President Comment

The recent stalling of longevity improvements in many countries has made front page news, often calling into question the state of a nations economy and the virtues or lack thereof of its government policies.

A message from John Taylor, the president of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

Many of you will have seen the announcement that, after nearly a decade, I am stepping down from my role as CEO of the IFoA later this year – a decision made with mixed emotions.

During my time as president, I’ve called on the profession to step out of the shadows and gain the recognition that I believe it deserves.

In early June, Council will be holding one of its quarterly meetings in Africa.

Late last year Council gathered and discussed, at a very high level, the IFoA’s strategy.

As big data and artificial intelligence collide with deep social and environmental trends, the world is looking to skilled professionals, bound by a code of ethics, to safely navigate these turbulent times.

One of the themes of my presidency is to encourage all actuaries to step out of the shadows.

Just over a year ago, I was invited to sit on a panel of independent experts advising the UK government on the development of the social care green paper, and as I mentioned last month, this has been a big project for me.

Since last month, I have been on the road representing the profession at the Labour and Conservative party conferences, in Liverpool and Birmingham respectively.