Maryellen Coggins Becomes President of the American Academy of Actuaries

Coggins Succeeds 2020–21 President Tom Campbell

Maryellen Coggins of Boston, Mass.,has just begun  a one-year term as president of the American Academy of Actuaries, succeeding 2020–21 Academy President Thomas Campbell to lead the national professional association of more than 19,500 members.

During the Academy’s presidential transition ceremony at the Academy’s 2021 Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum in Washington, D.C., Coggins called for a renewed commitment to service amid the many changes affecting U.S. society and the U.S. actuarial profession.

“Transformational events have happened, and are happening, at a rapid pace: presidential and congressional elections, the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, and evolving economic and technological risks. Change—including our own changing understanding of risk—is constant and places new demands on our professional work and on our work in the Academy. And the way that we meet the demands of change in the Academy is to constantly renew our dedication to the mission and assess what change means in the context of serving the public and the profession,” said Coggins.

“Change and renewal can be allies in our work,” Coggins said, adding that “when other actuaries—including younger actuaries—and those we serve through the Academy see new energy and ideas brought to the table, they will more clearly see the value of our work and the meaning of the Academy’s mission.”

Coggins previously served as a member of the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) for six years, including serving as chairperson in 2016–17, and as the Academy’s vice president, risk management and financial reporting, from 2011 to 2013. She is a managing director, risk and capital management services, at PwC in Boston.