The Challenge
A Montreal-based insurance company serving both Quebec and Ontario markets recognized that competitive differentiation increasingly depended on sophisticated predictive analytics capabilities for pricing, risk assessment, and claims management. The organization sought to recruit their first Head of Data Science who could build an analytics function from the ground up, hiring a team and implementing capabilities that would fundamentally transform how the company made underwriting and claims decisions. The position required expertise across multiple domains: advanced machine learning and statistical modeling techniques applicable to insurance contexts; understanding of insurance operations including underwriting, actuarial, and claims processes; regulatory knowledge including guidelines governing algorithmic decision-making in insurance; and leadership capability to build and manage a technical team within a traditional insurance culture. The challenge was compounded by competition for data science talent from technology companies offering higher compensation and more technically exciting work, as well as the need to find someone who could communicate complex analytical concepts to insurance professionals without data science backgrounds. Additionally, the bilingual Quebec market required someone comfortable operating in both English and French business environments.
The Solution
Lock Search Group implemented a bi-market search strategy leveraging our Montreal and Toronto offices’ insurance practice expertise and technology recruiting capabilities. We recognized that candidates from pure technology backgrounds might lack insurance domain knowledge, while insurance analysts might lack advanced machine learning expertise, so we prioritized candidates who had successfully bridged both worlds. Our search targeted four candidate pools: data science leaders from insurance carriers who had built analytics teams and implemented production models; data scientists from insurtech companies who had developed insurance-specific applications; analytics leaders from adjacent financial services including banking and wealth management with transferable modeling expertise; and consulting data scientists with insurance practice experience who were seeking operating roles. Our assessment approach evaluated candidates across technical data science competencies, insurance domain knowledge, leadership and team-building capability, and communication skills with non-technical stakeholders. Given the bilingual requirement, we conducted portions of interviews in French and evaluated candidates’ comfort level operating in Quebec’s distinct business environment. We also assessed candidates’ philosophy on algorithmic fairness and transparency given increasing regulatory attention to AI in insurance decision-making.
The Outcome
The insurance-focused data science search identified 38 candidates whose backgrounds suggested relevant expertise. Through comprehensive assessment including technical data science evaluations, insurance domain knowledge testing, and leadership capability interviews, we presented five finalists representing different pathways to the role. The successful placement was a former Senior Data Scientist from a large Canadian insurance carrier who had developed their predictive pricing models and was seeking an opportunity to build a function rather than work within an established team. Her combination of advanced technical skills including deep learning and natural language processing for claims analysis, insurance domain expertise, and proven ability to communicate with traditional insurance professionals made her ideally suited for this transformation leadership role. Her fluency in French and prior experience working in Quebec’s insurance market addressed the bilingual requirement. Within her first year, she hired a team of four data scientists, implemented a predictive pricing model that improved loss ratios by 8%, developed a claims fraud detection system, and established a governance framework for algorithmic decision-making that anticipated regulatory requirements. The placement demonstrated Lock Search Group’s ability to source specialized technical talent for traditional industries undergoing analytics transformation.