Description: Feature article discussing the importance of a company's IT department

Description: A compilation of reader responses is presented to a real life situation posed involving a management, leadership, or other business decision. This issue’s case study involved a very new actuarial manager trying to deal with a disruptive employee.

Description: Derek Ray shares his excitement on serving as Chair of the Health Section Council in 2024, including recent section achievements, upcoming activities and a call to action for volunteers to contribute their expertise to the SOA.

Description: We discuss an event that was hosted on the Georgia State University campus with the support of the Society of Actuaries. The purpose of the event was to introduce nearly 300 high school students, teachers and career counselors to the actuarial profession through presentations, an industry panel, and fun activities.

Description: Stefanos Orfanos shares his perspective and priorities for this year as the incoming chair of the SOA Education and Research Section.

Description: Describes the benefits of developing a personal leadership brand, including tactics and learning from others to bring our the best of your leadership abilities.

Description: A look back at 2024, reviewing and highlighting the things that the SOA Health Section Council accomplished, including education, research, webcasts, networking, and a new Health Section Council action plan that will be used on an ongoing basis to target, track, and measure areas of focus for the council, to better serve membership.

Description: As actuaries, we’re trained to see patterns in numbers and to design solutions that mitigate risk. But I can tell you from experience that while quantitative analysis and modeling are critical actuarial tools, looking at the numbers alone can lead to insurance products that don’t succeed in the real world the way the math says they “should.” With new digital technologies, we have more data at our fingertips than ever before, but I believe it’s equally as important to bring qualitative research methodologies into your product development process if you want to design solutions that meet real needs in the market. In this article, Amanda Turcotte shares what happens when qualitative research is neglected or ignored, what happens when you incorporate it into the product design process, and how to implement qualitative research practices in your organization.

Description: The chief actuary of New York City, Sherry Chan, answers questions about her actuarial career.

Description: Do you struggle with confidence presenting your ideas in front of others? You are not alone. The good news is that confidence can be learned. Rob Salafia, executive coach at MIT Sloan School of Management and author of the book, Leading From Your Best Self (McGraw-Hill) will guide you through a science based, positive psychology approach for you to fortify yourself and discover your four keys to confidence. Rob utilizes his 20 + years in the performing arts to help business leaders project a positive presence, connect authentically with others, and incorporate the skill of storytelling to create meaning and momentum.