President's Message

A Point of Pride—CAS in Action

For two weeks beginning March 25, 2014, I experienced an absolutely exceptional time being part of the CAS. No doubt you are already well aware of the CAS’s commitment from its volunteers and staff, but these two weeks really drove home the breadth and strength of this dedication. I want to share a few of the many activities with you, knowing you will be as proud of the CAS and our volunteers and staff as I am.

The International Actuarial Association (IAA) meeting came first, with more than 272 delegates from 42 countries. Our staff supported the IAA in all aspects of the meeting coordination and, most importantly, facilitated a number of bilateral meetings with representatives from various actuarial organizations as well as CAS volunteer and staff participation in the various IAA committees.  Several CAS members took part in one or more of the IAA committee meetings.

But then the action really started with the International Congress of Actuaries (ICA 2014) and our Ratemaking and Product Management Seminar (RPM). The CAS conducted both events simultaneously in the same hotel. That was quite a challenge, but we were up to it!

ICA 2014 attracted nearly 1,200 actuaries from 107 countries, plus accompanying guests. The CAS led a dedicated team of 35 staff members and 137 volunteers from all five of the U.S.-based organizations; this team handled all the detailed planning and logistics as well as on-site meeting management and hospitality, not to mention selecting and recruiting 300 actuaries and other experts to hold four plenary sessions, three limited attendance workshops and over 100 concurrent sessions. Second to the outstanding scientific program were the networking opportunities in the Town Square. Other highlights included a welcome reception at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, a gala dinner and dancing, and a trip to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center.

These two weeks really brought home to me what a strong and resourceful organization we have in the CAS.

 

ICA 2014 was also a family affair; some 20 spouses pitched in for the Hospitality Committee and pulled together a range of interesting tours and informal gatherings to make the Congress a fun event for all attendees. Taken together, ICA 2014 was quite a challenge, but our team of volunteers and staff pulled it off!  Special recognition is owed to Bob Conger, chair of the ICA 2014 Organizing Committee, and Cynthia Ziegler, CAS executive director. Together they coordinated all the myriad planning and logistical work for the 10 years leading up to the event.

Meanwhile, just to complicate matters, we were holding the RPM Seminar with 650 attendees on the other side of the hotel!  Here, besides the same logistical challenges, our 22-person RPM Seminar Planning Committee, led by Kelly McKeethan, recruited moderators and panelists for five workshops with 28 separate parts, 13 roundtables and 67 concurrent sessions. Whew!

During the IAA and ICA meetings, we held bilateral meetings separately with the leaders of actuarial organizations in Australia, Canada, China, the U.K. and South Africa. Meetings were also conducted with leaders from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ (U.K.) General Insurance Research Organising Committee (GIRO) and the IAA section Actuarial Studies in Non-Life Insurance (ASTIN). These meetings served to reinforce our relationships and to explore how the CAS might forge alliances with other general insurance practitioners, the goal of which is to efficiently organize and exchange research and presentations for the mutual benefit of our respective members. This alliance concept was well received and soon we will be organizing a working party with representatives of the different organizations to explore how we can make the idea come to fruition.

These meetings served to reinforce our relationships and to explore how the CAS might forge alliances with other general insurance practitioners.

 

We also held our first CAS Employer Advisory Council (EAC) meeting. Pat Teufel organized and chaired this meeting with senior actuaries representing a diverse cross section of employers, who are our largest stakeholders after our members. The employers provided important feedback about how the CAS provides value to employers through basic and continuing education and practical research. We’ll continue to meet with the EAC quarterly and factor their insights into our planning.

One last observation pertains to our university engagement initiatives and CAS Student Central. During the RPM Seminar, Wes Griffith, chair of our University Engagement Committee, and Tamar Gertner, CAS university engagement manager, organized a day with some 30 local university students who are studying actuarial science, some local, others who had traveled from other parts of the country. Each student had a mentor for the day and participated in RPM sessions as well as a special program arranged for them. The feedback we received was excellent and I expect that word will ripple further when the students get back to their campuses and talk with their faculty and classmates. And, by the way, if you haven’t checked out www.CASstudentcentral.org, please do so. This new website is the hub of our outreach and communications with university students.

I’d be remiss not to mention and thank the other U.S. actuarial organizations and the IAA for their very active and full support of ICA 2014.  They each willingly supplied staff and volunteers to support all aspects of the planning and logistical work, which included managing the details of various events, supporting the sponsorship program, designing and printing on-site materials, staffing the registration desk and hospitality room, stuffing bags with meeting and sponsor materials and setting up meeting rooms. While we may have our differences, ICA 2014 really showed what we can do if we work together.

These two weeks really brought home to me—and I think all the attendees, volunteers and staff—what a strong and resourceful organization we have in the CAS and why our next 100 years will be as successful as the first 100.

We can all be very proud to be a part of the CAS!