Description: With the convergence and consolidation of the financial services industry, the advent of new technologies and the Internet, and increased focus on the customer, actuaries are facing a brand new set of challenges. This editorial prefaces the articles in this issue that point out some key challenges and opportunities facing today’s actuaries.

Description: This article examines the trends facing the life and health insurance industry which consulting actuaries will need to address such as downsizing, outsourcing, technology and the need to be flexible.

Description: This article examines conglomerate management, the need for planning, and examples of effective acquisitions management.

Description: This article is about change, how it affects us, how we react to change, and how leaders need to be change agents.

Description: This article is about how innovative use of technology will be a key differentiator for future success and maybe even survival, and how technology will switch from a defensive to an offensive tool, aimed principally at driving revenues. The article addresses the question: How will successful leaders in the insurance industry use technology in the future?

Description: Among the most outspoken of the life insurance industry’s authorities is Ronald Butkiewicz, president and CEO, Irish Life of North America ILONA. In speeches to industry groups, including a 1995 presentation to the Actuarial Society of Greater New York, Butkiewicz makes the challenging statement, 'American society doesn’t need the life insurance industry. I am also quick to add that I don’t think American society needs banks, either.' However, said Butkiewicz in an interview for this article, 'It does need our products.' The article goes on to explain how Butkiewicz sees life insurance becoming part of one, big financial services industry.

Description: Reengineering has become a corporate buzzword of the 1990s. This article addresses why companies decide to reengineer and explores the risks, as well as the benefits.

Description: As the pace of consolidation accelerates and competition increases, profitability pressures are intensifying. Life insurers must continually search for new ideas and techniques to gain marketplace advantage. An issue facing insurance organizations is who should develop and perform the customer profitability analysis. Perhaps the best people to address this issue are the actuaries. This article discusses four major issues actuaries must consider in defining an appropriate customer profitability metric.

Description: This article provides a recap of Colin Powell's speech at the SOA's Annual Meeting in 1994, entitled 'The Management of Crisis and Change'.

Description: In this article Deborah Adler Poppel interviews Patrick L. Townsend, author of the book Commit to Quality. Mr Townsend defines quality process, advises what the components are and explains why quality is hard to achieve.