Joan C. Barrett, FSA 1981, MAAA
Senior Consulting Actuary
Axene Health Partners, Tolland, CT
Brief Description of the type of work you currently do:
I am currently working part-time for Axene Health Partners, LLC (AHP), a small, well-respected consulting firm. My engagements have included a broad range of topics, including long-term care, health care reform and provider risk.
Primary Area of Practice:
Health
Other Areas of Practice/Interests:
ERM, Predictive Analytics
Ethics and Transparency
Ethics and transparency are essential to professional practice and service on the Board. How have you demonstrated ethics and transparency in the past? How will your own ethics and views on transparency influence your decisions and actions as a member of the SOA Board?
Professionalism, including ethics and transparency, is essential to the SOA and to our profession. To me, professionalism goes well beyond the basics, like following the code of professional conduct, complying with the Actuarial Standards of Practice and disclosing conflicts. It includes spending the extra time and effort to make sure all communications are clear and meaningful to the intended audience. Although this is an important part of my day-to-day personal and professional life now, I know that, if I am given the honor of being your President-Elect, I must devote even more time and effort in this regard given the importance of this role in the profession. To make sure I do this effectively, I will rely heavily on staff and my fellow volunteers to provide feedback during the process.
Leadership
As you review the responsibilities of the President Elect Job Description, the 2013-2016 Strategic Plan and 2016 Initiatives , describe how you will work together with the officers, Board members, committee chairs, volunteers, executive director, and
staff to fulfill your responsibilities as president-elect and advance the direction of the SOA.
I am a long-time SOA volunteer, so I have had the pleasure of working on many successful projects in a variety of capacities and with a significant number of different people, including staff and volunteers. I have never been shy about stating my views, but I am also a careful, respectful listener and pay close attention to the views of others. I am also very aware of the limitations and capabilities of the organization. As President-Elect, I will build on the strong relationships I have forged over the years to execute my duties efficiently and effectively. I look forward to be able to meet new people and developing new initiatives.
Describe a recent situation where you have facilitated a diverse group of people in moving a significant project to the next stage of completion.
When I was Chair of the International Committee, we were given the task of developing an “international strategy”. This was a daunting task for two reasons. First, the task itself was very broad. Should we develop an overall strategy or concentrate on a few specific geographies? How do we work with other actuarial organizations and governmental entities in a country? What resources does the SOA have in each country now? Second, the International Committee itself was very diverse. Although some members of the Committee had extensive International experience, others represented specific functions in the SOA, like the Education Committee, so they had less direct experience international experience.
In the first few meetings, we had several open discussions in which each person had the opportunity to discuss desired outcomes, potential risks and other key elements of the strategy. During that process, I constantly synthesized the results to make sure that we developed a common language, that everyone’s voice was heard and that we clearly identified points of agreement and differences of opinion.
Based on those early discussions, we quickly determined that initially we should just focus on one region, China, since our membership there was already significant. We were also able to set some preliminary objectives. Once we had that, we were able to follow basic project management steps, like doing research, developing key action steps, vetting results and developing external communications. We were also able to set up a multiple-year approach to developing strategies for other regions, like South America.
Ambassadorship
In your presidential role you will act as an ambassador for SOA, its members, and the profession. Provide examples of how you would fulfill this responsibility during your term of office and describe a current situation in which you have successfully acted as an ambassador for an organization or institution.
I am proud to be an actuary. I am looking forward to possibly being able to meet with members, candidates and other stakeholders to promote the profession, to discuss our strategic initiatives and to listen to their opinions about how we can make our profession even stronger. I will take a pro-active approach to these conversations, including setting up meetings with people at all levels of the SOA and with my peers in other actuarial organizations. I am particularly interested in speaking with non-traditional employers about opportunities for actuaries in their industry. In doing so, I will rely heavily on my experience at UnitedHealth Group, where one of my major responsibilities was to discuss strategic initiatives, make recommendations and, on occasion, deliver unfavorable financial results with non-actuarial professions at all levels of an organization, including those from finance and human resources.
Vision
As you focus on the future direction of the SOA and the profession, explain your approach to setting the direction for both especially in the global arena.
The business world is changing at a faster and faster pace every day. Several of the SOA’s 2017 strategic initiatives, like the enhanced environmental scanning initiative, are designed to make sure that actuaries are well-prepared to keep up with the new pace. As a current Board member, I will have input into the
development of these initiatives. If elected, I will bring my considerable experience to bear in the implementation of these initiatives.
In addition, there are three areas that I believe the SOA needs to focus on in the next few years. First, it is time to make predictive analytics our own. In the past few years, our profession has played “catch-up” with respect to near professions in this area. Although we still have some work to do, we are at a
point where we can adapt our current methods, like the actuarial control cycle, to predictive analytics. This will advance both the profession and to the decision-making process in general.
Second, we need to make sure the voice of the actuary is heard more often. The first step in that process will be creating more awareness of the profession outside our traditional circles. We can do this through public relations campaigns and by encouraging actuaries to speak at non-actuarial meetings and to write for
non-actuarial publications. The SOA has already started this process, but with a specific emphasis on predictive analytics. I would like to see us the take the lessons learned from that effort to develop a broader strategy.
Finally, I would like to see the SOA continue to build on our international efforts with a focus on building a sense of community both within a country and across borders.
Professional Background
Provide a brief description of your professional background and the type of work you currently do and explain how these experiences have prepared you for the Presidential role.
Prior to joining AHP I led the UnitedHealth National Accounts Actuarial area for many years. In that capacity, I not only directed core functions like pricing, trending and reserving, but I also developed a benefit strategy process, a risk measurement system and the Consumer Activation Index
(CAI). The CAI is a proprietary tool that tracks consumer decision-making over time with the goal of determining the best approach to increasing consumer engagement and ownership.
The best part of both positions has been working directly with clients to find the best solution to meet their needs. The skills I have used in these situations have come in handy in the committee work I have done for the SOA and in reviewing SOA communications.
One of the key lessons I have learned from my work experience is the importance of being innovative, both analytically and in designing solutions. As business processes become more complex, stakeholders are demanding more thoughtful analyses and solutions. As
I have gone through this process in many different situations, I have found ways to be innovative while still holding on to sound actuarial principles. As President-Elect, I will use this approach in recommending new initiatives and in evaluating proposed initiatives.
Volunteer and Governance Experience
Describe your previous volunteer and governance experiences, and explain how they relate to the contributions you can make to the SOA Board and organization.
I am comfortable working in a volunteer environment on both a strategic and operational basis thanks to my extensive experience with the SOA, including:
- Vice-President, 2015 to current
- Chair, Value of the Credential Task Force
- Member, Issues Advisory Committe
- Member, Policy and Governance Committe
- Member, Cultivating Opportunities Team
- Elected Board Member, 2011 to 2014
- Chair, International Committee
- Chair, Audit Committee
- Member, Business Analytics Team
- Section Experience
- Chair, Education and Research Section Council
- Board Partner, Health Section Council
- Board Partner, Predictive Analytics and Futurism Section Council
- Chair, Evolution of the Health Actuary Task Force, chartered by the Health Section Council
- Member, Health Section Council
- Basic Education Experience
- General Officer, General Insurance Curriculum
- General Officer, Group and Health
- Continuing Professional Development Experience
- Chair, Health Meeting
- Board Partner, Continuing Professional Development Committee
- Frequent speaker and author
- Research
- Chair, Project Oversight Group, “Enterprise Risk Management Practice as Applied to Health Insurers, Self-Insured Plans and Health Financial Professionals”
- Chair, Project Oversight Group, “Risk and Mitigation for Health Insurance Companies”
- Chair, Project Oversight Group, “Measurement of Healthcare Quality and Efficiency: Resources for Healthcare Professionals”
