President Comment

In the April issue, the president draws attention to the “many implications for individuals in the ways in which we conduct our lives... of living beyond the age of 100... as actuaries we are well placed to deal with the many permutations that are implied”.

Throughout my year as president, I have focused my energy around three goals for the profession: proactively seeking to be future fit, creating suitable professionals, and finding ways to serve our diverse membership.

Previously, I have written about the importance of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the ways in which our profession engages with the aims of the SDGs.

Among the aims of this year’s International Women’s Day, which falls on 8 March 2018, is a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

The end of one year and the start of another is a time when many of us reflect on what we have achieved and what we’ve still not checked off the list of the previous year’s aspirations. It is only when we look back that we truly appreciate how much we have accomplished and experienced in the year.

As an IFoA member based outside the UK, I believe I have a different perspective from that of my predecessors. I’m currently based in Johannesburg, but spent most of my career in the UK. I have also been fortunate to have visited members in many other countries. I am therefore invested in fostering relationships with our UK-based members as well as responding to the ever-growing demand for IFoA membership and interaction overseas.

We talk a lot about professionalism in the financial services industry, but it can be hard to define exactly what that means. According to the Oxford English Dictionary it is ‘the competence or skill expected of a professional’.

Disruptive technology has become something of a catchphrase in contemporary conversation. Most believe that Harvard Business School professor Clayton M Christensen coined the term in 1997, and it refers to groundbreaking technology that displaces established methods, shaking up and sometimes creating completely new industries.

It’s that time of year again – summer is drawing to an end, the days are shortening and the subscription-renewal reminders are arriving in our inboxes (you should have received yours on 1 September).

It is a time of change. This brings about challenges, opportunities and risks, and I am honoured to be taking on the leadership of the IFoA at such a time. I believe that the skills and value actuaries can bring are more relevant and needed than ever before.