Meet Ken Kent: Vice President for the Council on Professionalism

Ken Kent, MAAA, EA, FCA, FSA
Vice President, Council on Professionalism

Ken Kent, principal consulting actuary with Cheiron Inc. in McLean, Va., is the new vice president for the Academy’s Council on Professionalism. The council coordinates the Academy’s activities in the field of professionalism, including maintaining the Code of Professional Conduct and Qualification Standards and representing the U.S. profession to policymakers.

Kent is a long-time Academy volunteer involved with both pension and professionalism issues. He is currently a member of the Academy's Council on Professionalism and is the chairperson of the Joint Committee on the Code of Professional Conduct. He also served on the Academy's board of directors as a special director in 2001 and 2002 and as the vice president of the Academy's Pension Practice Council in 2004 and 2005. Kent served as a member of the Critical Review of the U.S. Actuarial Profession (CRUSAP) Task Force and as a member of the Academy's Public Plans Practices Task Force. He also is the former chairperson of the Academy's Public Plans Subcommittee.

Personal statement:
I am continuously interested in the promotion of the profession and enjoy serving as a volunteer for the Academy. I wish to continue to share ideas and provide ways the organization can serve the profession and the public.

What I believe are the most important issues facing the American Academy of Actuaries
Increasing the profession's relevance, both perceived and in real terms, by enhancing our contribution to society through the opportunities we have in providing concrete and unbiased information and professional and measured opinions to decision makers.

I believe this can be achieved, even when our profession, made up of intelligent individuals, often has diverse opinions on the same issue, which preclude our ability to achieve consensus positions. By bringing that diversity of our professional viewpoints to the public in ways that can be understood and absorbed, the actuarial profession can provide an important society service through the education of why risk taking is important and the opportunities risk pooling can provide to enhance our lives.