Robert Tailyour-Hayes of the Gevernment's Actuary's Department
Employer and area of work Government
Actuary's Department, advice to MoD.
How would your best friend describe you?
Reliable, honest, and good-natured.
What motivates you?
Helping a worthy cause.
What would be your personal motto? Do what you can with what you've got.
Name five dream guests you would invite to your dinner party?
Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, Queen Victoria, mountaineer Edmund Hillary, first British astronaut Helen Sharman and actor Richard Burton. I'm not sure what we'd talk about, but I'd love to sit and listen to stories of their fascinating lives. Hopefully they wouldn't talk about how bad my cooking is.
What's your most 'actuarial' habit?
I like planning ahead.
If you could learn one random skill, what would you learn?
A foreign language.
Favourite Excel function?
You can't beat a good vlookup.
How do you relax away from the office?
Playing sports; playing guitar and piano; and reading.
Alternative career choice?
Realistically, teacher. Unrealistically, astronaut.
Tell us something unusual about yourself
In 2007, I did a solo trek of 350 miles across northern Spain over 18 days.
Greatest risk you have ever taken?
Moving to California without a job - it worked out great in the end though!
If you could go back in history, who would you like to meet?
I'd have to pick Isaac Newton.
What's your most treasured possession?
My Fender Telecaster electric guitar - although I wish I could play it a lot better than I do.
What are the top three things you would like to achieve in your lifetime?
Financial security for my family; to visit every continent on earth; to skydive from the edge of space.
If you ruled the world, what would you change first?
Being ruler of the world - no one should have that much power.