Honor Society® member
Kelvin Gahadza
- Illinois State University
- master of business administration (mba)
- Class of 2026
- Normal, IL
Member since December 2025
About
Accomplished insurance professional and current MBA candidate at Illinois State University with a 3.67 GPA. I have over 14 years of experience in health insurance, specializing in product development and research analysis. My background is rooted in quantitative analysis, holding a first degree in Applied Mathematics and an MSc in Risk Management and Insurance. I am dedicated to leveraging advanced risk management strategies and AI to drive innovation in the financial services sector.
Education
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Illinois State University
master of business administration (mba)
2025 – 2026
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National University of Science and Technology
MSc Risk Management and Insurance
2012 – 2016
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National University of Science and Technology
Applied Mathematics
2002 – 2006
Honors and awards
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honor society
Selected for membership based on academic achievement and a commitment to excellence in the pursuit of a Master of Business Administration degree. Membership recognizes students who maintain high standards of scholarship and professional development
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Employee of the Year Award at Cimas Health Group
Awarded for outstanding performance, impact, and leadership, recognizing exceptional contributions to product development, research, and data-driven decision-making at Cimas Health Group.
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Innovator of the Year Award at Cimas Health Group
Recognized as Innovator of the Year for leading the design and implementation of a digital health platform that improved data-driven decision-making and operational efficiency
Goals and interests
- Career goal
I am seeking leadership or specialist role in Risk Management, Insurance, or Product Development within the health insurance and financial services sectors. With over 14 years of experience as a research and benefits analyst, I aim to integrate my MBA in strategic decision-making and leadership with advanced data analytics. My focus is on utilizing AI and quantitative modeling to enhance product innovation and organizational risk assessment.
- Graduate school interests
I am currently an MBA candidate at Illinois State University, where I have maintained a 3.67 GPA. My academic interests center on Quantitative Finance, Actuarial Science, and Health Policy. Following my MBA graduation in December 2026, I intend to pursue a Ph.D. in one of these fields, specifically exploring research opportunities in US or Canada. Additionally, I am engaged in self-study for the Society of Actuaries (SOA) Predictive Analytics certificate to deepen my expertise in R programming and data modeling.
- Outside the classroom
Travelling, Sightseeing, Hiking
Experience
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Product Specialist
• Directed lifecycle of health benefits products, optimizing pricing/utilization, driving 30% premium revenue growth with rate adequacy • Executed risk transfer, scenario modeling, sensitivity analyses, ensuring 100% pricing adequacy compliance and reducing capital exposure 15% • Built Excel, SQL, Power BI models, improving forecasting accuracy 25% by analyzing utilization trends and financial sustainability • Developed automated dashboards integrating claims, member, vendor data, cutting manual effort 35% and accelerating decisions • Delivered presentations, competitive market scans, vendor evaluations, influencing $10M+ investments in emerging benefit opportunities
Jan 2020 – Dec 2024
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Research and Benefits Analyst
• Analyzed large insurance datasets, identifying loss trends, exposure concentrations, and cost volatility, improving portfolio risk visibility 20% • Conducted competitor and market research, supporting expansion into new markets, contributing to 30% revenue growth across lines • Designed contribution and cost sharing models, enhancing sustainability, optimizing risk distribution, reducing adverse utilization by 15% • Built business cases, cost models, and benefit comparison tools, accelerating product launch decisions and improving ROI by 25% • Created dashboards highlighting high severity claims, portfolio risks, streamlining reporting, increasing leadership decision speed by 35% • Built actuarial pricing models, premium forecasts, and risk scenarios using Excel/SQL, improving pricing accuracy by 20% • Conducted fraud, waste, and abuse analytics, reducing fraudulent claims 15% and strengthening portfolio financial sustainability • Evaluated provider contracts and reimbursement benchmarks, mitigating cost risk and reducing capital exposure by 10% • Performed loss ratio monitoring, reserve testing, profitability analysis, enhancing portfolio visibility and improving margins 12% • Supported regulatory, solvency, and compliance reporting with documentation, ensuring 100% adherence to statutory audit requirements
Jan 2010 – Dec 2019
Volunteering
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Secretary of the Sigma Iota Epsilon at Illinois State University
Illinois State University
Mar 2025 – Present
Languages
- English (US) Fluent
Additional information
Organizations
