2011 SOA Board of Directors Elections Results Announced; Manning to Serve as President in 2012-2013; Bylaws Change on Joint Discipline Passes by Large Margin

At the close of several weeks of voting, Tonya Bowman Manning, FSA, MAAA, FCA, EA, has been elected President of the Society of Actuaries for the 2012-2013 term. Manning will serve as President-Elect during the association's 2011-2012 year and will begin her presidential duties at the SOA's Annual Meeting to be held in October 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Manning serves as an actuary for the Department of Treasury with involvement in a number of activities related to employee plans, including participating in regulation projects, reviewing ruling requests, public outreach, and assisting private practitioners and internal personnel with technical questions. Prior to joining the Department of Treasury, she spent 22 years at Aon Consulting and was chief actuary for the U.S. retirement practice. She has held a number of volunteer positions with the SOA, most recently serving as Vice President.

Manning graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1988 and resides in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with her husband Kent.

As the SOA's 64th President, Manning intends to be a strong advocate for the profession by sustaining its viability, maintaining the high value of the Society's credentials and effectively supporting the organization's members.

"As President, my top priority will be the creation and promotion of new areas of practice, while at the same time keeping our current traditional areas of practice strong and relevant. I will also work to ensure actuaries' voices are heard in the important conversations of today. While our research and analytics often support important debates and decisions, we can do more to bring actuaries front and center in the discussions of today's issues, such as health care, increases in longevity, the sustainability of public pensions, and the effective forecasting and management of financial risk," Manning said.

Nearly 5,800 SOA members, or 31.3 percent of eligible voters, voted in this year's election, compared to approximately 5,200, or 29.0 percent, in 2010.

Vote totals for the three President-Elect candidates are provided below appearing as ordered on the ballot.

First Preferential Vote: President-Elect

Second Preferential Vote: President-Elect

In addition to the selection of a new President-Elect, SOA eligible voters also chose three new Vice-Presidents and six new Elected Board Members.

New SOA Board of Directors Vice-Presidents (two-year term) elected are:

• Jeremy Gold, FSA, CERA, MAAA
• Abe Gootzeit, FSA, MAAA
• Martine Sohier, FSA, FCIA

Vote totals for the Vice-President candidates are provided below appearing as ordered on the ballot.

New SOA Board of Directors members (three-year term) elected include:

• Joan C. Barrett, FSA, MAAA
• Susan Rynearson Blanck, FSA, MAAA
• Larry Joseph Bruning, FSA, MAAA
• Susan E. Pantely, FSA, MAAA
• Craig Weston Reynolds, FSA, MAAA
• Susan Rowley Sames, FSA, MAAA

Additional communication will be distributed later announcing the results of Section Council elections.

Additionally, SOA members voted to amend the bylaws with regard to the proposed joint disciplinary process. The Bylaws amendment passed with 4,300 Fellows, or 31.7 percent of those eligible voting on the issue, and 4,044, or 94 percent voting to approve the amendment.

"I am very pleased that our members participated so strongly in their election and have voted overwhelmingly to pass this important Bylaws amendment. That it passed by such a large margin signifies that Fellows recognize the importance of improving our profession's disciplinary process. This move enhances our commitment to professionalism, and will benefit each of our members," said SOA President Donald J. Segal.

The change in the Bylaws empowers the SOA to enter into an Agreement on Joint Discipline with the other U.S.-based actuarial organizations. Like the SOA, each of the other organizations has also been making changes in its bylaws, as necessary, and seeking approval from its members for this new process. Once all the organizations have acted on such changes, the final form of the Agreement will be sent to each organization for approval. It is expected that the new joint discipline process will go into effect on July 1, 2012.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the SOA's 2011-2012 elections.