Edition

Chairperson’s Corner

By Bryan Liu

Actuary of the Future, March 2023

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Over the past few years, the world has undoubtedly undergone a tremendous amount of change. And in 2022, as we emerge and continue to recover from the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, there continues to be significant economic and social transformations, with serious implications to actuaries all around the world. As the Society of Actuaries (SOA) slogan goes, Risk is Opportunity, we here at the Actuary of the Future Section Council also believe that this is an important time for us to evolve and adapt to a changing world and better serve our AoF Section members.

In the past year, AoF has made significant strides toward our goals, and have produced events and contents that are tailored to the needs of our section membership.

  • SOA Meetings: As meetings are back in-person, AOF has also taken part in the 2022 Life Meeting and ImpACT conference. We have produced sessions that cover emerging topics such as underwriting bias, model risks and technology, InsurTech, climate change, and data analytics.
  • Collaborations with other SOA Sections: We have also worked together with different sections to organize fun and enriching events. This included various virtual networking events in the earlier half of 2022, as well as a Chicago Architecture Boat Tour that AOF has co-sponsored with E&I and L&D Sections.
  • Other content produced by AoF, including newsletters, podcasts, and research papers.

It goes without saying that none of the above could have been accomplished without the effort of all our volunteers. I would like to thank our 2022 Chairperson, Yi Ru, and outgoing section council members and volunteers: Tony Johnson, Danny Clark, Joel Abassah-Manu, and Lee Ding.

Our section members look to us as part of their professional development and networking experiences, and we understand our members include those who are aspiring actuaries (“Future Actuaries”), as well as those who are interested in how the professional will grow and advance (“Future of Actuaries”). Having listened to member feedback in the past year, we will continue our momentum in developing events that will be of interest to both groups of our membership, including networking events, and content that covers different topics such as new technologies, the changing economic environment, professionalism and communications, and other emerging trends. To accomplish this goal, we will look to move along the following strategic directions:

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From left to right. Top: Nick Kocisak, Andrew Meier, Chris Smith, Yi Ru, Carla Eisenberg, David Schraub, Ryan Wodarski. Bottom: Kevin Xiao, Bryan Liu.

  • Collaboration with Other SOA Sections: We will look to continue and strengthen our collaboration with other sections, both in support of the SOA’s strategy, and to cater to our members who have interests across different practice areas.
  • Preparation for In-Person Events: With the world opening back up, AoF’s efforts will be focused on preparing for engaging in-person events for our members. In the meantime, we will continue to complement in-person events with virtual options.
  • Membership Interaction: As the world, the actuarial profession, and the SOA has changed dramatically, we at the AoF Section Council are also rethinking how we interact with our members. This will include changes to our presence across different communication and social media platforms.

Another exciting piece of news is that AoF Section Council will be holding its first in-person annual council meeting since 2019! Over the past few years, we have had extended virtual meetups in the winter to discuss our section’s strategy and initiatives. I look forward to refining, refocusing, and reinventing our strategy in AoF’s upcoming strategy meeting on the 10th of February.

Last but not least, we want to hear from YOU, our section members! Come get involved with the section, whether that is with a newsletter article, organizing an AoF event at ImpACT, or starting a discussion on our LinkedIn group. We look forward to hearing from you at sections@soa.org.

Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries, the newsletter editors, or the respective authors’ employers.

Bryan Liu, FSA, FCIA, is an actuary at Milliman’s Life Practice, providing risk management and M&A consulting services to clients across Bermuda, US and Canada. Bryan chairs the SOA’s Actuary of the Future section and also sits on the editorial board for The Actuary Canada, SOA’s digital magazine publication. He can be reached at bryan14387@gmail.com.