Actuaries Institute announces new leadership team

The new President of the Actuaries Institute, Estelle Pearson, today said she was committed to promoting the profession’s voice among key decision-makers as the nation considers significant issues including budget reform and the impact of an ageing population.

“The Institute has another busy agenda in 2015 and will again provide policy-makers with intelligent and forward-looking insights as they deal with major reforms to our economy and how best to deal with many significant issues facing our community,” Ms Pearson said. She noted that the Institute was seconded to provide in-house superannuation sector advice to David Murray’s Financial System Inquiry which submitted its recommendations to the Australian government in December 2014.

Ms Pearson said among key events for the Institute this year, a major report on the superannuation and retirement sectors will be issued as a follow-up to the recommendations outlined in its 2012 “Longevity Tsunami” white paper.

The Institute also plans to submit a detailed response to the Government’s Intergenerational Report and Tax White Paper during 2015 and in May it will hold its biennial Actuaries Summit in Melbourne with the theme of “Take the Lead” with speakers and sessions focusing on a range of issues including leadership, public policy, Asia, health, life, and general insurance, superannuation and data analytics.

Ms Pearson said Australian actuaries now work in a diverse range of industries beyond the traditional insurance and superannuation sectors and she is committed during her year-long leadership of the Institute to ensuring that the high level skills of actuaries are better recognised.

“In Australia we are fortunate that a number of our members are already making their mark in data analytics and that the actuary brand is associated with this area in some large companies outside the traditional insurance sphere,” Ms Pearson said. “Big Data represents a huge opportunity for actuaries and I would like to see us establish a data analytics community within the profession,” she added.

“It is also very important that the Institute does all it can for its current and future members by continuing to update and modernise our qualifications, to ensure that our education and skills remain widely valued and relevant across the range of industries that we work in,” she said.

With 23 percent of the Institute’s membership based in Asia and elsewhere overseas, Ms Pearson also said the Institute will focus on programs that will assist those who transfer or work overseas to develop their careers.

Among the leadership of the Actuaries Institute, Ms Pearson is joined by CEO David Bell, Lindsay Smartt as Senior Vice President and Jenny Lyon as Vice President. Based on the annual rotation of senior positions, Mr Smartt is due to become President in 2016.