Vice president and controller at excess liability carrier ACE Ltd. Ms Susan Holland was the kind of high school student that chased after GCEs as a hobby.

It was not part of the curriculum at her Alma Mater, Mount Saint Agnes, where she led her graduating class as Valedictorian.

More an academic than ambitious at the time, learning was just a way of life.

In her spare time, she took a GCE exam in American history, because a Warwick Academy teacher was offering weekly classes on local television.

But with the looming possibility of studying in Britain, she also obtained GCEs in two other subjects, English and mathematics, the latter being her academic forte. Again, this was accomplished in her spare time, apart from her regular high school courses.

Later, at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, Canada, she happened upon a course that led her to an academic speciality.

She is quite frank about her direction as an undergraduate.

"I had no goals as to what I wanted to do,'' she admits. "As a Bermudian, after you study here, you realistically know that you have to come back from university and get a job. You look around and it is either the hotel industry, teaching, a nurse, doctor or business. There are some limitations. You have to be realistic that when you come back, you need a job.

"I chose to study business, not really having any idea what I wanted to do. I was just plodding along. I just fell into accounting probably by the end of my second year. Purely by accident, I was very strong in mathematics.

"I found accounting interesting and found out I was good at it. It looked like it could be a good profession to bring back to Bermuda. They were good enough reasons, but I don't know if I really felt, at that age, that it was something that I would be happy to do for the rest of my life.

"As a student, you go away, and a lot of times you really don't know what you want to do. You don't really have a strong understanding of what professions are out there. There are so many choices.'' She had originally envisioned that her college career would be a two year college. As a teenager, she never expected her academic gift would translate into professional qualifications.

"When I left high school, I honestly thought I'd do a little college, get married, have kids. I didn't really see myself as a career person, and the women around me were not career people.'' The truth is though, Ms Holland would probably have succeeded in whatever she chose. Bright and well-rounded as a student, she had a thirst for knowledge.

And with all of the academic concentration, surprisingly, she was also athletically inclined, playing netball, basketball, volleyball and gymnastics at Mount Saint Agnes. And at Mount Allison, as a novice field hockey player, she made the University team.

She finished college in 1978, schooling that she continued simply because she was still doing what she always liked best, learning.

"It's amazing how far a genuine interest in learning can take you. I came back with an accounting degree. So really the first place you go to is one of the auditing firms, and begin studying again.'' Her first job was with KPMG Peat Marwick, where she stayed for five years. It was also there that she qualified as a Chartered Accountant. She was with the Gibbons Group for three and a half years, with Fidelity International Ltd. for a year and a half and now with ACE for six and a half years, where she began as chief accountant.

She is responsible for the Securities and Exchange Control (SEC) filings and US tax issues in addition to being controller.

ACE was her first insurance employer.

She said, "Long before I came to ACE, I thought of the insurance business as just like gambling. But I've found it very interesting and I have a lot more respect for the insurance profession. And I have a great deal of respect for people in the insurance industry. "I soon realised that there was a lot more to risk management than I originally thought. I would like to stay in the insurance field. I'm not ruling anything else out. But I've only really been on the financial side.

"I'm probably at a stage where I would probably want to be more involved in the operational side or expand, because there is a limit on the financial side.

"I mean it has been interesting so far with ACE going public, working with the SEC and working on US tax issues. They have all been interesting areas and have kept me challenged. So far I've not been bored.'' "But it's not that easy to evaluate future risks, properly write them and manage that exposure.'' She advises young people to be patient as they chart their future.

"Some get their university degrees and take courses in marketing or management and then believe they can walk in and run a company, or at least get placed in a managerial position. It's just as important to learn the people skills, the interaction skills and general experience counts for a lot.

Academics and focus are important.'' This year she has been appointed chairman of the Hospital Insurance Commission.

"That is a new challenge for me.'' She strikes a lot of people as driven, although she does not know why people say that. Later, she is the first to admit that she gives her all to anything she tries. Right now, she is happy with her responsibilities with ACE.

Describing herself as a cautious person by nature, she tries to find positives in negative situations.

About the economy and what's in store for Bermuda she said, "I'm a little concerned about Bermuda and the future. I think it's going to be tougher. The business environment globally is tougher.

"Over the last two to four years, you see the lay-offs and cut-backs in some of these overseas companies. It's bound to flow over into Bermuda. We have already started to see some of that. We have to be careful and aware that things like that are happening.

"Bermudians in the past have been lucky. In the future we must work harder to succeed. Business will have to get better.

"Students will have to ensure they get a well-rounded education. They can't use computers as a crutch. They have to learn to be analytical and think for themselves and be flexible to move across boundaries. In business, you better understand people.'' She verbally divorces herself from the feminist movement.

"I've been involved in situations where people believed that there had to be a quota of women participating. Whether it is a corporate board or a Government committee, I've never believed that people should be selected for service just because they are a woman.

"People need to be selected for their skills, for what they can bring to an organisation.'' THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE -- Ms. Susan Holland.