25 June 2021
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) is delighted to announce that Louise Pryor FIA has begun her presidential term, taking over from Tan Suee Chieh FIA. Louise has been part of the Presidential team for the past year as President-elect. Matt Saker FIA joins the team as the next President-elect.
IFoA President Louise Pryor said:
“It’s a great honour to be chosen as the next President of the IFoA. We are living through a period of immense change which presents both challenge and opportunity. I want to build on the valuable work of my predecessors to ensure that the IFoA can survive and be sustainable. I believe the best way to do this is for actuaries and the IFoA to keep learning. Over the next year, my presidency will be focussed on supporting members to develop their skills so they can adapt to change in existing areas of work as well as move into new areas.
“I began my actuarial career 40 years ago at a time when climate-related risk was simply not on the horizon. I have believed for some years that this risk is the biggest problem facing the world and have watched climate-related risk become mainstream and even mandated by regulators in many countries. Assessing the impacts of climate-related risk is a relatively new field for actuaries and underscores the need to keep learning and adapting our skill sets. We already offer a broad range of resources to support our members in this area, and are constantly extending it. I am excited to announce that a pilot credential in climate risk is underway and we hope to be able to offer the full course later this year.
“The IFoA’s Learning Change Programme will gather pace this year, aiming to modernise, deepen and broaden our actuarial qualifications and lifelong learning support. We are reviewing the pre-Associateship syllabus, and aim to broaden the portfolio of routes to fellowship. We are continuing to invest in our online exam platforms and are working to ensure that lifelong learning meets the changing needs of our Fellows and Associates who cannot rely only on the skills tested at the start of their careers.
“Adapting to the many changes around us will be a learning process for both individuals and for the IFoA but our shared goal will help to ensure the relevance and sustainability of the profession.”
Stephen Mann, IFoA CEO, said:
“I would like to congratulate Louise Pryor as she becomes the next IFoA President. Over the past year, in her role as President-elect, she has been instrumental in helping guide the IFoA through the immediate challenges of Covid-19 while also working towards delivery against longer term elements of our strategy. Her focus on lifelong learning is at the heart of this strategy and I am looking forward to working with her over the next year.”
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank both Tan Suee Chieh as he moves to the role of Immediate Past President and John Taylor, who ends his three-year term on the IFoA Presidential team. And I extend a warm welcome to Matt Saker as he officially becomes President-elect.”
For a copy of Louise Pryor’s Presidential Address, delivered via live videoconference on Friday 25 June 2021, please contact Sonia Sequeira, IFoA Media Relations Manager.
~ENDS~
Contact
Sonia Sequeira, Media Relations Manager, IFoA
Tel: 07525 592 198
Email: sonia.sequeira@actuaries.org.uk
Notes to Editor
- In the course of a varied career as an actuary, software engineer and academic, Louise was Director, Actuarial Standards at the Financial Reporting Council, where she led the development of the Technical Actuarial Standards. She has practised as an independent consultant in the areas of software risk and sustainability and has worked on financial modelling for social security and pensions reform in a number of emerging economies.
Louise is Chair of the London Climate Change Partnership and a non-executive director at the Ecology Building Society.
She became a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 1987 and a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA) in 2019. She has a degree in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from Northwestern University in the United States.
About the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) is a royal chartered, not-for-profit, professional body.
Research undertaken by the IFoA is not commercial. As a learned society, research helps us to fulfil our royal charter requirements to further actuarial science and serve the public interest.
Actuaries provide commercial, financial and prudential advice on the management of a business’s assets and liabilities, especially where long term management and planning are critical to the success of any business venture. They also advise individuals, and advise on social and public interest issues.
Members of the IFoA have a statutory role in the supervision of pension funds and life insurance companies. They also have a statutory role to provide actuarial opinions for managing agents at Lloyd’s of London.
Members are governed by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. A rigorous examination system is supported by a programme of continuing professional development and a professional code of conduct supports high standards reflecting the significant role of actuaries in society.
The IFoA is available to provide independent expert comment to the media on a range of actuarial-related issues, including COVID-19 and its long term consequences, mortality, pensions, life and general insurance, health and care, finance and investment, climate change and sustainability, systems thinking, uncertainty and judgement, and risk management.