In a little over a month’s time, we are excited to be hosting our first IFoA conference in the Middle East. The conference is the result of months of careful planning by our local member-led programming committee and is part of our long-term commitment to developing the actuarial profession across the Middle East. We believe this will be an exceptional event for actuaries in the region which will showcase the IFoA’s reach into more practice areas than any other global actuarial body.
In response to member feedback across the region, the conference will be taking part in two locations to enable as many members as possible to attend. The event will begin in Riyadh between 11 and 12 May, before moving to Dubai between 15 and 16 May. We hope throughout the course of the conference to learn from Arab actuaries as well as expats currently working in the region.
Encouraging more people to train as actuaries in the Middle East is an important objective for our event and so the Riyadh leg of the conference will begin on the 11 May with a free event for students who are studying, or considering studying, for an actuarial qualification. These students will have the opportunity to learn from qualified members in the region, ask questions about the actuarial profession, and learn how the IFoA equips actuaries with the transferable skills needed to become leaders in many fields such as life insurance, pensions, general insurance, health, investment and many more.
The second day of the Riyadh event will open with a keynote address. This will be followed by a CEO panel moderated by Mr. Safder Jaffer, Managing Director and Principal, Milliman; and featuring Mr. Mesheal Alshayea, CEO, Gulf Union; Mr. Umar Al Mahmoud, CEO, Medgulf; Mr. Johnson Varughese, CEO, Walaa; Mr. Anuj Agarwal, CEO, Allianz Saudi Fransi; Mr. Ahmad Al-Qarishi, Chief Underwriting Officer, Saudi Re; and Mr. Ehab Al-Atassi, Executive Director, National Casemix Center of Excellence. This will be closely followed by a Head of Actuarial Function panel moderated by Mr. Samih Geha, Chief Actuarial Officer, Nitaq, who will explore the opportunities and challenges in the profession with an esteemed panel that includes Mr. Nasser Aljudayi, Director of Actuarial & Analytics, Bupa Arabia; Mr. Khurram Amin, VP Actuarial, Al Rajhi Takaful; and Mr. Tarek Alameh, Senior Executive Director Actuarial, Tawuniya. The rest of the day will include a range of informative presentations and panel discussions.
The conference will then move to Dubai which will open with a new qualifier and volunteer recognition ceremony. The event will include another CEO panel moderated by Mr. Omer Morshed, CEO, SHMA; and featuring Mr. Walter Jopp, CEO, Salma; Mr. Mohamed Seghir, CEO, Hayah and Mr. Owais Ansari, CEO, Munich Re MENA Pakistan and Takaful. The Head of Actuarial Function panel will be moderated by Mr. Priyank Gupta, Principal and Consulting Actuary, Lux; and followed by a regulatory panel featuring, Mr. Hany Helmy, Senior Manager, Insurance Supervision, DFSA and Mr. Jaffar Iqbal, Associate Director & Actuary - Insurance Supervision, QFCRA. The rest of the event will include presentations and panels that cover a wide range of topics including pricing, pensions, banking, and climate change.
As a sign of our commitment to developing the profession in the region both the President and President Elect, along with the interim CEO will be attending the event to meet with members and share our plans for the future. We very much hope you will be able to join us in either Riyadh or Dubai.
Yours sincerely
Kalpana Shah, President | Kartina Tahir Thomson, President Elect | Ben Kemp, Interim CEO
Follow the links below to find out more and secure your place.