Sahib Khosla's Excel-planned life

He is an adjunct faculty member at Strathmore University Institute of Mathematical Sciences, and previously served as the president of the council of the Actuarial Society of Kenya.

He now runs his actuarial shop, Lux Actuaries and Consultants Kenya as their Executive Director while also engaged in community work serving as a member of the council of Siri Guru Singh Sabha in Nairobi after being instrumental in the awarding of Kenyan citizenship status to a sub-sect of the stateless persons living in Kenya.

Sahib is having a good year, with awards thrown at him. He has already won two national awards: Head of State Commendation and recently, The Max Lander Award 2024, a consulting Actuary Lifetime Achievement Award.

We know not of any other pastime of his that doesn’t involve being hunched over a computer, peering intently at Excel, which is the software that gives him answers on life.

Sahib, do you enjoy teaching at the university?

Yes, more than anything. It’s inherent. My late mother was a teacher and taught throughout her life. Her brother was a teacher back in India. So, it’s something that runs in the family. My dad - now retired - quite the elderly gentleman, was in the transport business. He was also involved in social work.

But what he didn’t do was accumulate resources and because of that, we led a humble lifestyle which, as one of his two children, inspired me to make a future for myself from an early age.

It was clear to me it was going to take hard work. And, thanks to my mom, who had a high intellect, I knew I had a gift from the Almighty of a strong mental acumen.

The larger part of my life was academic, running through schools, often coming first in class.

Where did you grow up?

South C. That’s my ushago, as I tell people. [Chuckles] My family has been here for four generations, since 1885. I’m of the Sikh faith. My great-grandfather was one of the Sikh pioneers in the community. They came under the British Empire to build the railway, but some came as tradesmen.

Parts of the Sikh Kenyan heritage can be linked to my great-grandfather, Gurdit Singh Nayer. Being a wealthy man, he had a big part to play in setting up some of those institutions like the Kipande House that he built.

He was also involved in setting up religious institutions like the oldest worship centre in downtown Nairobi, the big dome-like temple.

I’m curious, how old is your hair? Does it reach your waist?

[Laughs] So, I’ve never cut my hair since birth. If you don’t cut or trim your hair, it, at a certain point, naturally stops growing. My hair is not that long, but it is shoulder-length.

The younger Indians now go around in ponytails but we usually don’t. Keeping our hair tied and covered is a symbol of faith. It’s more religious than cultural. The turban goes back to one of our prophets who was looking to create an identity amongst us Indians.

How do people perceive you in a turban?

I wonder, as well. As I mentioned, it has a religious significance and it's a source of pride for the community. So, I wear it more like a crown. I find that it empowers me.

You briefly mentioned your dad’s choice to do social work and how it affected your family’s financial standing…

Some of the stuff he did was probably driven by his upbringing. His dad, who was part of the Kenya African Rifles passed on early, leaving a huge family of seven children.

My dad being one of the oldest siblings, had to forgo his childhood. He was 18 when his dad passed away. There were some betrayals within the family which left him dissatisfied and he opted to leave the family home and live alone.

He wanted to be a lawyer and when it was clear that that would not happen, he focused on offering social services; helping people with paperwork to the British embassy or helping them with translation in the passport office.

Because of his social work, he married late - he was 51. One thing I should emulate from him which I haven’t is to take care of my physical health.

How was your relationship with him?

We have a huge age gap, almost half a century. As I grew up, I had this fear that being that he was old, I might lose him because of his age.

He was more of a grandfather than a father so I missed out partly on having a father figure, partly because he immersed himself in social work.

I wasn’t close to my uncles because of the family fallout I described earlier. So, I didn’t have a strong male figure throughout my life.

I was very close to my mom. She was a warm and loving woman and an intellectual - she had two Masters degrees, an outlier for someone - a woman - who grew up in the ’50s in post-colonial India.

She married my dad late in life, she was 37. She was a university lecturer back in India. Her demise affected me fundamentally.

Why is actuarial science important?

Where actuaries have predominantly worked has been in the long-term risk management space.

So, think insurance and pensions. These are the sectors where the actuarial talent has been valuable. It's an old profession, coming to maybe 150 years or more.

Today it's evolving, both in a local and global context. If you can quantify a risk, you can bring some mathematical probability to events and this skill can be used for things like climate change.

What does your risk appetite look like?

I'm risk averse. Well, maybe I'm a calculated risk-taker. This is something inherently in me. I wouldn't say no or yes without thinking things through and analysing.

I do stuff in Excel - even personal decisions are made on Excel. I’m naturally inclined towards analytically thinking about things.

My mind is ever busy working out many things and Excel gives me visual clarity because then I can place things in terms of priority. It also helps with reflection and to establish where to spend my energy. Do I always follow what I put for myself as a projection for a year or two? I find myself falling short, but that's human.

What's the riskiest thing you've done in your life so far?

Wow, that's an interesting question. [Pause] Have I done anything that risky? Risky things have happened to me, but I have always thought things through.

I've had interesting experiences that have presented risk, and I think I have dealt with them probably worse than maybe others would have because I tend to overthink once an event has happened.

Whereas those who don't think critically about things would let some things pass easily, I run through all scenarios. That is just how my brain works. But to answer your question, actively going out of my way to do something risky? Nothing comes to mind.

What has actuarial science taught you about your own life?

I’m not sure how to place that answer because actuarial science being what it is - analytical and risk-averse - speaks to who I am as a person. That’s why I chose it. It was an interesting discussion I had with a career counsellor 20 years back that led me here.

And I must say he mentioned the word money somewhere in that discussion, so that did influence the decision. [Laughs] It aligns with who I am and I’m happy I ended up in the profession.

I have found myself within the actuarial community in Kenya, which is in its adolescence. So, I had to do a lot of leadership stuff.

Married, children?

None. Of course, I'm now coming to 39. Most of my peers question my status. They are like 'What's going on and what's the plan, and, you know, like, why?' [Laughs] For many years now, I have been with a partner, but we haven't formalised it.

She's of Asian descent as well and of Sikh faith. She has been stateless for a while. I don't know if you have come across this statelessness issue in the media. She and other people were not recognised by any state.

When you're stateless, you don't have any documents, literally none. And so, it makes it difficult for you to do anything practical in the country. It took her five years for this to be resolved.

I spent a lot of my early or late 20s pushing for this. It is more like a human rights issue. Initially, of course, my drive started with just helping my partner but morphed into doing good for society.

So clearly, you're going to get married now in your 40s. You're following in your father's footsteps.

[Laughs] Yes, I'm not taking it towards his age, but I often joke with him about that, because he asks me about my plan, especially recently, I tell him that he set the benchmark. But, yes, I'm a bit late. And I accept that.

What are you afraid of now as a 39-year-old?

My health. As I said, I have not done as well in taking care of my physical health. I'm not in the worst shape, but I'm also not in the best.

I know I have to improve. I hope to do that in the coming year when I turn 40. Because I know, again, being analytical, that if I continue down this trajectory of health, I won't be here for a very long time.

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