Chairperson’s Corner

By Ariel Weis

Risk Management, October 2023

By the time this newsletter comes out my term with the JRMS Council will be almost at an end. As I reflect on this last year with the council, I can’t help but feel very proud of the work that the volunteers that form the council have accomplished. Through hard work, dedication, and plenty of support and collaboration there have been several excellent webcasts that section members have been able to attend this year. We were also able to continue putting out the newsletter regularly. In addition, our book club launched in the second half of the year, and I have no doubt it has been to great success.

I am especially thankful for the fantastic discussions that we’ve had as a council when trying to brainstorm ideas on how we could improve the ways we work together, or when trying to understand how we should further support research in ERM through funding various initiatives.

This time of year is also a good time to call attention to the outstanding work that our staff liaisons with all the actuarial groups that form part of the JRMS do. The JRMS would not be the same without the hard work that they put into supporting all of our initiatives and the volunteers that make things happen.

There are things that I wish we had been able to do differently, particularly around engaging more with the section membership, gathering more volunteers to help the Council with the business-as-usual tasks and the special projects that come up, and connecting more with other sections to collaborate. I personally think that there is a lot of room for improvement in bringing more people in as Friends of the Council. The term may sound ominous to some, but it’s just a way of getting more volunteers to participate and have their voices added to the group.

Looking back further, to the start of my three-year term with the group, I feel like volunteering has been a mostly very rewarding experience and I strongly recommend that everyone who reads this update seriously considers joining a section council or education committee in the future. It isn’t without its ups and downs, but the highs are very high and the lows are not that low. I’ve learned a lot, I’ve met a lot of people I wouldn’t have otherwise met, and I got to give back to the profession that has given me so much so far in my life.

Looking forward to the years to come, I can also tell that the council is left with a very strong leadership and group of volunteers, and I hope that the upcoming members who will be starting their term toward the end of 2023 will be just as energetic and engaging as the rest of the group. I am very excited to see what the council will be putting out in 2024 and beyond. I know there are plans to do more for the membership, and I plan to take personal advantage of the content and updates that the section receives once I’m off the council.

I’m also going to take a little bit of space in this newsletter to thank my family and colleagues for being so supportive of my volunteering for the council (and other volunteering that I do). Without their support I wouldn’t be able to participate as I do in the activities that bring me so much joy.

Lastly, I want to wish everyone a wonderful end to their 2023. To the other council members whose terms are finishing at the same time as mine: Thank you so much for being on this journey with me. To the rest of the Council: Best of luck next year, though you won’t need it. To the new members who will be joining soon: I’m proud of you for volunteering your time and I am available to any of you if you ever want to pick my brain. To my leadership team this year: I appreciate every single challenge, point of view, question, and all the support. And to the section membership and the profession at large: Thank you very much for the opportunity to serve you all. I look forward to running into more of you at future events. This has been such a positive experience in my life that I look forward to the next chance I have to continue my volunteering journey.

As always, if at any time you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, or concerns, I invite you to let us know by contacting any council member, myself, or the SOA staff. We want to hear from you.

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.

Ariel Weis, FSA, FCIA, MAAA, is the chair of the Joint Risk Management Section Council and works for Pacific Life. He can be reached at ariel.weis+soa@gmail.com.