A new era

A very happy New Year to everyone and welcome to the first 2008 edition of The Actuary. As you can see, the magazine has undergone a facelift over Christmas and I am enormously proud to be editing this issue.

The website, www.the-actuary.org.uk, has also had a revamp. While still containing an archive of past features and pages, the new site will begin to include additional material not featured in the magazine that will allow us to provide features and news to complement the print edition.

The changes you can see are a result of an enormous amount of hard work and dedication during 2007 from SIAS, the editorial team, members of staff at Staple Inn and the new publishers, Incisive Media. Thank you to everyone that has been involved in the relaunch and who has contributed to its success. I hope that you will enjoy the magazine and benefi t from the hard work that goes into it.

Looking beyond the glossy pages, the editorial team is committed to ensuring that Editorial the standard of material is maintained, and improved where possible, as the magazine matures. This edition includes our first Soapbox column and we are delighted to have John Greenway MP, an ex-policeman and president of the Institute of Insurance Brokers, offering his opinion on the role of actuaries and the actuarial profession (see page 10). As actuaries, we must be aware of the views and concerns of those we meet and work with, and as such I am keen to ensure that The Actuary features many other high-profi le individuals from outside the industry on a regular basis.

The editorial team is also changing: we are currently looking for a volunteer to coordinate and manage the Arts page to take up the reins from Alan Frost, who has entertained us with his theatre and music reviews over the years. Frosty’s fans will be delighted to know that Alan has agreed to continue to make the occasional cameo appearance and I also understand that there is a book available containing many of his contributions over the years, so please contact Alan direct for details.

We are also very sad to be losing Seamus Creedon and Laurence Kleerekoper, who have managed the News and Social pages for so long. Their moving on creates two further openings on the team and so we are recruiting for a news editor and a social editor. We have received a number of applications for these posts already and hope to announce the names of the successful applicants in the March edition.

In my January 2007 editorial I promised to bite the bullet to implement improvements in the magazine; I hope you agree that we are on the right track. This may not be the first time The Actuary has gone around the actuarial control cycle but I feel that these changes represent a major step forward. Your opinions are crucial and we plan to carry out a reader survey in the next few months to gather them, but please feel free to send in your comments or feedback in the meantime.

Finally, many thanks to everyone that contacted me about their pants. I was overwhelmed to fi nd that my December editorial touched so many of you and that you were able to share your underwear selection techniques with me. Your feedback certainly cheered up my colleagues and I during the busy run-up to Christmas and I have included a couple of these now infamous letters on page eight.

Margaret de Valois, Editor

editor@the-actuary.org.uk