It can come as a surprise that a person whose career has been built on assessing risk would choose to live and work in Papua New Guinea, given its reputation for violent crime and natural disasters. But for Victoria Clifford, her appointment earlier this year as chief executive officer of PNG’s sole reinsurer, Pacific Re, is but the latest development in a career marked by bold and unexpected moves. As she herself puts it:

‘Take chances on opportunities if and when they present. Never in years would I have thought I would be working and living in Papua New Guinea.’

Unconventional pathway

Clifford’s path to a career in reinsurance was not altogether conventional. Despite being a Sydney local with no obvious connections to farming, when she finished secondary school Clifford chose to study agricultural economics at the University of Sydney. She confesses that, at the time, she knew little about the field but was attracted by the relatively small size of the faculty and promising job prospects.

The next leap of faith came at the end of her degree when she was looking at what to do next. One of the positions she applied for was the graduate program at reinsurer Munich Re. Before the interview she received some advice from a family friend who worked in finance about what reinsurance was.

‘Reinsurance was explained to me as just like a bookmaker offsetting a large bet with other bookmakers at the track [to reduce] his exposure,’

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