Dale Hall is an investment actuary with Westfield Companies, a small insurance company in Westfield Center, Ohio, about 60 miles southwest of Cleveland. "I work in the Investment Department and oversee our company's asset/liability management processes," Dale explains. "I have the responsibility of reviewing what types of liabilities (insurance policies) we are selling and making sure the assets we purchase are the right kinds to back the liabilities."

Dale has been with Westfield since 1993. He spent the first 3 years in Westfield's life insurance company and eventually became the Assistant Life Actuary. He then moved into the investment department. "Our overall operations are on the smaller side when compared to other insurance organizations", he explains. "There are about 2200 employees in total; 1500 work here in Westfield Center, and the rest are scattered through out the midwest and south in local service offices. I interned at Westfield while in college and, when I graduated, I was fortunate that they were planning to add to staff in the life actuarial department."

"Mathematics plays a definite role in the work I do. In order to come up with asset/liability management strategies, a large amount of actuarial science is involved, especially interest theory, life contingencies, and forecasting. A lot of the software I use requires a good understanding of mathematics and actuarial science. Even on the asset side, mathematics is important. Wall Street gets more and more dependent on numerical analysis, algorithms and computers every day. In order to fully understand complex securities, a good grasp of the mathematics of assets is needed."

Dale has a B.S. in Mathematics from John Carroll University. Since graduating he has completed numerous actuarial exams and is working towards Fellowship in the Society of Actuaries. He has completed the exams required to become an Associate of the Society, and is also a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries and a Fellow of the Life Management Institute. "I had never heard of the actuarial profession until I was a freshman in college," he recalls. "It seemed like a interesting blend between mathematics and business. I interned at Westfield, enjoyed my experience, and started taking a few of the actuarial exams. I believe that people at our company view actuaries as strong resources. They know it takes an intelligent and creative person to pass the exams and know that those skills cross over well into the business we run."

There are a number of courses he has found helpful: Statistics, probability, operations research, numerical analysis, and even some "non-math" courses are good. He suggests looking into finance and economics department options too like econometrics interest theory, and financial planning.

Finally, he cautions that "mathematics alone doesn't cut it. You need to develop interpersonal skills. I have had to really work at my communication skills over time. I am finally to the point now where I feel confident in front of others when I am presenting information or research. Take as many public speaking, writing, and conversation courses as you can fit in."

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