Gold award

The Gold Award recognises an individual who:

• through their volunteer activities, contributes significantly to the Society’s key strategic programs and/or
• positively enhances the reputation of the profession

2026 Recipients

Andrea Gluyas is recognised with the NZSA Gold Award for her significant contribution to advancing the Society’s strategic priority of supporting mutually beneficial relationships with international actuarial bodies and ensuring NZSA’s participation in the International Actuarial Association delivers value to members.

Over many years, Andrea has represented the New Zealand Society of Actuaries at the International Actuarial Association (IAA) and has been an important and trusted contributor to discussions on behalf of NZSA, ensuring New Zealand has a respected voice within this forum. She is known for her thoughtful and steady engagement—listening carefully, contributing constructively, and building trusted relationships with peers across jurisdictions. Through this sustained involvement, and by attending numerous IAA meetings around the world at her own personal expense, she has helped ensure NZSA’s participation in the IAA is meaningful and delivers value to members. The New Zealand Society of Actuaries is pleased to recognise Andrea Gluyas as a worthy recipient of the Gold Award in recognition of her service as NZSA’s IAA representative outside Council.

Kate has been an outstanding contributor to the NZSA, the actuarial profession, and the wider insurance industry for many years. Her contributions include serving as an active Committee member and promoting both the profession and the value that actuaries bring. Kate is a great role model, personifying how one can excel in living the NZSA core pillars of Excellence, Influence and Community.

She is trusted for her expertise and has contributed widely to industry organisations, the insurance sector, and society. Kate demonstrates how actuaries can play an important role in shaping the insurance and financial services sectors, contributing to public sector decision-making, and providing insight on important policy issues. Kate has made significant contributions to helping actuaries expand into wider fields, such as Enterprise Risk Management, where she was one of the first actuarial Chief Risk Officers. She has also enhanced the reputation of the Society through her contributions across life, health, and general insurance. Excellence – Kate has held executive-level roles as both a Chief Actuary and a broader insurance business executive. She consistently promotes excellence and is a role model for the value that actuaries can bring. Influence – Kate has been a regular speaker at industry events and has contributed to industry committees, including FSC (where she was nominated for the FSC Chair’s Award for Services to the Industry). Community – Kate has supported the actuarial programme at Victoria University of Wellington through the sponsorship of students.

Contribution to Industry Organisations – Kate has made numerous contributions to industry organisations. One notable example is her leadership of the FSC industry working group on the impact of genetic testing. Mentoring and supporting students – Kate has recruited many students and supported both students and actuaries throughout their careers as a role model and mentor. Here is a quote from Henry Wiseman – Head of Valuation as Partners Life. “Kate provided me with opportunities to take on diverse roles at Suncorp NZ, significantly broadening my experience. She later supported my move to Partners Life and has consistently been a strong advocate for my development. I do not believe I would have progressed in my career in the same way without her support and advocacy.” Kate is able to articulate complex matters in a clear way. Brian Lenehan who worked with Kate a number of years ago described her as someone who thought about long term impacts for customers as a way of making a business more resilient.

Shashini Abeygunawardena

Shash embodies all the NZSAs strategic goals of Excellence, Influence and Community, particularly through developing actuarial applications in the developing field of managing climate change risk. Shash is guided by curiosity and a deep sense of purpose that empowers her to use her privilege for good. After nearly a decade of consulting for financial sector clients across the Asia Pacific, she is now charting a new course, one anchored in purpose, resilience, and impact. In 2025, Shash founded Starboard Global Partners, furthering her commitment to sustainability advocacy. She is driven by the belief that sustainability is not a trend, it is a mindset, a responsibility, and a way of life. She is seeking to support innovative projects and to assist the process of adaptation and transition in the face of a looming climate crisis. She was a quarter finalist in the 2025 IAA Young Actuaries World Cup. Over the past 12 months she has contributed many volunteer hours to the Climate Related Disclosures Working Group, overcoming shifting goal posts to support delivery of a NZSA white paper on quantification of Anticipated Financial Impacts of Climate Risks and Opportunities. Shash is also a member of the NZSA SIG and volunteers in three other actuarial associations, thereby fostering links between the different bodies.

2025 Recipients

Adam Follington

Adam has been involved in setting up the Appointed Actuaries Forum since its inception in 2024. Initially he convened the working group which was established to investigate the feasibility of the Forum and advise Council. He expertly guided the working group through the issues that were identified so that it provided clear guidance to Council and a way forward. Once Council decided to proceed with the Forum, Adam took on the role of convenor and has continued to lead this piece of work. The Forum is now up and running and has just held its first very successful one-day event. The Forum provides a critical point of contact, development and sharing for both established Appointed Actuaries and those who are moving into these roles. Regulators are actively participating which provides an opportunity for members to use their expertise and knowledge to be more influential.

Over the past 12 months, Adam also led the Solvency Standards Working Group and championed changes to the second amendment to the Reserve Bank’s interim solvency standard, working effectively with members and the Reserve Bank to develop a more effective standard. The development of the solvency standard changes and the Appointed Actuaries Forum is due to the efforts of a number of people, however Adam’s leadership, positivity and tireless efforts have been central to its success and for this I believe he is a worthy recipient of the NZSA Gold Award.

Margaret Cantwell

Margaret has been a long serving member on numerous NZSA committees and working groups. She has been a member of the General Insurance Committee for over 10 years and was convenor for more than 3 years. Margaret demonstrates the epitome of leadership and “what good looks like” on a committee. In her tenure as leader of the GI Committee she has successfully led and delivered events of the highest calibre, and identified her successor and readied them for that role. She is a member of the Investigations Panel and has also served on the Solvency Standards Working Group. Margaret also recently led the Natural Hazards Insurance working group to ensure a high quality submission was completed within tight timeframes.

Margaret actively participates in the Society on committees and is also a regular attendee at events. She is prepared to “roll up her sleeves” to undertake work and is an excellent role model both in the leadership and the commitment she brings to the profession. Margaret’s continued diligence, commitment and contribution make her a worthy recipient of the Gold Award.

2024 Recipient

Catherine Johnston

Catherine has served on the Professional Development Committee and has been the convenor since 2019. During her time as convenor, she has successfully led the introduction of CPD audits from a pilot programme in 2021 to the completion of 2 full audits in 2022 and 2023 (and another underway in 2024).

The CPD audit is a best practice tool to verify that members are meeting the professional requirements of the NZSA. This gives assurance that our members continue to work to the highest standards which is the key objective under the NZSA strategic pillar of excellence.

The CPD audit program has been a significant piece of work and a number of members have contributed to it. However, under Catherine’s leadership it is now embedded in NZSA’s governance processes. Catherine is stepping down as convenor of the Professional Development Committee and we thank and recognise her efforts.

2020 Recipient

Ben Coulter

Ben has committed a huge amount of time and effort into both NZSA’s contribution to and response to IFRS17, but possibly more importantly, into building deep, constructive and trusted relationships with the accounting profession, the FSC and the RBNZ. Ben is Convenor of the NZSA IFRS17 Working Group and the NZ representative on the Australian Actuaries Institute IFRS17 Task Force. In addition, he has taken a lead role in the FSC’s IFRS17 working group, part of which involves interacting with RBNZ and considering the implication for the solvency standards.”

2019 Recipient

Christian Barrington

Christian is a long-time member and current convenor of the General Insurance Practice Committee. In this role he has led NZSA’s efforts around catastrophe risk, including leading a task force which has developed thoughtful and viable ways to upskill actuaries in this area.  Christian also presented an excellent framework at the Conference, which will be an excellent reference for members going forward.  Christian is also a well-respected representative of the NZSA with ICNZ.

2018 Recipient

Herwig Raubal

Herwig has performed an incredible service to the profession through his leadership of actuarial work in the Public Sector, leading to the social investment approach and a new range of career opportunities for actuaries. Alongside this, he has found time to be Convenor of the NZSA Professional Standards Committee for the last ten years.

2017 Recipient

Christine Ormrod

Christine has been a tireless worker for the profession. She has led the Retirement Income Interest Group for several years, most recently overseeing the production of the Rules of Thumb for decumulation, which were recognised by the Minister, the FMA and MBIE as being exactly the kind of advice New Zealanders need. Christine has been a fine representative for the profession, and brought much interest from the general public and other stakeholders. Alongside this role, Christine has also worked this year on New Zealand’s response to International Standards of Actuarial Practice.