I’m excited to begin my term as president of the CAS. Thank you again for the opportunity to serve our profession in this way. Over the course of the past year as president-elect, I’ve had several opportunities to meet with CAS members, candidates, employers and other stakeholders. These conversations have validated and reinforced for me how distinctive we are as members of the Casualty Actuarial Society. In particular, the following three realities came into clearer focus for me.
The actuarial profession is distinctive among analytical careers.
There are many analytical careers in our global economies today, but there are very few professions among them. Our combination of high standards of entry, our unique body of knowledge, our code of conduct, our spirit of service to the profession, and our CAS organization are all essential components of what makes us a profession, not just a career. These things are what originally drew me to the actuarial profession, and they are just as distinctive and relevant today.
Our focus on property-casualty risks and insurance is unique and needed.
No other actuarial organization has the focus we have. As a result, we are seen by actuaries around the globe as the leading source of knowledge and expertise in the diverse and evolving space of property-casualty risk. As new forms of risk emerge and develop, the P&C insurance industry responds with solutions that facilitate risk transfer and economic growth. Every economy in the world needs a healthy P&C insurance sector — including actuaries trained and experienced in managing these risks.
The CAS exists to serve its current and future members.
The focus of all the volunteers and staff at the CAS is to provide resources to our members and candidates and ensure that our profession remains highly relevant and highly valued. This became more evident to me as the board established our new Strategic Plan, which confirmed our envisioned future: CAS members are sought after globally for their insights and ability to apply analytics to solve insurance and risk management problems.
A major focus of my term as president will be to implement this plan — turning strategy into action.
A major focus of my term as president will be to implement this plan — turning strategy into action. I will work in partnership with the CAS’s CEO, Victor Carter-Bey, our Executive Council and our staff leaders to define actions that move with pace to enhance the value the CAS provides to members today. The action plan we establish this year will enable the CAS to continue on a path of strategic growth and value for many years to come.
During my president-elect year, I also had the opportunity to chair a task force focused on enhancing the linkage between our members and the CAS Board of Directors. This Membership Linkage Task Force provided a holistic set of recommendations that the board adopted in November, and we are in the process of implementing. Specifically, the board agreed to do the following:
- Strengthen the board’s commitment to transparency.
- Create a “Board Information Portal” on the CAS website.
- Enhance support for Board-Member engagement at all in-person meetings.
- Continue to hold CAS Town Halls for members.
- Establish measures of success for enhancing board-membership linkage.
I am pleased to say that every member of our board expressed support for these efforts and is committed to building and sustaining a strong connection with our members.
As we move forward into 2025, I am excited to share our progress in these and other key initiatives. Our shared commitment to strengthening our profession will come to life as we each demonstrate our high standards of excellence and ethics in our daily work. And the CAS will continue to serve and support you to do exactly that. ●
CAS Board Transparency Policy
The CAS Board considers transparency a guiding principle. Transparency fosters trust in the CAS, encourages the board to remain dedicated to the CAS’s mission, holds board members accountable, and promotes strong relationships between the board and CAS members. The CAS Board demonstrates its transparency by:
- Making decisions in accordance with the CAS Constitution and Bylaws.
- Seeking out and considering stakeholder feedback in its decision-making process.
- Making board meetings open to members.
- Releasing meeting agendas and minutes to members.
- Updating members on progress towards achieving the Strategic Plan.
- Making existing public financial information easily accessible to members.
- Maintaining open lines of communication between the board and members.
