The Department of Mathematics and Statistics is extremely fortunate to have attracted alumnus Tom Grondin (BA 1992) to manage its actuarial science programs, says department head Rick Caron.
Grondin is currently a lecturer in the department and a consultant to the Aegon financial services group. He is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and has an honours degree in mathematics from the University of Windsor.
Grondin will begin his role as the manager of actuarial science programs July 1.
“He has international experience at the highest corporate levels — this experience will benefit our programs and our students,” says Dr. Caron. “That he is a graduate of this department is more evidence to our students that their UWindsor honours math actuarial science degree will be their gateway to success.”
Grondin has nearly 30 years’ experience as a qualified actuary, including over 20 years at the executive level, including chief actuary of Aegon Institutional Markets from 2001 to 2003, chief risk officer of Aegon N.V. from 2003 to 2016, membership on the management board of Aegon N.V. from 2013 to 2016, chief financial officer of Aegon Asia from 2016 to 2017, executive chair of Aegon-Sony Life in Japan from 2018 to 2020, and chair of the board of Transamerica Life Bermuda from 2020 to present.
He says he believes in a well-rounded program that goes beyond academics to develops technical skills that will be useful day one on the job.
“I enjoy the personal interaction with students and sharing my knowledge by telling stories and real-life experiences when I’m teaching,” says Grondin. “I can explain what of the course content will get used in the industry.”
He says it is crucial to train students in actuarial science, because uncertainty is a constant and actuaries are experts in measuring and quantifying financial uncertainty.
“Graduates of these courses go on to work for insurance companies and pension companies, but more and more, actuaries end up in hedge funds, investment banks, new world tech companies (data science),” he notes.
“This career has been in the top five in the job almanac for decades.”
Grondin plans to elevate the marketing and branding of the program as well as engage with industry.
“We want to educate companies that UWindsor is training students to be a valuable hire,” he says. “We are bringing the right ingredients together to develop our students.”
—Sara Elliott