Description: Description and welcome to the 2020 Canadian Reinsurance Conference including highlight of the key note speaker

Description: In “Gearing up for Designing Your Future,” published in the May 2017 issue of Actuary of the Future, the author cited four heroes as his personal inspiration. This article is the successor, showing the glory of these heroes and how they can inspire us actuaries today, as we strive to live our best lives. Identifying your own Noble Purpose as an actuary and in your life makes creating a five-year plan for personal growth meaningful and motivating. What will you gain from reading biographies of famous people and the classics? To aspire, to approach eloquence, to emulate the poetry of how they put their ideas across to mobilize their publics, to elevate our own characters by their examples, to be fully equipped to make moral and ethical judgments, to master the primary tool, verbal communication.

Description: In this article, we aim to outline the advantages of smaller programs and gather opinions on the challenges these programs face in their efforts to emphasize these strengths. For our purposes, we define small actuarial programs as those with a relatively low student enrollment count. The following are three key advantages of small programs, which are similar to those of small colleges:(a) Enhanced benefits from small class size; (b) Adaptable curriculum; (c) Increased opportunities for each student. A variety of similar other issues are also discussed with recommendations, challenges, and invitations for further dialogue.

Description: This article is about the little things that impact your personal brand, and how that personal brand helps you influence others.

Description: A compilation of reader responses is presented to a real life situation involving a business decision. This issue’s case study involved a recently promoted chief actuary receiving pressure to make a downward reserve adjustment at year end.

Description: This article is an overview of the SOA Leadership & Development Section Council's current projects, recent accomplishments and some immediate focal points of the Leadership & Development Section Council's efforts.

Description: A real life situation is posed involving a management, leadership, or other business decision, and readers are invited to submit their responses to "What Would You Do?" This case study involved an actuary struggling with being moved from a job she loved to one she didn't, without any prior consultation.

Description: Part 1 of a 2-part series featuring interviews with four former SmallCo section chairs. The interviews shared their view of the value of SmallCo and of holding a leadership role. They also discussed the challenges of leading this section and gave advice for new section council members.

Description: Notes on the IAA meeting that took place in D.C. in May

Description: An update on recent and upcoming activities of the International Section Council as it continues to find ways to serve its members and other interested parties who are either working overseas or have a strong international interest.