Society of Actuaries Elects Bradley M. Smith President-Elect

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- At the close of several weeks of voting, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) announced that Bradley M. Smith, FSA, was elected President of the SOA for the 2011–2012 term.  Smith will serve as President-Elect during the association's 2010–2011 year and will begin his presidential duties at the SOA's Annual Meeting to be held in October 2011 in Chicago.

As the SOA's 63rd president, Smith intends to be a strong advocate for the actuarial profession and to lead an effort to identify areas in which actuarial expertise can be applied in traditional and new markets. "I plan to address the profession's contribution to the development of meaningful solutions on complex societal issues, such as Social Security and Medicare funding, healthcare reform, financial risk management, and the improvement of public and private pension plan systems," Smith said.

Smith is the Chairman of Milliman, Inc., a global multi-disciplinary, independent actuarial and consulting firm. He has previously served as Vice President of the SOA and is currently an Emeritus Trustee of the Actuarial Foundation. His area of practice involves all aspects of life and health insurance, including insurance industry mergers and acquisitions, product pricing and financial statement preparation. Before joining Milliman, he was Vice President and Chief Actuary at JCPenney Life Insurance Company, where he was heavily involved in direct response marketing analysis, list segmentation, product development and corporate planning.

Smith has authored many papers and is a frequent speaker at industry meetings.  He has spoken to college audiences on what it means to be a professional, which is the theme of his recently published book, What Do You Think? Preparing for the Question That All Clients Ask.  Internationally, Smith has spoken to other professionals, government officials and company executives throughout the United States as well as China, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, India, Spain, Italy, Austria and Germany. In 2009, Smith was named to Insurance Newscast's list of the 100 Most Powerful People in the North American Insurance Industry.

Smith is a graduate of the University of Illinois with highest distinction. He resides in Dallas with his wife, Karen, and daughter, Emily.

"Brad Smith is a highly respected business leader with extensive experience in all facets of the actuarial profession – as an insurance professional, consultant, and leader," said Greg Heidrich, executive director of the SOA. "We're looking forward to his contributions, which I'm sure will benefit both the SOA and the members we serve greatly."

To view Smith's election website, visit http://www.soa.org/leadership/elections/2010/smith/default.aspx.

To request a photo or interview with Smith, contact Lisamarie Lukas, Society of Actuaries' director of communications, at 847.706.3566 or [email protected].

About the Society of Actuaries (SOA)

The Society of Actuaries is an educational, research and professional organization dedicated to serving the public, its members and its candidates. The SOA's mission is to advance actuarial knowledge and to enhance the ability of actuaries to provide expert advice and relevant solutions for financial, business and societal problems. The SOA's vision is for actuaries to be the leading professionals in the measurement and management of risk.  For more information, visit www.soa.org.

About Milliman

Milliman is among the world's largest independent actuarial and consulting firms. Founded in Seattle in 1947 as Milliman & Robertson, the company currently has 52 offices in key locations worldwide.  Milliman employs over 2,400 people.  The firm has consulting practices in healthcare, employee benefits, property & casualty insurance, life insurance and financial services.  Milliman serves the full spectrum of business, financial, government, union, education and nonprofit organizations.  For further information, visit, www.milliman.com.

SOURCE Society of Actuaries