CIA Legacy Awards

Kit’s journey with the CIA began in 1967, when he first achieved his Fellowship. As was quite common at the time, his first volunteer role was with the Younger Actuaries Committee, which he embraced as an opportunity to contribute to the profession, something he saw great value in.

As Kit gained experience, he took on roles of increasing responsibility. He honed his negotiation and public speaking skills, and put these to good use in planning and MCing the CIA annual meeting keynoted by Royal Canadian Air Farce member Don Ferguson and leading the committee that organized the CIA’s 25th anniversary meeting keynoted by David Suzuki.

Kit eventually became President of the CIA. During his tenure, he supported initiatives to ensure a strong profession, promoting the role of actuaries with great enthusiasm and pride. Kit led by example, emphasizing that volunteering should be fun and an opportunity to build comradery. One such example is his participation in a CIA Board pumpkin growing contest, which he won with a mammoth, 166-pound pumpkin.

While it’s nice to reflect on the lighter side of Kit’s achievements, his impact on the quality of life of Canada’s seniors must be highlighted. With the same energy that he put into climbing Alaska’s Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley), Kit led two task forces focused on the future of the CPP/QPP. He and the task force members attended many meetings and negotiations, including presenting to a parliamentary committee, to make recommendations that would improve the long-term viability of the pension programs, many of which were adopted.

Dave became an FCIA in 1979, shortly after completing his degree at the University of Waterloo. Spending his entire career with a midsize international financial company, Dave took on opportunities to grow through the challenges of a variety of different roles, one of which was being responsible for products worldwide.

As with most volunteer journeys, Dave’s is unique. He has completed 32 terms of service with the CIA in just 26 years. Of those terms, one third has been in leadership positions. Throughout his varied terms of service, Dave has developed a reputation for seeking the best and brightest to work alongside him, never hesitating to reach out to someone new to discuss an opportunity.

A strong proponent of identifying goals, determining a pathway and welcoming difficult projects, Dave has taken on many challenges with the CIA. As Chair of the Research Council, formerly the Research Committee, Dave identified opportunities to better coordinate research projects, which vastly increased the CIA’s research outputs. During his time as CIA President, he negotiated an education agreement with the Society of Actuaries that ensured the needs of Canadian actuaries were being met. The year following, Dave stepped up to chair the Customer Relationship Management Steering Committee, a huge undertaking, to integrate new technology in the CIA’s member management systems.

While his career and volunteer involvement have afforded him opportunities to build a network of friends and peers, Dave always advocates that family should be life’s priority. He is a very proud husband, father and grandfather, and enjoys family experiences like travel, spending time together at his Huntsville condo and gathering over delicious meals.

Jacques achieved his FCIA in 1992 and has been an unstoppable force since. Having completed more than 30 terms of service with the CIA, Jacques is known to move through life with a contagious eagerness. Whether discussing his love for the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Argos, his pride for his Limoilou roots, the successes of his wife Theresa and their three children or the many benefits of being involved in his profession, he does so in a way that is from the heart.

Jacques has been involved in almost every facet of the CIA including education, international affairs, guidance, governance, public affairs and profession oversight. He’s led high-profile initiatives like the former Blue Ribbon Task Force on Public Statements and in 2015 served as CIA President. That year he also marked the CIA’s 50th anniversary by opening the annual conference with his famous “I am a Canadian actuary” rant which is still viewed on YouTube to this day.

A kind-hearted man willing to humbly pass on to others his knowledge and know-how, Jacques never turns down an opportunity to encourage professional growth and promote the value of learning from one another. He also seizes the moments where he can highlight the accomplishments of those around him through small acts of kindness and large gestures. A prime example of this is his rejuvenation of the President’s Award in 2016, honoring five members of the CIA who contributed to exceptional achievements in the actuarial realm.

Jacques embodied the CIA’s vision of financial security for all Canadians by speaking directly to the public on news programs, sharing the impact that retirement age has on Canadian pension plan income. He continues to promote our vision through his involvement with profession oversight, participating in the development of standards and now chairing the Tribunal Panel.

James (Jim) Brierley has been a CIA volunteer since the very early years of his actuarial career, a career spent entirely with Munich Re, moving through the ranks from actuarial student to President of the Canadian and Caribbean Operations and Chairman of the Board of their US subsidiary.

Jim was encouraged by his employer to leverage volunteer opportunities to develop relationships with future decision makers very early in his career. Joining the CIA’s Younger Actuaries Committee was his first foray into the work of the CIA and an experience that sparked his passion for and long-term interest in supporting the profession.

Over his 31 years of involvement as a CIA volunteer, Jim gained a reputation as a change maker. He impacted liability reporting requirements for actuaries in Canada and advocated for a larger and more meaningful role for actuaries. He also represented the CIA in NAFTA discussions, addressing the ability of actuaries to practice in other NAFTA countries. It was during these discussions that he had the unique opportunity, as a guest of the Mexican government, to tour Chichen Itza and learn about the site from the passionate head archeologist.

In addition to the inroads he made in improving financial reporting, Jim also used his influence as CIA President to convince the Superintendent of Insurance to accept Canadian GAAP for statutory reporting, allowing actuaries to avoid the situation of trying to explain why two different values each represented the actuarial liabilities.

Whether it’s family, work, volunteering or his golf game, he gives every pursuit his all and makes meaningful friendships along the way.

An accomplished consulting actuary, Nancy dedicated about 30 years to the actuarial profession. Though most of her career was focused on pension practice, she also enjoyed working on workers’ compensation and post-employment benefit plans.

Shortly after achieving Fellowship with the CIA, Nancy accepted an invitation to join the Pension Plan Financial Reporting Committee, seeing it as an opportunity to contribute her perspective and to influence the results of the committee’s work. It wasn’t long after joining this group that Nancy was invited to get involved with the CIA Elections Committee, then the Committee on Human Rights, then the Committee on Workers’ Compensation, and the list continues from there.

Nancy’s varied volunteer experiences reflect the openness and positive energy she brings to everything she does. She’s highly regarded for her keen ability to navigate the balance between sharing and listening to ideas, and for genuinely appreciating a wide range of perspectives. These leadership skills made her the perfect chair for a committee to rewrite the Standards of Practice relating to actuarial evidence standards, despite it being outside her direct practice area. Together with her ability to take a step back and balance various considerations, they also enabled her to thrive in the role of Tribunal Panel member.

Nancy, likely unknowingly, is a trailblazer. The year she completed her first term of service, she was one of only 25 women volunteering for the CIA. As Nancy grew professionally, she became a mentor for women entering the actuarial arena, setting an example for young actuaries to model themselves after. It is fitting that Nancy is the first woman to be added to the CIA Legacy Tree.