Some of the benefits of being president are the opportunities to visit actuaries, employers and universities and to attend actuarial meetings across North America and around the world. One of the burdens of being president, however, is journeying to and from these events. Aside from normal flight delays and missed connections, most of my actual …
Every November, our new CAS Board of Directors begins its term with a brainstorming session to identify the most important strategic initiatives for the coming year. This exercise results in a long list of ideas for potential areas of focus, which we then whittle down to a manageable handful through online surveys of the board. …
President-Elect Nominee Jessica (Weng Kah) Leong FCAS 2006 Becoming an actuary is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I want to do my part so that new members and students feel the same way as they progress through their career. Did you know that in the last 10 years, the profession has almost …
I have been speaking at various formal and informal meetings of actuaries during the almost six months since I became your president. At virtually every meeting someone asks, “What is our relationship with the Society of Actuaries now?” To answer this questions, I am going to describe to you the current relationship between the CAS …
In Remembrance is an occasional column featuring short obituaries of CAS members who have recently died. Longer versions of these obituaries are posted on the CAS website at bit.ly/PCASobits. The Exemplary Volunteer John J. Kollar (FCAS 1975) 1947-2017 Former CAS President John J. Kollar, whose CAS service encompassed education, strategic planning, methods development, literature and …
Emerging risks are potential threats that can have a significant impact on a company, an industry or the world. By their very nature, emerging risks involve a high degree of uncertainty since they are new, changing, or yet to be understood. Anticipating risks is often a combination of perception, reality, vision and perspective. Recency can …
Continue reading “Risky Business: Five Emerging Risks Worth Watching”
I just attended the semiannual meeting of the International Actuarial Association (IAA) in Mexico City. It was amazing to see more than 200 actuaries from all over the globe (36 countries such as South Africa, England, France, Russia, Japan, Indonesia and Germany) working together to advance actuarial knowledge and strengthen our global actuarial profession. I …
More than a third of CAS members volunteer every year, and that group makes things happen. Some go “above and beyond” for a focused and finite project over the course of a year. Some are new to volunteering and to the CAS but have shown themselves to be outstanding leaders. Others are long-time volunteers who …
Continue reading “The 2018 CAS Volunteer Awardees: In Their Own Words”
I submitted my last President’s Message to AR before the combination proposal was announced and wanted to add a few thoughts about the proposal to combine the CAS and SOA into one new professional organization. The actuarial profession today is facing many challenges. Will companies replace actuaries with data scientists? Will students continue to be …
Continue reading “A Final Thought in Support of the CAS-SOA Combination”
