Dear Academy colleague,

As previously noted, the American Academy of Actuaries' 2009 Luncheon and Annual Meeting will take place on October 26 in Boston. The luncheon will feature a keynote speech by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, announcement and presentations of the Robert J. Myers Public Service Award and the Jarvis Farley Service Award to two respected and deserving members of the Academy, and the ceremonial transition of the president-elect to succeed the outgoing president. At the conclusion of the luncheon program, the Annual meeting will be convened for voting on the election of the regular directors of the Academy.

As the chairperson of the Nominating Committee, which was established in 1965 to review and recommend nominations for regular directors, and has done so ever since then, I am very pleased to present the candidates for four positions: Ron Gebhardtsbauer (a one-year term), and Mary D. Miller, Dave Neve, and Tom Wildsmith (all three-year terms). These candidates, from diverse backgrounds and practice specialties, received the recommendation of the Nominating Committee after much deliberation. They represent a balance of practice areas and business affiliations in accordance with the Guidelines the Nominating Committee follows. These individuals are passionate about the mission of the Academy and are exceptionally well qualified to help lead the Academy into 2010 and beyond.

I wholeheartedly commend to you these candidates, whose backgrounds follow this letter. I hope to see you in Boston. For information on how to register to attend the luncheon and meeting, please go to http://www.soaannualmeeting.org/registration.aspx.

Sincerely,

Steve Lehmann
Chairperson of the Academy's Nominating Committee

Nominating Committee Members: Bill Bluhm, John Parks, Tom Finnegan, Roger Hayne, Mike McLaughlin, Larry Sher, and Cande Olsen

Nominees

Ron Gebhardtsbauer, FSA, EA, MAAA, MSPA, FCA
Faculty-in-Charge of the Actuarial Science Program,
The Pennsylvania State University

Before joining the faculty at Penn State University, Gebhardtsbauer was the Senior Benefits Advisor to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. From 1997 to 2008, he was the Senior Pension Fellow for the American Academy of Actuaries. In that role, Gebhardtsbauer helped facilitate the formulation of sound retirement policy by providing nonpartisan technical assistance to Congress, federal regulators, and other public policymakers. He was also a spokesperson for the profession on pensions, Social Security, and other retirement issues. Gebhardtsbauer has advised the governments of Canada, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Vietnam, and the United Kingdom.

His public-sector experience includes tenures as the chief actuary of the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and the chief pension actuary at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, where he participated in creating the Federal Employee Retirement System. Gebhardtsbauer also held private-sector positions with the Wyatt Company and Acacia Mutual Life Insurance Company. He also managed the New York City retirement practice of William M. Mercer, Inc.

Mary D. Miller, MAAA, FCAS
Actuary, Ohio Dept of Insurance

Mary D. Miller has been a property/casualty actuary with the Financial Regulation Division of the Ohio Department of Insurance since 1996. She currently serves as assistant director for the Product Regulation and Actuarial Services division, which is responsible for all life, health, and property/casualty forms, rates, and reserves. Before joining the department, she worked for eight years in private-sector commercial lines, pricing, reserving, and underwriting.

Miller's volunteer work for the Academy has been extensive. She served as the vice president and chairperson of the Casualty Practice Council from 2005 to 2006, as the co-chairperson of the Financial Soundness and Risk Management Committee from 2002 to 2004. Miller was also a member of the Academy's Risk Management and Financial Reporting Council from 2005 to 2006, the Committee on Property/Liability Financial Reporting from 2000 to 2004, and both the Financial Reporting Committee and the Solvency and Risk Management Committee in 2004.

She has just completed her term on the Casualty Actuarial Society board of directors and is on the Joint Task Force for Enhancing the Reputation of the Actuary. She is vice-chairperson of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Casualty Actuarial Task Force, and is a member of the NAIC Principle-Based Reserves Committee and Corporate Governance Subgroup.

Dave Neve, FSA, MAAA, CERA
Vice President - Corporate Valuation, Aviva USA

An industry leader in assisting the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the Academy in developing the new principle-based valuation framework, Neve is an actuarial executive with more than 30 years' experience in reserve valuation, financial reporting, enterprise-wide risk modeling, financial forecasting, and capital management. In his current role at Aviva USA, his primary responsibilities include financial forecasting, DAC reporting and analysis, and monitoring regulatory developments.

Prior to joining Aviva USA, Neve worked his way up to assistant vice president and corporate actuary at Principal Financial Group, where he served as the company's Appointed Actuary and led regulatory efforts regarding statutory reserves and requirements. As a member of the corporate capital management team, he assisted in the development of an optimal capital strategy, led regulatory and rating agency capital model results, monitored international solvency developments, and much more.
He currently serves as vice-chairperson of the Academy's Life Practice Council and is the chairperson of the Academy's Life Reserves Work Group. His recent record of volunteer work with the Academy includes service as chairperson of several Academy work groups, including the Asset Adequacy Analysis Practice Note Work Group and the Deficiency Reserves Work Group.

Tom Wildsmith, FSA, MAAA
Consulting Actuary, The Hay Group

During his 27-year career, Tom Wildsmith has been deeply involved in all aspects of health insurance policy and financing, including 12 years operational experience with a commercial carrier, and nine years advocacy experience with a major health insurance trade association. Prior to joining the Hay Group, Wildsmith held consulting positions with Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) and Provident Life & Accident.

Wildsmith has worked extensively with Medicare Advantage and Part D, including assisting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services with the review and audit of Medicare Advantage and Part D Plan actuarial bids as well as helping employers to understand the implications of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and develop appropriate strategies for their retiree health benefit plans. He has also trained a major insurance company's pension plan department on the use of the Hay Medicare BVC health actuarial tool for the purposes of measuring Part D actuarial equivalence.

During his tenure at HIAA, he evaluated legislation and regulations for their impact on the industry; drafted testimony, position statements and other advocacy documents; coordinated with lobbyists; and participated in lobbying activities. When at Provident Life & Accident, Wildsmith was responsible for all large-case underwriting policy and support, including supervision of pricing and underwriting for all medical stop-loss products and development of all underwriting and year-end accounting policies and procedures.

Wildsmith is also a long-time volunteer with the Academy, where he has been a member of the Health Practice Council since 1997. He was the chairperson of the Task Force on Genetic Testing Issues from 2000 to 2004. Wildsmith is currently the chairperson of the Medicare Steering Committee and is vice chairperson of the Committee on Federal Health Issues.