Who will lead the SOA? You decide.

Candidate Questionnaire

Achille R Sime Lanang, FSA 2013, MAAA 2009, CERA 2013, AQIAF 2006
Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, Consulting Actuary (Prior Employment June 2023)
SL FINANCIAL, Inc., Principal/CEO, Coral Gables, Florida (Current July 2023)

Brief description of current work:

Consulting Actuary

Primary Area of Practice:

General Insurance

Other Areas of Practice:

Enterprise Risk Management

Professional Background

Provide a brief description of your professional background and the type of work you have performed and explain how these experiences have uniquely prepared you as an Elected Board Member and qualify you in carrying out the strategic direction of the SOA.

Following a degree in applied mathematics from the University of Paris Dauphine, I spent about four years in consulting while completing fellowship designation with the Institute of Actuaries of France. I then moved to the United States to build the actuarial function for a French reinsurance company. After an acquisition by another global reinsurer, I pursued the FSA designation and became the first fellow of SOA General Insurance Track. I was then approved by the Casualty Practice Council (CPC) of the American Academy of Actuaries (AAA) and was selected by the SOA and the NAIC as Subject Matter Expert to help redefine a Property/Casualty (P/C) Appointed Actuary, My career then took me to Bermuda then back to the U.S. with significant contribution to the development of the profession in Africa. This global perspective coupled with the ability to cross-practice prepared me fully for the Elected Board member position.

Volunteer, Governance and Personal Experience

Describe how your volunteer, governance and personal experiences would strengthen your contributions to the SOA Board, the organization, and strategic plan execution. Please list your relevant volunteer experience. Please include the name of the organization, your role, and approximate dates.

My personal experience around the world coupled with over a decade of volunteer experience both at the SOA and the American Academy of Actuaries (AAA) allowed me to build leadership skills while collaborating collegially with people from different background around a common objective. I wrote and graded SOA examinations, I teaches a course named business case in reinsurance at the International Insurance Institute (IIA) in Africa and I volunteered heavily with the AAA where I co-lead a paper on Insurance-Linked Securities and am involved with the COPLFR and Extreme Event Committees. This experience contributed to the use of actuarial skills to solve societal issues (e.g., help reduce insurance coverage gap) and will strengthen my contribution to the SOA Board and the organization.

Agility/Change

Describe a significant change that you led in the workplace or in your volunteer activities. What were the largest obstacles you overcame, and what would you have done differently to ensure greater success.

I became the first FSA to complete the SOA General Insurance Track in 2013 and later started a consulting firm at a time where virtually no SOA member were approved to sign NAIC Property/Casualty (P/C) Opinions. I then decided to apply for approval by the Casualty Practice Council (CPC) of the American Academy of Actuaries (AAA) and that process took more than a year, but I was granted the said approval and signed my first NAIC P/C Opinion in 2016. I then accepted to call for nomination to represent the SOA at the NAIC Appointed Actuary Job Analysis Project that laid to the new definition of a P/C Appointed Actuary. The largest obstacle throughout that project had been the acceptance as subject matter expert while not being a member of the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS). Fortunately, having gone through the CPC approval process and worked with CAS members before, prepared me well to manage the situation. In retrospective, sharing that experience at actuarial conferences could have ensured greater visibility and success.

Motivating/Influencing

Describe a time when you helped resolve a difficult situation in a professional setting. Describe the situation, the actions you took, and the outcome.

As part of a global reinsurance company following an acquisition, I joined a committee to work on unique reserving software to be used company wide. Having practiced around the world and having actuarial designations in both Europe (France) and the United States (SOA) allowed me to help bridge the cultural gap and bring best practices from the reserving platforms used by European and American actuaries. In particular, I provided recommendations on the use of Actual vs. Expected analysis and roll forward during the quarterly reserving process. The result of my work was incorporated in the unique reserving platform being used until today.

Diversity

What steps might the SOA take to improve its diversity, equity and inclusion? You can read more about current efforts by the organization at www.soa.org/programs/diversity-inclusion.

I believe the SOA should continue current efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion. A particular step around the diversity could be around increasing examination centers in developing countries along with assistance to candidates in areas such as study materials or manuals and/or visas for candidates to attend the Associateship Professional Course (APC) and Fellowship Admission Course (FAC), or virtual/hybrid version of the APC and FAC for candidates in developing countries. As an example, I know a candidate from Cameroon that was denied a United States visa to attend the APC. That candidate had completed all requirements but the APC and missed the opportunity to become an ASA before the examination change; and had to take an additional two actuarial examinations.

International

The 2022-2024 Strategic Plan includes an objective to Accelerate International Growth. Please explain how you will help the Board accomplish this.

The SOA is a recognized leading actuarial organization around the world. If endorsed and then elected, I plan to be an ambassador of the SOA in Africa. The International Insurance Institute (IIA) has partnered with French Institute of Financial Science and Insurance (one of the oldest actuarial schools in France) to train actuaries of sixteen French-speaking African countries. This partnership will grant candidates the membership with the Institute of Actuaries of France. As a faculty member of IIA, I will advocate for another partnership with the SOA. I also recently joined the Nigerian Actuarial Society (NAS) and will also advocate for SOA support such that NAS can gain approval by the International Actuarial Association.

Emerging

The SOA Long-Term Growth Strategy outlines the six critical issues our research has identified as the trends changing our environment and impacting our work as actuaries. How might the Board address any of these issues to keep the SOA successful?

The rise of data science particularly resonates with me as a provider of rate services to (re)insurers in regions where data quality is either exceptionally good or extremely poor. The SOA Board should ensure that actuaries are equipped with required skills while understanding the full applicability of data science in insurance because of limitations set by regulation. An area of interest that could ensure that actuaries leverage the skills in data science within the universe of what is permissible by regulation might be more involvement in innovative use of technology in insurance or InsurTech. As a promoter of an InsurTech startup dedicated to Africa, I will bring that insight to the SOA Board if endorsed and elected.