Immodesty

I'm Simon Pollack. In my early fifties I decided to have a place to pull together my thoughts on half a lifetime (I *hope* half is a good guess) of learning and living.

 

The act of writing cements one's thinking: there is a satisfaction in turning amorphous reflections into a single whole.  But I also hope that some things here may be interesting or even useful to some other people.  

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This brief bio will tell you whether you will find my thoughts and experiences interesting. 

 

I had the luck to be born in a stable society to supportive parents who valued education.  I have masters degrees in mathematics, business and philosophy.  Between the first and second of these I qualified as an actuary (a rigorous professional qualification in finance) and built a career in insurance based on the analysis of data and risk.

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After nearly 30 years the opportunity (finally!) arose to set up my own business and in 2021 I worked with a well-trusted team to establish Calibrant, an insurance advisory and intermediary business specialising in portfolio management.  Along the way we developed software for the data-analysis side of portfolio management which led to a new business licensing this software, Sybil, to insurers.  The combined success of these businesses has led to a third commercial activity, that of managing my own asset portfolio.

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I've therefore got a fair amount of experience in business, entrepreneurship, finance and investing.  And plenty to say about these things!

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But also: I'm a singer-songwriter and have written and recorded a hundred songs and collaborated as producer and arranger on many more; I have played bridge at a high level (I represented Britain's under-25 team in the 90s at the European Championship); I have built and run a professional recording studio; I have travelled the world for pleasure and business; and I have walked the French leg of the Santiago de Compestela pilgrimage which I have documented here in my blog.

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Perhaps the theme that runs through all this is that I approach everything with a conceptual and analytical mind, and so I have structured thinking supporting my activities in many areas.  I have a wide-ranging section in my blog called "Thoughts" which, if I were more highfalutin, I might have called "Philosophy"; but I would rather not have professional philosophers pick my nits, or constraints on what I can express.

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I hope something here interests you.  If you've made it this far, then thank you!  And please click on the blog to learn more.