Nomination and Election Procedures

After considering the issues regarding nominations and elections considered by the Governance Task Force during that group’s deliberations in 2009 and 2010, the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Actuaries, in an effort to expand voting for Regular Directors beyond those who attend the annual meeting, has authorized the Academy to implement a petition and electronic voting process for those positions. The Board of Directors adopted these changes, as described below, as a one-year trial. This petition process is in addition to the existing process that has existed for some time for members to recommend names directly to the Nominating Committee.

As stated in the Nominating Committee Guidelines [1] of the American Academy of Actuaries, "Candidates for Regular Directorships will normally have served the Academy or the actuarial profession by:

1. Serving on Academy committees or task forces;
2. Serving on the ABCD, or on the ASB or an ASB Committee;
3. Serving on the Boards or committees of other actuarial bodies;
4. Attainment of important stature in the insurance business, in actuarial consulting or in some other field of actuarial work, such as teaching."

The Guidelines go on to state that, "In selecting the slate of candidates, emphasis should be placed on the candidates’ ability and willingness to serve the Academy."

Members of the American Academy of Actuaries may be nominated to stand for election for the position of Regular Director on the Academy Board of Directors in one of two ways.

Nomination by Nominating Committee
The Nominating Committee [2], based on its experience and knowledge of the Academy, may place a member’s name on the ballot for Regular Director on the Academy Board of Directors.

As part of the deliberations of the Nominating Committee, members are invited to suggest the names of one or more Academy members (including themselves), who may be considered for nomination for Regular Directors on the Academy Board of Directors. Names may be suggested to the Nominating Committee via an online form [3] available on the Academy website or by sending an email to the Nominating Committee at nominations@actuary.org [4].

The Nominating Committee, in the interest of continuing to foster the development of new Academy leaders, will give preference to those qualified members nominated to serve as Regular Directors on the Academy Board of Directors who have not previously served a full term as a Regular Director on the Academy Board of Directors.

Nomination by Petition Process
Another avenue by which members may seek to be placed on the ballot for Regular Director on the Academy Board of Directors is through a petition process. Such members may choose to submit a nominating petition to the Nominating Committee for consideration as a candidate to stand for election for Regular Director of the Academy Board of Directors. Petition guidelines are as follows:

• All candidate petitions must be accompanied by a completed and signed Candidate Statement form.
• Only one candidate seeking nomination to stand as a candidate for Regular Director on the Academy Board of Directors may be named on a petition.
• Candidates for Regular Director on the Academy Board of Directors cannot be under investigation by the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) or any other disciplinary authority. Candidates for Regular Director on the Academy Board of Directors cannot have been publicly or privately disciplined by any actuarial organization.
• The minimum number of signatures of Academy members required for petition to be considered by Nominating Committee is 50.
• The minimum number of employers petition signers must represent for petition to be considered by Nominating Committee is five.
• All petition signers must be members of the Academy, including but not limited to dues for the current year being paid in full, as of the date of this petition.
• To be valid, this petition must be received by the Nominating Committee at the offices of the American Academy of Actuaries before 5:00 p.m. on May 31, 2011.
• For purposes of meeting the above deadline, properly executed forms may be transmitted to the Nominating Committee at the offices of the American Academy of Actuaries via mail, facsimile or email before 5:00 p.m. on May 31, 2011.
• Original signatures will be accepted on forms; facsimile or digital signatures will be accepted, subject to verification by the Academy.
• Multiple copies of this form may be executed and submitted in support of the candidacy of one Academy member.
• All fields (printed name, signature, name of employer, verification of Academy membership) must be completely and legibly completed for a petitioner’s signature to be counted toward the required 50 signatures from members representing a minimum of five employers.
• Contact information for the Nominating Committee of the American Academy of Actuaries

1850 M St. NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
FAX: 202.872.1948

Signed Candidate Statement Form: Required Document
Regardless of the manner by which a member is nominated, all candidates for nomination for each open Regular Director position on the Academy Board of Directors are required to submit a completed and signed Candidate Statement [5] form to the Nominating Committee at the offices of the American Academy of Actuaries. Candidates who seek nomination through the petition process must submit their Candidate Statement form to the Nominating Committee at the offices of the American Academy of Actuaries before 5:00 p.m. on May 31, 2011. Any and all information contained within the Candidate Statement may be shared with the Academy membership should the Nominating Committee place a candidate’s name in nomination.

Maximum Number of Candidates for Each Regular Director Position on the Ballot
Regardless of the number of names submitted to the Nominating Committee and the number of members who choose to present nominating petitions to the Nominating Committee, for each open Regular Director position on the Academy Board of Directors, the Committee shall present to the Academy membership a ballot containing no more than five candidates. Election of Regular Director may be uncontested if no one petitions to add a candidate to the ballot. In selecting the final ballot, the Nominating Committee shall be guided by the Nominating Committee Guidelines [1], while seeking to build an Academy leadership cohort balanced by:

• Specialty (casualty, health, life and pension, with elected Board members divided roughly equally between these specialties);
• Business affiliation (roughly equal representation by type of employer, such as insurance companies and consultants, with some representation from government and/or academia, if possible);
• Employer (to avoid overrepresentation from a single organization).

Regular Directors whose terms expire in 2011 are from the Life and Health practice areas. It is expected that, as provided in the Nominating Guidelines, the Nominating Committee will consider the balance of practice area representation across the entire Board in placing nominees on the ballot for Regular Director positions on the Academy Board of Directors. Toward that end, the Nominating Committee expects to compile a ballot of candidates for one open position for Regular Director that includes nominees from the health practice area (Class of 2014/Health), a second ballot of candidates that includes nominees from the life practice area (Class of 2014/Life), and a third ballot of candidates that includes nominees from any practice area (Class of 2014/Open Practice Area).

The Nominating Committee has the right to deny a position on the ballot to any candidate based on the specialty, business affiliation, and employer balance required to best represent the membership of the Academy.

In addition, the Nominating Committee has the right to deny a position on the ballot to any candidate who does not meet the qualifications as described herein.

Electronic Balloting
As a one-year trial—and in an effort to expand voting beyond those who attend the Annual Meeting—the Board of Directors has authorized the Academy to implement an electronic voting process for open Regular Director positions on the Academy Board of Directors. This trial electronic voting process will be conducted by a reputable third-party vendor experienced in such elections. This electronic voting will be open to all members for a minimum of 28 days, with results to be tabulated for announcement by the Oct. 24, 2011, date of the Annual Meeting.

Preferential Voting
In election for Regular Director on the Academy Board of Directors:

In cases in which there are two or fewer candidates for a Regular Director on the Academy Board of Directors, the candidate who secures a majority of the votes cast shall be deemed the winner of the election. On such ballots, electors will be asked to select one candidate from the two candidates listed on the ballot.

In cases in which there are three or more candidates for a Regular Director position on the Academy Board of Directors, voters will be asked to rank each of the candidates in preferential order (for example, if there are five candidates, voters will assign a #1 to their preferred candidate and a #5 to their least preferred candidate). If one of the five candidates secures a #1 vote from a majority of the votes cast, that candidate shall be deemed the winner of the election. If there is no majority winner, the lowest vote-getter shall be eliminated from the race and the (remaining) votes of each elector shall be reordered according to the stated preferential listing. The (remaining) total votes will be recalculated. If one of the remaining candidates secures a #1 vote from a majority of the (remaining) votes cast, that candidate shall be deemed the winner of the election. If there is no majority winner, the lowest vote-getter shall be eliminated from the race and the (remaining) votes of each elector shall be reordered according to the stated preferential listing. The (remaining) total votes will be recalculated. The process will continue until one candidate secures a majority of the (remaining) votes cast.

In light of the aforementioned procedures instituting nominations and electronic voting of Regular Director candidates prior to the Annual Meeting, the Academy no longer will call for nominations from the floor during the Annual Meeting. Instead, results of the elections for open positions for Regular Director on the Academy Board of Directors now will be announced at the Annual Meeting.