The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) has appointed six new non-executive directors to the newly formed IFoA Board. The appointments, ratified by the IFoA Council, are made with immediate effect. The recruitment process was led by Lord Currie of Marylebone who was appointed as IFoA Board Chair in April.
The full IFoA Board comprises five member non-executive directors (mNEDs) of which one is the President, three independent non-executive directors (iNEDs) of which one is the Chair, and the CEO.
The new appointments to the IFoA Board are:
Confirmation of the full Board is a significant milestone in the implementation of the IFoA’s governance reforms. The new structure will align the IFoA with best practice in modern corporate governance, with the board taking the lead on setting the organisation’s strategy. The board will be responsible for oversight of the Executive which has responsibility for running day-to-day operations.
Council will provide guidance to the board but its main focus will now be on the development of the long-term vision. These changes are designed to modernise the organisation and ensure that it continues to serve both the needs of its members and the wider public interest.
IFoA Board Chair Lord Currie said: “The calibre of applications for the board roles was excellent in what has been a competitive recruitment process. In assembling this board, our focus has been on appointing a team with complementary skills and experiences. I believe we have found the right mix, putting us in the best possible position to meet the needs of the IFoA and our members.”
IFoA President Kalpana Shah said: “Council is very pleased with the progress Lord Currie has made in recruiting such a high-calibre board. The formation of the new Board along with Council agreeing the new vision for the IFoA and making significant headway on shaping its own future means that as an organisation, we are making strong progress with our governance reform programme.”
~ENDS~
Sonia Sequeira, Communications Lead, IFoA
Tel: 07525 592 198
Email: sonia.sequeira@actuaries.org.uk
Lord David Currie, IFoA Board Chair (iNED)
Lord Currie has over two decades of non-executive and chair experience. He is a cross-bench member of the House of Lords and is currently chair of the Advertising Standards Authority and a council member of the European Policy Forum. Lord Currie was previously founding chair of Ofcom (2002-2009) and founding chair of the Competition and Markets Authority (2012-2018) as well as serving as chair at the University of Essex (2011-2018) and the Alacrity Foundation (2010-2013). Lord Currie has also held non-executive board positions at Royal Mail Group plc (2009-2012), and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (2004-2019). He was also Professor and Dean at Cass (now Bayes) Business School (2001-2008).
Kudzai Chigiji (mNED)
IFoA Fellow Kudzai Chigiji has a broad range of experience in life insurance, healthcare, digital product development, social security and banking. Her current roles include Independent non-executive director at Letshego Holdings Namibia and Letshego Bank Namibia, and Expert Member at Movement Health. Prior to that, Kudzai held a variety of roles including Chief Operating Officer at Ovation Solutions, an employee benefits tech start-up, and Consulting Actuary in healthcare and banking organisations across Africa.
Ben Kemp, IFoA CEO (Interim)
Ben Kemp assumed the role of CEO (Interim) in September 2023. Previous to this, he held the role of General Counsel and Director at the IFoA. Ben was formerly a partner in the Regulatory and Professional Discipline department of London law firm, Kingsley Napley LLP. Prior to that, he trained and worked for ten years as a solicitor with Shepherd+ Wedderburn LLP.
Sheila Kumar (iNED)
Sheila Kumar’s extensive career encompasses both non-executive roles and senior executive experience both in the public sector and in and with professional membership bodies and in professional regulation. As a non-executive this includes being a Council member and Chair of the ARC at the General Dental Council. She is also the CEO of a specialist regulator in the legal services sector. Since moving away from a career in legal practice she has led strategic projects in Whitehall and held senior roles in various sectors including at the Law Society of England and Wales and at the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Tony O’Riordan (mNED)
IFoA Fellow Tony O’Riordan has wide experience in life assurance and pensions, investment management, non-life insurance, private equity. He currently holds non-executive director roles at Mercer Global Investment, MetLife Europe and Aviva Insurance Ireland. He is also board chair at St James’s Place UK. Previous to this, O’Riordan held a variety of roles most recently as CFO at New Ireland Assurance.
Aaron Porter (iNED)
Aaron Porter has a portfolio of non-executive board, trustee and advisory roles across a range of sectors. Board roles include as chair of the BPP University Board of Directors, deputy chair of Goldsmiths University of London, on the Council of a Statutory Healthcare Regulatory, trustee of a London theatre, chair of a specialist higher education college and a school governor.
Andrew Rear (mNED)
IFoA Fellow Andrew Rear is currently a non-executive director at insurance technology companies in the US and UK, and an adviser to technology-focused private equity. His last executive role was as CEO of a P&C insurer and insurtech investor. He has also been a non-executive director of insurance companies in Australia, South Africa, Belgium, UK and US; and chairman of a global software company.
Hitesh Shah (mNED)
IFoA Fellow Hitesh Shah is currently a non-executive director at SCOR Reinsurance Asia Pacific and chair of the audit and risk committee. He is also Vice President and Council member at the Singapore Actuarial Society. Shah’s past work includes being a consultant in special projects for both start-ups and large firms including Prudential Financial and Aviva. Previous to that he was Chief Marketing Officer at Manulife, Aviva and Prudential; and a Partner at Deloitte.
Kalpana Shah, IFoA President (mNED)
Kalpana Shah was longstanding Group Chief Actuary and Partner at Hiscox until 2016. She is now one of a handful of female chairs in the insurance industry, a non-executive director of several organisations and a member of the Capacity Transfer Panel for Lloyd’s of London. She is also a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Insurers and member of Court of the Worshipful Company of Actuaries. She has Chaired and contributed to committees for the IFoA, Bank of England, Lloyd's of London and the Bermuda Monetary Authority. In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kalpana headed the first voluntary team of actuaries helping the UK’s National Health Service with emergency analytics and planning.
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