Meet a Founding Member of the UCSB Innovators Circle
Serial entrepreneur and professor of actuarial science Ian Duncan gives back to campus
Healthcare represents 17% of the United States economy — a large market for entrepreneurs developing solutions and services. Dr. Ian Duncan, adjunct professor in UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Statistics and Applied Probability, has sold four companies that provide healthcare data analytics software. He established the Janet and Ian Duncan Chair in Actuarial Science and is a founding member of UC Santa Barbara’s Innovators Circle, a network of entrepreneurs who share expertise and take a Founders’ Pledge to support campus.
Ian worked as an actuary in London and Canada before moving to the United States to work for Aetna Insurance. He then transitioned to a healthcare strategy consulting role at Price Waterhouse. Ian co-founded his first company with a colleague and received a sale offer in the early 2000s.
“We were small but well known; we were very focused on what we did, which is a particular kind of health actuarial work. The acquiring company had raised a lot of money during the dot-com bubble and were buying businesses to demonstrate growth to their investors. In fact, they closed on yet another business the day after acquiring ours,” said Ian, reflecting on his first chaotic experience with acquisition.
Ian found that his skills and experience had evolved beyond traditional actuarial work. He began consulting independently. Soon, he realized an opportunity to re-establish himself in this niche market. There remained a need for health data analytics services.
“I started another company to do the same thing that the first company had done,” said Ian. “One of the lessons that I've learned is that software products create value. My companies have been sold because we developed software.”
After the second company sold, Ian took concurrent roles as head of clinical research at Walgreens and as an adjunct professor at UC Santa Barbara in 2011. He began teaching at UC Santa Barbara full time in 2014, and in 2015, he launched his third company.
“I’ve been accused of being a one-trick pony, but the technology has changed so much over 20 years. Now everything is distributed in the cloud,” said Ian.
Meanwhile, with the proceeds from the sale of the second company, Ian and his wife established the Janet and Ian Duncan Chair in Actuarial Science to help raise the profile of the field and to bring international recognition to UC Santa Barbara. Ian’s wife, Janet, is a former insurance company executive and a current lecturer in the Department of Statistics and Applied Probability. She was chief financial officer of Ian’s third company. The Janet & Ian Duncan Chair in Actuarial Science has been held by Professor Gareth Peters since 2021.
The Innovators Circle features networking events and opportunities, a recruitment pipeline, mentorship opportunities, and access to cutting-edge research at UC Santa Barbara. Members of the Innovators Circle make a non-binding Founders’ Pledge to invest philanthropically in UC Santa Barbara at a meaningful level. Gifts are directed to the donor’s passion area anywhere on campus and are typically made after a liquidity event, such as with Ian’s support of the endowed chair.
Published January 2025
I try to push my students and fellow actuaries to be more entrepreneurial. I hope that’s the message to students and graduate students and founders through the Innovators Circle. It’s better to take risks, even if you fail. That’s extraordinarily valuable.”
Ian Duncan
