It’s a huge honour to take up the role of president of the IFoA.
In my inaugural presidential address (bit.ly/IFoA_PresSaker) I talked about the aspirations I have for the IFoA and its members, particularly how we can address the various challenges facing the profession to ensure that it continues to flourish.
In future columns, I’ll talk about these challenges, but my perspective on the current state of the profession is that we are in tremendous shape. Certainly, demand for our members has never been higher and we have a clear strategy that Council believes will set the IFoA up for success in the years to come. Execution of this strategy will, of course, require us to change the way we do things, and the IFoA and its members to work in partnership, pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. While this won’t be easy, it is essential that we do this and I am confident that we have the plans to make it happen.
Wellbeing and happiness are important themes for me, and as I progress through my presidential year, I’m keen to share a few snippets with you as I go. My opening shot is to point you towards a TED talk by Richard Layard (bit.ly/RLayard_TED).
In it, Richard talks about what makes us happy, concluding with the fact that what matters most are our relationships with others. In a world where many things seem beyond our control, he also talks about the importance of being able to choose our attitude in any set of circumstances. This is something I often remind myself of in testing times, and it is a mindset that I believe will help the IFoA and its members to execute our strategy and ensure that the profession continues to flourish in what I’m sure will be challenging times ahead. It is one that hopefully will resonate with many of you.
I look forward to touching base with you through this column in what I expect to be an exciting year ahead!
Matt Saker is the president of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
