On 27 March, PartnerRe kindly hosted the launch event for the Zurich Actuarial Society (ZAS) a regional community working with the IFoA.
On 27 March, PartnerRe kindly hosted the launch event for the Zurich Actuarial Society (ZAS) - a regional community working with the IFoA. Spearheaded by chairman Chris Reynolds, the society owes its success to the volunteers from companies across Zurich and Basel who formed the inaugural organising committee.
The society's objective is to engage with all actuaries in the wider Zurich area and to provide opportunities for networking and continuous professional development.
More than 100 actuaries from different disciplines and companies came together for a technical and networking event. After a brief introduction from Reynolds, the audience heard from IFoA chief executive Derek Cribb about the role that regional communities play in the profession.
We were also lucky enough to hear from Klemens Binswanger, president of the Swiss Association of Actuaries (Schweizerische Aktuarvereinigung). He spoke about the role that the association plays and how people could become members. His attendance was emblematic of ZAS's desire to cooperate with other actuarial bodies and associations in the region.
The main topic for the evening addressed the risks posed by climate change. Nico Aspinall, chair of the IFoA Resource and Environment Board, provided an actuarial perspective on the wide and often scary risks of climate change. It was a perfect topic to launch with, as it is of interest to actuaries working in many different fields.
The presentation was followed by networking drinks at PartnerRe's Forum. This gave actuaries from Zurich and the surrounding area an opportunity to get to know each other better and discuss the themes raised in the presentation.
The ZAS organising committee has a series of further technical and social events planned for 2017. These will circulate around different venues in the region.
ZAS is free to join and open to all actuaries in Zurich and the surrounding area - not just members of the IFoA.
Anyone wishing to become a member should join the LinkedIn group at www.linkedin.com/groups/8580663 or email [email protected]