Editorial

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PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Anthony Moran

MANAGING EDITOR Sharon Maguire +44 (0)20 7880 6246 sharon.maguire@redactive.co.uk

ASSISTANT EDITOR Kathryn Manning +44 (0)20 7324 2792 kathryn.manning@redactive.co.uk

SUB-EDITOR Kate Bennett

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ART EDITOR Sarah Auld

PICTURE EDITOR Charlie Hedges E D I T O R Dan Georgescu editor@theactuary.com

FEATURES EDITORS Sharad Bajla, general insurance Stephen Hyams, pensions Paul Malloy, reinsurance, life insurance VS Rajeshwarie, GI Thanuja Krishnaratna, life Contact: features@theactuary.com

P E O P L E / S O C I E T Y N E W S E D I T O R social@theactuary.com Kathryn Manning kathryn.manning@redactive.co.uk

S T U D E N T E D I T O R Jason Brett student@theactuary.com

I F O A E D I T O R Kate Pearce +44 (0)207 632 2118 kate.pearce@actuaries.org.uk

E D I T O R I A L ADVISORY PANEL Peter Tompkins (chairman), Chika Aghadiuno, Nico Aspinall, Naomi Burger, Matthew Edwards, Jessica Elkin, Martin Lunnon, Richard Purcell, Sonal Shah, Nick Silver

INTERNET The Actuary: www.theactuary.com Institute and Faculty of Actuaries: www.actuaries.org.uk

S E N I O R P R O D U C T I O N EXECUTIVE Rachel Young +44 (0)20 7880 6209 rachel.young@redactive.co.uk Circulation 31,173 (July 2018 to June 2019)

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Published by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) The editor and the IFoA are not responsible for the opinions put forward in The Actuary. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without prior written permission of the copyright owners.

While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the content, the publisher and its contributors accept no responsibility for any material contained herein. © Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, January/February 2020 All rights reserved ISSN 0960-457X

A new decade

Welcome to the 2020s, and my fi rst issue as editor of The Actuary. It is an honour and a pleasure to be here.

“Why did you apply for the role?” I am often asked at actuarial (working) parties. Partly, it’s because I have written for and volunteered at the magazine in the past, and found it to be a rewarding experience. I have also contributed to examinations and research, but in terms of being able to speak to our whole profession, this platform is second to none. Sometimes, there is a powerful message that needs to be heard. In this issue, Travis Elsum argues that insurers should support the transition to a low-carbon economy (p18), while professor Nigel Halford introduces us to the diff erences between GM and gene editing, and asks whether EIOPA’s catch-all terminology achieves a good outcome for food safety and sustainability (p20). There is also no better way to meet interesting people and ask them questions. This month I interview Craig Turnbull, who has had a varied career covering both the cutting edge of modelling and writing about actuarial history (p14). I would like to thank my predecessor Francisco Sebastian for his signifi cant contribution during the past two years. Francisco aimed to make the magazine more global, and I intend to stay on that course. This month, we hear from Silvia Dell’Acqua about actuaries in Italy (p31) and John Ferguson on critical illness experience in Asia (p22). Primarily, though, we are an actuarial magazine, and I do not intend to neglect technical actuarial content. This month, for example, we have Andrew Smith writing about Markov chain Monte Carlo (p28). As always, please write in and tell us what you think of the magazine – or even better, write an article. Enjoy the issue and have a wonderful 2020.