President Comment

As we took up our roles as CEO and president of  the IFoA last year,

he IFoA’s VSMD (Vision, Skillset, Mindset and Domains) strategy is motivated by two impulses

When we talk about reviving the spirit of a learning society and expanding the IFoA’s influence in thought leadership, I think it is helpful for us to think of four Greek words that can help us to engage our stakeholders and respond to the context and timing of change.

Our profession was brought forth from pondering the unknown, chance and the uncertainty of lifespan

In 2016, under the leadership of the then immediate past president Nick Salter, the IFoA published a four-year diversity strategy: a thoughtful and informed plan to promote recognition, understanding and respect of our members’, volunteers’ and colleagues’ individual differences.

In my presidential address, I said: “Culture matters deeply. In fact, in a world of transformational change, culture is the only thing that really matters.”

I have spent the past few weeks reflecting on my first six months at the IFoA, in part prompted by the presidential cycle, and in part as I have now spent more time leading the IFoA from home than I have in the office!

When I became president last June, I scarcely could have imagined that a year later the world would be facing the challenges we are today.

Barely six months ago, pandemics were the preserve of a small group of experts. Now, COVID-19 and its consequences are all too pervasive.