The IFoA Professional Skills Training event in Hong Kong

Senior Advisor, Blackstone

After some 35 years in leadership positions in financial services, with 30-plus of those in Asia, the latter 9 years as a Group Executive Committee member of AIA Group Ltd, has recently retired, but not from contribution, acting as a senior advisor to Blackstone to help them build their Asian business and serving on the Executive Council of the International Insurance Society and Executive Council of the Actuarial Society of Hong Kong. He has been recently honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th Asia Insurance Industry Awards being described as “…a visionary leader who has contributed to the growth and development of the insurance industry across Asia”.

He is a passionate promoter and ardent advocate of insurance being a force for good.

For 17 years prior to joining AIA he was Principal and Managing Director at Tillinghast - Towers Watson with responsibility for the Asia-Pacific Insurance Sector and the Hong Kong office.

For 10 years prior to joining Towers Watson he was with UK insurer, Clerical Medical Investment Group, working in Asia from 1989 becoming Hong Kong Chief Executive Officer.

Mr Saunders has been a Trusted Advisor of Boards, Board Committees and C-suite executives of leading insurers in Asia holding numerous Executive and INED Board positions and memberships of a multitude of insurance-related, actuarial, regulatory, and professional committees helping drive development of life and health insurance.

He has been a Fellow of six professional actuarial bodies and holds the FT NED, Pearson SRF BTEC Level 7, Advanced Professional Diploma. He serves on sports-related committees and is also involved in social impact initiatives in HK related to wellbeing involving sports, children and families.

Chair of Hong Kong Federation of Insurers, General Manager of Gen Re’s Hong Kong Branch

Ms Orchis Li is the Chairman of HKFI and a Councillor of the Life Insurance Council. She also serves as the Chairman of the Actuarial Working Group and previously the Chairman of the LIC Legal Working Group, and is a member of the Reinsurers’ Forum and Life Operation and Risk Management Working Group. She has also been appointed as a member of the Industry Advisory Committee with the Insurance Authority, the Complaints Panel and the General Committee under The Insurance Complaints Bureau and the Appeal Panel on Disciplinary Actions for the VHIS. Orchis is also an active member of various committees with the Actuarial Society of Hong Kong.

Orchis is the General Manager of Gen Re’s Hong Kong Branch. She joined Gen Re in 2015 and is responsible for the management of the Hong Kong branch and MNCs client relationships. Orchis also has the responsibilities of driving InsurTech strategy as well as analytics and development of Critical Illness products for Asia. She has more than 20 years of experience with the insurance industry and prior to joining Gen Re, Orchis had worked with a number of multinational insurance companies.

Orchis is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

Chief Risk Officer, FWD Group

Jeremy joined FWD Group as Group Chief Risk Officer in January 2023. He has responsibility over the Group’s Risk and Compliance functions and is a Key Person in Control Function under the Hong Kong Insurance Authority’s GWS (“Group Wide Supervision”) regime.

He has over 30 years’ experience in the insurance industry - covering consultancy, bancassurance and specialist insurance groups. He has over 10 years direct experience in Risk Management, including working as CRO for AXA Hong Kong and Macau from October 2019 to January 2023. This role was also a Control Function under the local regulations.

Jeremy worked with HSBC from 2007 to 2019 and performed a number of roles within its insurance business, including Chief Risk Officer for its Asian insurance businesses and Group Chief Actuary.

Before joining HSBC, Jeremy worked in the actuarial consulting field for 17 years, based in London, Paris and Hong Kong. Jeremy became a Principal of Deloitte in 2001.

He was elected to the Council of the Actuarial Society of Hong Kong from 2010 to 2016, acted as co-chairman of the Life Insurance Committee through this period and was President of the ASHK in 2011.

He was a member of the Industry Advisory Committee (IAC) in Hong Kong (this is a committee that advises the regulator on insurance matters) from 2012 to 2022. He is also currently a member of the government's Resolvability Review Tribunal (RRT).

Group Chief Actuary, AIA Group

Chris Hancorn joined AIA Group as the Group Chief Actuary in 2022 after 17 years with PwC where he was a Partner with PwC’s Asia Actuarial Services practice, based in Hong Kong.

As AIA’s Group Chief Actuary, Chris is responsible for AIA’s Actuarial Function, and also leads a range of actuarial services for the Group and its business units across 18 markets.

Chris began his career with The Standard Life Assurance Company in Edinburgh where he performed several roles in product development, distribution and financial management, and qualified as a Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries. Chris is a currently a member of Council of the Actuarial Society of Hong Kong and co-chairs its Life Committee and Professional Matters Committee. He is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh where he studied Mathematics and Statistics.