2025 Board Member Candidate
Runhuan Feng, FSA, CERA
Credentials: FSA 2012, CERA 2012
Country: China
Practice Area: Life, Retirement
Employer/Current Work: Tsinghua University
SOA Board Experience: N/A
Video
Candidate Messages
Message One
Dear Fellow SOA Members,
I am Runhuan Feng, a Professor at Tsinghua University and an actuary with 20 years' experience across North America and Asia. My unique international perspective offers valuable insights into our profession's evolving global landscape.
My two decades of SOA service—from exam committees to the Research Executive Committee — have been guided by one principle: advancing our profession through innovation.
As AI transforms across nearly all industries, we face a critical choice: lead the change or be left behind. If elected, I will advocate to the Board:
- Integrating generative AI into actuarial curricula and education
- Fostering global collaboration to share cutting-edge AI innovations for actuarial practices
- Bringing diverse perspectives – amplifying academic and international voices
With your vote, I will bridge innovation and inclusivity to keep the SOA ahead. Reach out to me at fengrh@sem.tsinghua.edu.cn with questions. Thank you for your trust!
Best regards,
Message Two
Dear Fellow SOA Members,
I want to share how my candidacy directly supports the SOA’s strategic priorities—and why your vote matters.
1. Optimizing the Candidate Pipeline
As the only full-time academic actuary on the slate, I bring firsthand experience in educating the next generation. From classroom teaching to exam preparation, I understand the challenges candidates face—and have actionable ideas to strengthen recruitment, retention, and support at every stage of the actuarial journey.
2. Growing Globally
My career—spanning North America and China—has given me a front-row seat to our profession’s global evolution. I’m familiar with emerging market dynamics and opportunities for the SOA, and the need to amplify diverse voices. I’ll advocate to the Board for expanding the SOA’s international footprint while ensuring our global community remains interconnected.
3. Leveraging AI for the Future
At Tsinghua University, my teaching and research involve technology’s transformative impact on actuarial science. I’ll champion integrating generative AI into curricula to prepare candidates for tomorrow’s challenges, creating platforms for members to share AI-driven best practices, and bridging the gap between academia and industry to foster innovation.
I humbly ask for your support. — I’m offering a global mindset, a commitment to strengthening the candidate pipeline, and a vision for integrating AI. Please don’t hesitate to reach out at fengrh@sem.tsinghua.edu.cn, should you have questions about my campaign message.
Best regards,
Runhuan Feng, FSA, CERA
Questionnaire
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND AND VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE: Provide a brief description of your professional background and the type of work you have performed. Please include SOA and non-SOA volunteer and governing experiences including collaborative leadership. Explain how these experiences have prepared you as an Elected Board Member and qualify you in carrying out the strategic direction of the SOA.
I am currently a Chair Professor at Tsinghua University, China's leading university often regarded as the nation's equivalent of Harvard in the US. My knowledge foundation combines rigorous academic training - including a PhD in Actuarial Science from the University of Waterloo in Canada—with professional credentials as an FSA and Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst. Prior to joining Tsinghua, I was named the first State Farm Companies Foundation Endowed Professor at the University of Illinois, where I was also the Faculty Lead for the Finance and Insurance sector at the Discovery Partnership Institute.
My research works span over a wide spectrum of topics, including catastrophe risk modeling, sustainable retirement systems design, and financial technology applications. This work has been recognized with the 2022 Jeffrey Haywood Prize from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. I have done many research projects for actuarial organizations such as the SOA and Canadian Institute of Actuaries, as well as corporate partners like Mapfre Foundation, Cisco, and Intel. Two of my monographs have been adopted as required readings for SOA Fellowship examinations, reflecting my impact on actuarial education.
My service to the profession includes decades of volunteer work, including various exam committees and chairing both the SOA's Education and Research Section Council and currently the Research Executive Committee. I take pride in establishing the SOA Early Career Award in Actuarial Science, now a prestigious award attracting global talent to our field - an achievement which would not have been possible without strong support from our dedicated Council members and vice-chairs. I have also contributed greatly to various task forces redesigning credentialing pathways.
My unique professional journey - with deep roots in North America and current practices in China - provides me with distinctive insights into the profession's global evolution. Whether successful or not, I think my campaign will help raise awareness of the SOA community development and also encourage greater participation from my Asian fellows. I will demonstrate how diverse perspectives can enrich our profession's global evolution.