SOA Elections

Carlos Sánchez-Fuentes, FSA, MAAA, FCA
President
Axiom Actuarial Consulting
Barrington, RI

Election Message:      

I appreciate your interest in the future of our profession and the time you are investing to become acquainted with the background of the candidates to the Board of Directors.  Here is a summary of my views on topics that are relevant to all of us:

• Preserving the value of the ASA and FSA credentials;
• The most important compromises of the SOA are, in ascending order, with future actuaries, credentialed actuaries, and society;
• The education systems must continue to adapt to the changing circumstances of the environment in which we operate. In addition to artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and other important subjects, it might be a good idea to consider the introduction of strategic tools as well as material on business, management, and soft skills, perhaps as exams, sections in some exams, and/or opportunities for professional development;
• The topic of diversity, equity and inclusion should be analyzed dispassionately to gain a solid understanding of the real issues. Proposed solutions should address fundamental concerns and their effectiveness must be evaluated in light of practical results.

Brief description of current work:

My current work involves the following activities:

• Performing actuarial work in health care (private, public), retirement, employee benefits, and other areas as a prime contractor, subcontractor, or as a party in a teaming agreement;
• Managing a small and growing company, which entails a variety of tasks, many small and boring, but some important such as developing relationships with actuaries, other professionals, contractors, potential employees, private organizations, and public sector agencies. Managing a company requires navigating uncertainty, taking your chances, and acting decisively when opportunities arise;
• Business development, which includes obtaining public sector certificates for the company, bidding for potential contracts, negotiating teaming and subcontracting agreements. Corporate growth relies on soft skills, building relationships, persistency, and mettle to face adversity.

Primary Area(s) of Practice:  

Health

Bio:

I graduated from the University of Mexico with a bachelor’s degree in Physics; from UCLA with a master’s degree in Mathematics; from the Yale School of Management with an MBA.  I am also an FSA.  The journey to become a credentialed actuary was substantially more difficult than I anticipated; it included a good number of nightmarish episodes, sleepless nights, and disappointments.  Through the many years of studying—indeed, it was a long voyage—I reflected on what I should have done better and how the credentialing system could be strengthened.

My first job was with a consulting company.  Since then I have worked in insurance companies and also as an underwriter in the Lloyd’s of London market.  Early in my career I considered creating a consulting company but lacked a plan, a network, and the resources to act on that desire.  Over the years I became an armchair entrepreneur, an unexpected benefit of which was the internalization that sometimes good ideas start as fuzzy concepts and that numerous circumstances are uncontrollable such as access to opportunities.  These were liberating realizations, mostly because they encouraged me to not lose hope.  I was fortunate when an ex-boss who owned a consulting firm invited me to join him.  I benefited from his guidance, encouragement, confidence, and willingness to become my partner in a new venture, Axiom Actuarial Consulting, of which I eventually took control.  No doubt that in everybody’s journey through life the support of others can be decisive.

I have been a volunteer in several capacities such as Board Member of a Section, Friend of Sections, speaker, editor, and writer in US actuarial publications, frequently attempting to offer additional perspectives to the subjects under consideration.  Like anybody for whom the actuarial profession is an essential component of his identity, I have a vested interest in our future, a future for which we must plan realistically and act decisively.