2 July 2020
Matthew Cann has been volunteer Chair of the Risk Management Lifelong Learning Committee for the last two years and is a Fellow of the IFoA. Matt is based in Birmingham, UK, where he is Financial Risk Manager for The Phoenix Group.
In this blog post, Matt reflects on the opportunities this role has provided to him and encourages others to get involved too.
As my current volunteering role comes to an end I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the opportunities it has provided.
I have been a member of what is now the Risk Management Lifelong Learning Committee for a number of years and have spent the last two years as the Chair.
First and foremost, it has been an opportunity for me to give something back to the profession – hopefully the ‘something’ was of use!
Networking
From a personal perspective, it has enabled me to develop a broader network of contacts, both within the profession and across a wide range of practice areas (e.g. life, GI, pensions, investment, resource & environment, etc.) given the wide-reaching scope of risk management.
In particular, it has enabled me to interact with a number of senior and well-known members of the profession and engage with them at a range of events as well as meeting up with colleagues from my own organisation.
Organising events
Through my role, I have helped to create and shape a number of the CPD events put on by the IFoA and it has been really pleasing to see things move from an idea to an actual event, whether they are conferences, one-day seminars, network evenings or now the increased use of webinars.
High at the top of the list is my work in helping create the CERA seminars (for those passing SP9). To walk through the door and participate in the first of these was truly an amazing experience and I very much enjoy continuing to support these.
At the core of my experience have been the IFoA staff whose dedication and passion are second to none. There have been many down the years but Dawn [McIntosh], Donna [Meldrum] and Amanda [Davey] are all amazing.
Similarly, those I have met through the CERA seminars (Lindsay Smitherman, Sally Calder, Colin Thores and of course Tom Evans) have been brilliant.
Volunteering remotely
The recent lockdown we have all been experiencing has just reinforced what I have known for a long time – which is that you no longer need to be London-based to be able to play an important role with the IFoA (I’m just south of Birmingham).
Indeed we have had committee members from far and wide outside the UK. Our events need to cater for a range of needs, whether they are Chief Risk Officers or merely thinking of working in risk; whether they are based in the UK or the world beyond.
So, in closing, volunteering has been a very positive experience for me, which is not to say there haven’t been a few negatives along the way but that’s life (risk actually)!
Get involved
Find out what other IFoA volunteers say about their volunteer experience and view the current opportunities and find a role that fits with your professional interests.
If you would like to find out more about volunteering for the IFoA, please contact Engagement Team.