Starting on 1 January 2015, Estelle Pearson has taken up the position as president of the Actuaries Institute, replacing Daniel Smith who held the role throughout 2014.
Replacing Ms Pearson in her former role as senior vice president is Lindsay Smartt, while Mr Smartt’s role as vice president will be filled by Jenny Lyon.
Commenting on her new position, Ms Pearson said she was committed to promoting the “profession’s voice” among key decision-makers as the nation considers issues including budget reform and the impact of an ageing population.
“The institute has another busy agenda in 2015 and will again provide policymakers 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.
Ms Pearson also said the institute will issue a report on the superannuation and retirement sectors 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,” a statement from the Actuaries Institute said.
Ms Pearson also said Australian actuaries now work in a diverse range of industries beyond traditional insurance and superannuation sectors and explained she is committed to ensuring the 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 said.
