | Inclusive Ideas | Latin America | Professionalism

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

A career journey conversation with Roberto Gomez, ASA

Interview by Jose Marroquin September 2025

Hispanic Heritage Month is observed annually to honor the rich history, diverse cultures, and significant contributions of Latino/a/x and Hispanic communities in the United States. In 2025, the celebration will take place from Monday, September 15, through Wednesday, October 15.

Hispanic Heritage Month actually began as a commemorative week when it was first introduced in June of 1968 by California Congressman George E. Brown. On September 17, 1968, Congress enacted Public Law 90-48, formally authorizing and requesting the President to issue annual proclamations designating September 15 and 16 as the commencement of National Hispanic Heritage Week. The law encouraged the people of the United States—particularly within the educational community—to observe the week with appropriate ceremonies and activities. That same day, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Week.

The Society of Actuaries (SOA) has more than 34,000 members worldwide and, as the largest actuarial professional organization, one of its growing membership areas is actuaries in Latin America.

For Hispanic Heritage Month 2025, The Actuary is pleased to feature a Q&A with Roberto Gomez, ASA, who works for Swiss Re in Mexico City. Here, Roberto discusses his actuarial career journey and experience in Latin America.

What made you pursue an actuarial career, and how has it impacted you professionally and personally?

Roberto Gomez: I can summarize that in one word: curiosity. The full story goes like this: When I was looking for professions in high school in Tehuacan, Puebla, I knew I was looking for a combination of problem-solving skills (what I’m good at), social impact (what the world needs) and making enough money to live. And that’s where actuarial science and I met.

I remember it was love at first sight. When I looked at the promotional brochure, I was not sure of all that it (actuarial profession) would imply, but I had a gut feeling that I was about to make one of the best decisions of my life. Also, at that early stage, and thanks to the internet, I found the Society of Actuaries website, and what started with something unimaginable to me became reality several years later when I got my ASA.

My path was not easy. I was moving from a small town to the biggest city in the country (Mexico City) at the age of 18. I found that I was not that brilliant a student, and that I really had no idea how actuaries could help society. This made me feel insecure at the beginning. At the end, I was able to sort all these types of difficulties out, thanks to the support of my family and a great circle of actuarial friends.

The cherry on the top came when, after some years working in the insurance and reinsurance industry (almost 15 years since then), I found that I love it, and I am thankful for all the good things it has brought to my life. A fun fact is, that sometime after (this journey) I discovered I was unintentionally fulfilling the definition of the Japanese ikigai (“a reason for being” or “a life worth living)” concept.

Now, I personally feel realized, fulfilled and motivated. Professionally, my actuarial career has led me to incredible learning, to people (including my future wife) and experiences. I am very thankful for the profession, and I can proudly say to my younger self, “Yes, we are living the life I promised to you.”

How have you observed the growth of the actuarial community in Mexico and the broader Latin American region?

RG: Since I started studying at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, actuarial science in México has become increasingly popular, and the number of actuarial science courses offered by universities has increased across the country. This is mainly driven by the combination of data analysis, programming, business and risk management skills. Many actuaries enter the insurance industry, but there are also many working in nontraditional roles in different industries.

In general, Latin America’s development has been quite different, and the demand for actuaries is still not completely fulfilled. However, nowadays, I feel it is becoming more organized, and the educational paths are more available. From my personal perspective, I see strong communities in Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina and big efforts in some other countries to create strong professional groups.

A big shout to all those actuaries who have held the line and are working to improve the actuarial profession in Latin America!

What do you think will be emerging actuarial trends in the work you do or around the future of the actuarial community in Mexico?

RG: We need to take care of several key points:

Standard of practices on new modelling techniques. We need to assess and foster the adoption of predictive analytics, machine learning, and AI, and their impacts on traditional and nontraditional roles, bringing to safe port their implementations, cases of use and limitations.
Product development facing evolving risks (health, pension funding, general insurance). We need actuaries actively participating in the creation of insurance products for the future, assessing risks, planning mitigation of downsides and openly communicating their findings, with the intention of creating a more resilient society.
Automation process and data enhancement. In my experience, it was very common for actuaries to be stuck in Excel and large databases, cleaning data and executing endless processes instead of using our problem-solving capacity for decision-making. We now have the tools to automate those processes and reliable data to expand our capacities to assess risks and drive informed decisions.

Previously, you volunteered with the SOA Young Professional Advisory Council (YPAC). Why did you choose to volunteer, and what did you learn from that experience?

RG: The opportunity came just after I got my ASA designation, and I was eager to connect with other SOA actuaries around the world. Also, it was the perfect opportunity to fulfill a sense of belonging to a community. YPAC’s purpose made sense to me; I enjoy being close to actuarial students and early-stage actuaries and sharing the best of our profession.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Get details on volunteering with the Society of Actuaries’ Young Professional Advisory Council (YPAC).
Read The Actuary article, “Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: A fireside chat with Adelaida Campos.”

That opportunity also opened the doors to connect with other volunteering. In 2024, I was elected to be part of the International Section Council (becoming part of the Career Development Community this fall) and invited to join the Latin America Committee.

A main takeaway here is that collaboration and commitment are key to achieving great results. We were able to launch the committee podcast, organize some webinars, and personally meet and connect with incredible actuaries.

If you can volunteer in this or other communities or organizations, please do it. You will not regret it!

Roberto Gomez, ASA, is an IFRS 17 and SII implementation leader and Treaty Underwriter VP for Swiss Re in Mexico City. He has experience in developing actuarial models for the valuation of liabilities and capital under different standards.

José Marroquin is a manager of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Society of Actuaries. He is based in Chicago.

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.