R. Dale Hall, FSA 2000, MAAA, CFA, CERA

Vice President & Chief Actuary, Life/Health Operations, COUNTRY Financial, Bloomington, IL

Brief description of the type of work you currently do:

Serve on corporate management team and direct the actuarial operations of the life, annuity and health lines of business with responsibilities for product development, valuation, financial projections, asset/liability management, reinsurance and defined benefit plan administration. Serve on corporate risk management, merger/acquisition, financial reporting compliance and investment strategy committees.

Primary Area of Practice:

Life Insurance

Other Areas of Practice / Interests:

Product Development, Financial Reporting, Investments, Reinsurance, Risk Management, Smaller Insurance Company

Professional Background:

For the past 15 years, I have worked in a wide variety of actuarial disciplines within three insurance organizations, with main responsibilities including product development, asset/liability management, financial reporting and risk management. Over the last five years, I've additionally enjoyed my role as an adjunct professor at Illinois State University, teaching classes on the mathematics of finance, investments, option pricing and defined benefit plan valuation. I've been a firm believer in my own personal continuing education process over the years, obtaining an MBA degree, a CFA charter, and most recently completing the requirements for the CERA designation from the SOA.

Volunteer Experience:

I have served as an active volunteer in many capacities for the SOA, starting with the Course 5 Exam committee and continuing on as Chair of the Joint CAS/SOA Committee on Career Encouragement. This role has given me a unique opportunity to lead a team across many different worldwide actuarial organizations, and help champion the development of the BeAnActuary.org Web site. I have previously chaired the Smaller Insurance Company Section Council, and am currently completing my service as Chair of the Product Development Section Council, where I have focused on providing valuable opportunities and services to our section members through new commitments to education and research. Our PD Section Council also has developed a strong fiduciary oversight of section finances, keeping section dues low and providing effective educational programs for section members. I have been active in continuing education by being a frequent speaker at SOA meetings and authoring articles promoting the benefits of utilizing the insight and talents of the actuarial profession, with particular focus in the field of Enterprise Risk Management. I am an active member of the AAA Life Reserve Working Group, the SOA Committee on Life Insurance Expenses and the ACLI Actuarial Committee.

Vision Statement:

One of the major challenges and opportunities the SOA faces in the coming years is enabling a smooth transition to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements. A key theme in the SOA's Strategic Plan is to effectively develop and transfer knowledge for its members, and the SOA's commitment to outstanding actuarial education will always be a centerpiece of a strong foundation for our profession. This idea reinforces our commitment to supplying highly qualified experts who provide knowledge and insight that is relevant to the needs of their employers and clients.

With this challenge, however, comes a need for the leadership of the SOA to further develop CPD educational opportunities above and beyond the traditional methods of the past. With a stronger demand for continuing education, we need to look into additional ways to provide the opportunities that SOA members desire combined with the quality and service that SOA members deserve. As other professional organizations further evolve ways for their members to learn new concepts, apply new techniques and develop ways that are convenient to their members' time and resources, the SOA will need to keep pace. Our organization needs to provide its members with continually improving ways for education and administration of the CPD requirement.

As current Chair of the Product Development Section Council, I have helped champion new ideas for providing continuing education to SOA members. I would welcome the opportunity to strategically continue to pursue these ideas for the future as part of the SOA Board.