EA Sessions at the SOA Spring Meetings

EA Sessions at the SOA Spring Meetings

The Entrepreneurial Actuaries Section will be sponsoring several sessions at the 2007 SOA Spring Meetings. At both the May Life meeting and the June Health meeting, we will be presenting a two–part session called "The Search for Entrepreneurial Actuaries," co–sponsored by the Management & Personal Development Section. Our presenter is Dr. Sandra Coyne–Westerkamp, who is a member of the faculty for Bay Path College's MBA in Entrepreneurial Thinking and Innovative Practice. The first session will focus on "intrapreneurship," how to bring creativity and energy into your work at a large, traditional insurance or consulting company. The second session will cover skills necessary to start or grow an independent company, like developing business and marketing plans. The sessions are related but independent, so attendees are invited to come to either or both as their schedule permits.

Also at the Life meeting, David S. Rintoul will present a session on "Law and Business Tools for the Solo or Small–Firm Actuary." David is a business attorney who has been a popular speaker and writer for our section in the past (and in this issue!). He will cover topics such as setting up an LLC or other company structure, non–compete agreements, and protecting intellectual property. Check out the Legal section of our Resource Center for some of David's past articles here.

At the Health meeting, along with "The Search for Entrepreneurial Actuaries" we will be co–sponsoring two other presenters with the M&PD section. Nancy Ancowitz, a business communication coach and another past contributor to this newsletter, will be presenting a four–part series on "Self–Promotion for Introverts." These sessions will teach you how to position yourself as an influential expert whether you're working within a large corporation or marketing to customers in your own smaller business. Each of the four sessions teaches a different component of these skills, so again attendees can benefit from some or all parts.

Finally, at the Health meeting we will also be co–sponsoring "Focus Your Time for Superior Results" by Doris Orr. The topics covered in this session include sending effective e–mails, managing information clutter, and project management skills. These time management tips are useful to actuaries in any setting, but especially entrepreneurs juggling the range of responsibilities of running their own business.

We hope to see you at some of these sessions in the spring. Watch for more information on the meetings as it becomes available at the SOA Web site, and let us know if you have other ideas for sessions at future meetings.