Board Member Candidate Questionnaire

Mary Beth Ramsay, FSA, MAAA

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: Share a personal experience, trait, or characteristic that will help the membership to better understand you and your candidacy.

With 25 years of experience across pension consulting, annuity pricing, in-force management, reinsurance, and financial risk—plus a non-traditional role in banking—I bring a broad, cross-sector perspective to the profession. This diverse background helps me understand the evolving challenges our members face today.

I am a problem solver and a servant leader, known for conveying information in a clear, thoughtful way. I value relationships, creativity, and innovation, and I thrive in working with diverse teams. These traits have helped me lead with empathy, collaborate effectively, and drive meaningful change.

I’m passionate about our profession and committed to its future—particularly around growth, attracting strong candidates, and helping actuaries embrace innovation and AI. I’m eager to serve and contribute to a strong, vibrant future for the Society.

PROJECT LEADERSHIP / CHANGE MANAGEMENT: Describe a significant project that you led in the workplace or in your volunteer activities. Describe how you made decisions and addressed changes that were proposed, whether changes were made, or were not made, after considering all options. How did you achieve buy-in in the final outcome, and what were the biggest challenges you had to overcome?

One of the most significant projects I led was the redesign of the client segmentation and strategic account management approach in the reinsurance business. The goal was to improve client satisfaction while enhancing profitability and better managing risk across the portfolio.

Decision-Making Process:
The project began with an assessment of existing client satisfaction scores, which were below average. I worked with cross-functional teams—including underwriting, pricing, sales, operations—to identify gaps and proposed a new strategy, categorizing clients based on size, profitability, and long-term business alignment. We had to balance preserving relationships with streamlining resources, ultimately prioritizing higher-value segments.

Addressing Proposed Changes:
There were concerns from both sales teams and leadership, with worries that some clients might feel neglected and there could be profitability impacts. I addressed these concerns by adjusting the approach where needed and emphasizing the long-term benefits.

Achieving Buy-In:
To gain buy-in, I communicated the strategic rationale, shared data-backed insights, and worked closely with senior leadership. Regular updates and open communication ensured stakeholders felt involved in the process.

Overcoming Challenges:
The primary challenge was overcoming resistance from the sales teams. By demonstrating long-term value and maintaining transparent communication, I gained their trust. Coordinating across multiple departments with differing priorities was also challenging, but collaboration helped us move forward effectively.

Ultimately, the new segmentation strategy was successfully implemented, leading to improved client satisfaction, more efficient resource allocation, and long-term growth.

ACTUARY OF THE FUTURE: What does the future of the actuarial profession look like to you? What strategies should the SOA implement to grow the actuarial profession, especially in light of more competition for analytical skills and data science job opportunities?

Throughout my career, I’ve worked in a range of traditional actuarial roles—pension consulting, product development, reinsurance, and risk management. That experience has shown me the depth and strength of our profession, but it’s also made clear how much we need to evolve to stay competitive in a rapidly changing world.

The demand for analytical talent is growing, but so is the competition. Data science, tech, and finance fields are drawing from the same talent pool we once dominated. To thrive, we need to tell a more compelling story about who actuaries are and the unique value we bring—not just in insurance, but across industries and geographies.

I believe the SOA should focus on three things: modernizing our brand to reflect a broader and more innovative profession; continuing to evolve our education system to include AI, data visualization, and decision-making in complex systems; and partnering earlier and more intentionally with universities and employers—both in North America and globally—to attract and retain diverse, high-potential candidates.

I’ve been fortunate to serve on SOA committees focused on professional development and DEI—areas that shape the future of our profession. I’ve seen the opportunity we have to build something stronger and more inclusive, and I’m excited to help lead that work.

INNOVATION / ADAPTION: How has your experience prepared you to lead through challenges such as AI, technological disruption, climate change and generational shifts? How would you guide a knowledge-based workforce, including actuaries, in addressing these emerging issues?

Throughout my career, I’ve worked in roles that required navigating uncertainty—whether managing financial risk during volatile markets, pricing life reinsurance amidst shifting regulatory environments and changes in public health (including chronic disease and the pandemic) or developing annuity products in a low-interest-rate environment where changing consumer preferences added additional complexity. These experiences have prepared me to lead through the kinds of challenges we now face as a profession: AI, technological disruption, climate change, and generational change in the workforce.

I believe strong leadership in times like these means leaning into innovation without losing sight of purpose. Actuaries are natural problem solvers—we thrive when we're given complex systems and the space to think critically. My role is to help create that space, to support our profession in building the skills and confidence to address unfamiliar challenges with the same rigor we've always applied.

Leading a knowledge-based workforce means empowering people to continuously learn and evolve. It also means making room for diverse perspectives and approaches—especially as we seek to integrate AI into our work responsibly, assess long-term climate risks, and attract a new generation of actuaries who may see the profession differently than those before them.

I’ve led cross-functional teams through major shifts and uncertainty, and I’ve seen what’s possible when people feel supported, heard, and inspired. I would bring that same mindset to guiding our profession through this next phase of transformation—with confidence, curiosity, and a deep respect for the expertise actuaries bring to the table.