Penny speed meets... Duncan Anderson, global P&C pricing & product management leader, Towers Watson


What was your first ever job — and were you any good at it?
Working for 
an MOD research establishment simulating the passage of electromagnetic waves through fractal media. Actually that’s a lie, that was my second. The first was painting school toilets, and I was rubbish at that

If an MP3 player really could only hold three tunes, what would you select for the ultimate soundtrack to your life?
Bach — Goldberg Variations; Philip Glass — Akhnaten; Beethoven — Symphony No 9

Who was your top teenage pin-up?
Doctor Who

My colleagues won’t know this about me but...
I quite like them

Favourite book of all time?
Whitaker’s Almanack

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
On children: don’t worry, no matter what it is, it’s only a phase they’re going through

What would be your chosen superpower?
The ability to 
pause time

If you could be Prime Minister for the day, what change would you instigate?
I’d wind back the clock on the school exam system to be as it was 30 years ago

How would a typical school report about you read?
‘Illegible handwriting’ — luckily PCs came along later in life!

My top tip for climbing the insurance career ladder is...
Be nice to people. Our industry is a small one and you never know when you’ll bump into someone again…

What’s the most annoying 
thing people do in your office?
Split infinitives

My last supper would comprise...
A good Sunday roast with all the trimmings

Who has been the most influential person in your life to date?
From a professional perspective, Nigel Gillott — head of the Watson Wyatt general insurance team from 1988 to 2004

When I’m not working I like to...
Spend time with my wife and four young daughters

Last film you saw?
Harry Potter and the something-or-other (see above)

If I wasn’t working in insurance I would probably be...
(In my dreams) a concert pianist; (in reality) something in IT

Name your five ideal dinner party guests (dead or alive) noting what they bring to the party
Heston Blumenthal (starters); Nathan Outlaw (fish course); Raymond Blanc (main); Nigella Lawson (dessert); Oz Clarke (wine)

Marmite: foods of the gods or work of the devil?
Food of the gods

Career high point to date?
Not having to immerse myself in Solvency II

What do you say when strangers at a social gathering ask what you do for a living?
“I’m an actuary” — I rarely make it to the end of the explanation of what that actually involves

If you could travel back in time, where would you go?
The Victorian age — most people tell me I was born 100 years too late…

Insurance is a great industry to work in because...
It’s one of only a few industries where the world looks to the UK as being at the forefront of techniques

Would you like to be probed by Penny on on of her speed meets? Get in touch via lynn.rouse@incisivemedia.com