Description: Whether it be a presentation amongst peers or to the board of directors, you want to make sure you wow them with your message. The Actuary polled some of the SOA’s top presenters to get their trade secrets. Here's what Dale Hall, FSA, CERA, MAAA, Stuart Klugman, FSA, CERA, Patricia Matson, FSA, MAAA, and David Wylde, FSA, MAAA, had to say about what makes a good presentation.

Description: Interview focusing on Claude Lamoureux and his experience with retirement programs and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

Description: In this article, Sam Phillips interviews Charles McClenahan, who provides litigation support and expert testimony, primarily as a ‘pioneer’ in the field of casualty actuarial forensics. McClenahan describes the type of work he does, which includes ‘cases involving actuarial malpractice, insurance company solvency standards, anti–trust, intellectual property, fraud, voidable preference, damages modeling, applicability of actuarial standards, reinsurance collectability and, in one case, arson and murder.’

Description: Article highlighting the staff of the Meetings and Events and Customer Service departments at the SOA.

Description: This article describes the EXCEL Model, a teaching and coaching tool developed by The Flippen group, College Station, Texas and adopted by many organizations. It focuses the leader on the needs of the team. The five components of the model are: Engage, X-plore, Communciate, Empower and Launch.

Description: This article is an interview with Ron Gebhardtsbauer, Senior Pension Fellow at the American Academy of Actuaries about his career and how his passion for serving.

Description: This is an interview with Steve Vernon, FSA, MAAA, who runs his own business for helping people live long and prosper–financially, emotionally and with respect to their health. His contribution to society is to use his actuarial expertise and communication skills to help the baby boom generation face these challenges.

Description: The Actuary recently asked Bob Smyth of Gant Travel Management some questions regarding international travel. Smyth says if you plan well and are up to date on new regulations and passport requirements, traveling abroad is smooth sailing.

Description: The second part of a panel discussion on the changes ERM is creating in the actuarial and business worlds. This first part of this discussion appeared in the December/January issue of The Actuary. Topics covered included: the difference between ERM now and risk management of the past, the transformation of the CRO role due to ERM and more. You can find the first part of this series on the SOA Web site at: www. soa.org, Research & Publications, The Actuary Magazine, December 2005, ERM's Wave of Change: Part I.

Description: A Q&A with the magazine’s new contributing editors. Questions included how they plan to influence the magazine and what is was about the role of contributing editor that attracted them.