In my Presidential address on 18 June, I will draw on not just what I have learnt in actuarial science in the last 40 years but also what we can learn from other disciplines.
I will call for a reinvention of the profession – a multi-disciplinary approach to problem solving, anchored to our DNA, our mathematical and analytical core, and at the same time emphasising a new mindset of courage, curiosity, adaptability, judgement, imagination, and continuous learning.
We need a braver response by the profession to the problems facing our society. The threats to our society are varied and growing. Our operating assumptions are challenged on many fronts. As a human race, we are struggling with complexity and uncertainty.
The Covid-19 crisis unmasks all these issues. The COVID-19 crisis offers us a unique opportunity to reinvent our profession – rethink how we want to operate the IFoA as a body, how we want to educate and train our actuaries, and how we want to re-position the profession to have a greater influence in this world of uncertainty and opportunity.