A few years into her career in the insurance industry, Daisy Ning realised it was time to make a change. Not to switch sector or pursue an overseas posting, but to become a little more assertive to make sure people valued her contribution and potential.

“I used to keep my head down, do a good job and expect the boss to recognise my efforts,” says the managing director and head of health and life products in Asia for Swiss Re. “But after meeting a manager who nudged me to be more strategic and increase my visibility, I realised I needed to take stronger ownership of my own career and work hard to make things happen.”

Seizing the initiative in that way ultimately saw her hold leadership positions with several top firms, handling everything from the pricing of reinsurance transactions to raising capital, planning bancassurance business, and advising on mergers and acquisitions.

And a return in 2011 to Swiss Re – the place where she started out – provided the opportunity to get more involved in product development with regard to society’s future needs for health protection, medical treatment and effective care for the elderly.

“Our clients are the big insurance companies,” she says. “In simple terms, we build a product together, they launch it, and if you have a policy with one of them, we share the risk and spread it more broadly. They may also look to us as a source of capital if, for instance, they want to venture into a new market or are thinking about an M&A. If so, we can discuss structural solutions and support their balance sheets.”

The product development work, she notes, runs from advice on essential features and medical underwriting techniques to claims management and helping clients access untapped “risk pools”.

Overall, the aim is to offer better coverage for end users and to introduce suitable – and affordable – insurance products for groups like the elderly and underprivileged.

“Our business imperative is to make society more resilient,” Ning says. “So, we have put a lot of focus on these segments and tailored products to their needs. It is a very big issue and has to be solved hand in hand with governments, the medical sector and insurance providers. And, for example, it has to go beyond diagnosis or reimbursement-type cover to providing care services, home care and food delivery when an elderly person is ill.”

Ning hails originally from Kwun Tong, where she grew up with a view of the old Kai Tak runway, and fondly remembers simple childhood pleasures like watching the planes land and the ice-cream van’s neighbourhood visits.

At the age of 12, though, she moved to Toronto with her mother and brother, while her father continued to work in Hong Kong as an executive for TVB. Fortunately, the transition proved relatively easy and she soon found her feet.

“I enjoyed school in Canada, which wasn’t as tough as in Hong Kong,” she says. “There was no homework, so you could just ride your bike or visit friends till dinnertime. Later on, though, I was the type that didn’t know what subject to study at university, so when a family friend suggested actuarial science, that’s what I did.”

The five-year degree at the University of Waterloo also included mathematics and statistics, and it alternated classroom study with a series of internships with insurance companies and banks.

With that background, on graduating in 1999, it made obvious sense to go into the insurance sector. But, out of the blue, Ning heard Swiss Re were recruiting Canada for a trainee in Hong Kong and jumped at the chance. She returned to join a still small office as the only person under 30, but learned quickly through job rotations, including one with an affiliated investment bank, and worked towards her professional qualifications.

“Being an actuary is a good combination of mathematics and the commercial aspect,” she says. “I wouldn’t say I’m fascinated by all the actuarial terms and methodologies, but I have always enjoyed the people and business development side.”

Though generally happy in the role, she took the advice to make things happen and moved on in 2004, going first to Sun Life, then to Watson Wyatt Insurance Consulting, and next to RGA Reinsurance as chief pricing actuary, before eventually finding her way back to Swiss Re. “I felt it was important to build up my technical foundation, broaden my horizons, and work for different firms,” she says. “Planning my career has always been one step at a time, but every role was fulfilling and rewarding in its own way.”

Ning describes herself as a perfectionist, who believes that good leadership is about bringing the best out of people and ensuring they grow as professionals. What she likes most about her current role is working with teams around Asia, building relationships, learning about different cultures, and making things tick.

“I try to be humble, to listen and learn; it is an ongoing journey, which I find fascinating,” she says. “I’m also incredibly reflective, whether about an incident with a person or a lost deal. I think back on the causes and ask myself would I do the same thing again. That’s just natural to me.”

With two children under the age of 10, Ning is also adept at setting priorities. Family commitments come first outside work, but she has maintained a longstanding interest in fashion. She particularly admires designers like Alexander Wang and Dries van Noten and still harbours thoughts of one day running a boutique.

“I really enjoy dressing people and used to help friends find clothes and accessories,” she says. “I did once think about changing career, but you have to realise there is the glamorous side of the fashion industry and a lot of less glamorous day-to-day things as well.”