SOA Podcasts - Society of Actuaries

Now is the time to become a candidate for an SOA Section Council. Current Section Council members Joe Alaimo and Kevin Duran walk you through why and how to volunteer for this important leadership position.

Mike Green, FSA, MAAA, Vice Present at Canada Life Re sharing his insights with podcast host Jing Lang, FSA, FCIA, MAAA, FLMI.

Tonya Manning, Buck’s Wealth Practice Leader & Chief Actuary, recent DOL appointee to Advisory Council and Former SOA and IAA President is interviewed. Tonya discusses her career, leadership at two major actuarial firms, public pensions, and her actuarial volunteer work.

Shea plays the role of host today and talks shop with Anders and Nick Vander Heyden, who competed as part of a team in the 2021 Milliman Health Practice Hackathon. The gang covers a wide range of topics, including team strategy and organization, exploratory data analysis, feature engineering, and choice of algorithm. Although Anders and Nick were generally pleased with their team’s performance, they discuss what they wish they had done differently and what they would have done to refine their predictions with more time. The discussion illuminates the practical considerations involved in tackling a real-world predictive analytics project and why the human element is still a critical part of machine learning.

In this episode, Dave Dillon interviews Dustin Ryan, FSA, MAAA about the everchanging landscape of Medicaid pharmacy.  They discuss how the states pulling the levers in the pharmacy world to lower their drug expenditures.  They dive into the impact of state impacts on MCOs and the future of pharmacy.

"Drink in the Details” is a podcast series featuring casual discussions with experts on a variety of financial reporting topics. In this episode, Chris Whitney and his guests Liz Millard and Kevin Piotrowski enjoy margaritas as they discuss financial reporting and valuation considerations associated with Mergers and Acquisitions.

Shea Parkes, FSA, MAAA, and Anders Larson, FSA, MAAA, are joined by the organizers of the 2021 Milliman Health Practice Hackathon: Riley Heckel, FSA, MAAA, Austin Barrington, FSA, MAAA, and Phil Ellenberg.

This podcast interviews actuaries David Cantor and Kailan Shang, co-authors of the SOA research report titled Predictive Analytics: A Primer for Pension Actuaries. David and Kailan explain how pension actuaries can apply predictive analytics to forecast outcomes for defined benefit and defined contribution plans.