How We Can Meet the Challenges Ahead

Over the last month, I've shared my thoughts on my vision for the Society of Actuaries in a series of LinkedIn posts called “Future Focus Fridays.” I laid out my vision based on four pillars:

1. Cultivating the next generation of actuaries
2. Opening new doors for business innovation
3. Expanding actuarial work worldwide
4. Forging stronger bonds among SOA members

As a candidate for President-Elect, anchoring my campaign on these important challenges has provided me the opportunity to reinforce my personal principles as well as those of the SOA. In this article, I’d like to recap my thoughts.

Pillar One

Cultivating the next generation of actuaries and serving as mentors, teachers, and coaches will continue to be important. As both a practicing actuary and an educator, I’m richly rewarded when I help aspiring actuaries reach the next step in their journey. I have had the privilege of teaching actuarial students at Georgia State University and delivering a guest lecture at Boise State University’s master’s program in Population & Health Systems Management.

I believe we should explore more ways to lift hidden barriers by reaching further into high schools, colleges, and universities. Lack of awareness and late awareness about the actuarial profession are big barriers for many students, including those who are underrepresented.

Research shows that minority students and their networks, including family and teachers, lack contact with actuaries. Let's use our resources to visit more classrooms, reach new communities, and further raise awareness among mathematically gifted students. We have the capability to follow through. Let’s do this!

Pillar Two

Being at the forefront of innovation in business is central to strengthening the value actuaries provide. This means building partnerships with technology innovators and experts from diverse industries. It also means developing protocols for evaluating recent technologies and guidelines for adopting them.

In the last decade, we’ve seen actuaries called into many new industries. Technology providers, healthcare, environmental science, the retail sector, and energy are just a few business sectors that need our expertise. Because we are known for our skills in risk management and data analysis, we can contribute to a wide range of nontraditional industries beyond the typical insurance and finance sectors.

By embracing more cross-industry, interdisciplinary collaboration, we will unlock new opportunities.

Pillar Three

Almost every week I see news about actuarial meetings in places like Malaysia, the Caribbean, Pakistan, and Singapore. Africa has several new organizations as does the Middle East. What a delight to know our numbers are growing! Actuaries working across borders is a significant trend; supporting the expansion of actuarial work worldwide is my third campaign pillar.

International collaboration strengthens our global impact. Today’s complex challenges require an international point-of-view and global approach to problem-solving. (The pandemic is a case in point.) The SOA has a robust international outreach program and, if elected, I would support expanding this effort to encompass even wider areas of the globe and the sharing of knowledge.

Pillar Four

The SOA Board of Directors is exploring ways we could enhance connections between our members, a pursuit that I fully support. While we've devoted a lot of time and attention to attracting new members from the outside, we’ve overlooked investigating ways current members can have more professionally meaningful ties.

Can smaller, more singularly focused groups within the SOA add value to member experiences? How can we provide opportunities for more members to build stronger professional bonds? Let's explore ways to enhance member interactions, including the potential for focused micro-communities within the SOA.

This is a marvelous time to be an actuary and a member of our organization, the largest of its kind in the world. Based on the size of our community and our collective dedication, I believe we have a very bright future.

Be sure to cast your vote; it takes less than five minutes. Voting is open through September 6.

I welcome the opportunity to serve you with excellence!