The Modern-Day Renaissance Man
S. Michael McLaughlin is a modern day renaissance man--he is a visionary, an innovator and a dedicated volunteer for the Society of Actuaries (SOA). And to add to this impressive list, he was recently named a Risk Innovator as part of the first annual Risk Innovator awards, presented by the publication Risk & Insurance. This award is given to individuals who resolve risk-related problems in a unique or innovative way. These individuals are identified for viewing risk not simply as a threat, but also as an opportunity for their organizations.
McLaughlin, who is a principal in the Actuarial & Insurance Solutions division at Deloitte Consulting LLP, received the award because he is a visionary in the area of risk. He identifies opportunities in his clients’ current risk management models and helps them implement enterprise risk management (ERM).
"Because of the discussions with Michael McLaughlin, our company stands much better prepared and educated, and diligently mitigates and monitors the corporate risks that we face. He's really given us the education and tools and, in turn, Country is a much smoother operation because of the concepts that he's brought to the table," said Dale Hall, vice president and chief actuary for the life and health operations at Country Financial, and a Deloitte client. “Put yourself in our executive team's shoes. Clearly, they know how important our employees are, but until we had this process we focused more on our financial assets and financial liabilities. Through ERM, we started to be able to measure the intangible assets we don't see listed as stocks and bonds on the balance sheet."
In addition to helping bring new innovation to clients, McLaughlin also volunteers with the SOA, helping foster greater awareness among employers and candidates on the insight and abilities of actuaries in playing a central role with enterprise risk management. He pioneered the SOA’s Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA) credential, which encompasses the most comprehensive and rigorous demonstration of enterprise risk management available. The CERA is the first new credential since the organization's founding and it was developed in response to the growing field of enterprise risk management. To date, 200 actuaries have earned this credential.
It should therefore come as no surprise that McLaughlin was presented the Risk Innovator award within insurance. While it is clear that McLaughlin is worthy of this award, the selection process was rigorous and thorough. The judges screened hundreds of applications to identify a group of finalists.
McLaughlin’s vision and leadership has not gone unnoticed by his peers. The SOA announced on September 15 that McLaughlin has been elected President of the Society for the 2009-10 term. He will serve as President-Elect in 2008 and will officially take office as President in October 2009, at the SOA’s Annual Meeting.
McLaughlin’s dedication to furthering the actuarial profession helps to create a shared vision of the actuary as a 21st century thought leader--Dale Hall summed up McLaughlin aptly when he said, "He's just a champion of education all around, whether to actuaries or the business world in general."
This story is adapted from the September 15, 2008 Risk & Insurance article about Mike McLaughlin’s Risk Innovator Award.