Originally scheduled as an in-person meeting, the CAS Board quickly pivoted in light of growing travel restrictions to gather virtually on March 17 and continue our work on the strategic priorities of the CAS. Before I summarize the highlights from our meeting, I wanted to acknowledge and compliment the nimbleness of the CAS staff, Board, and Executive Council in quickly shifting to an online meeting environment. Between the screen sharing, online chat for Q&A, and engaging discussion, it didn’t feel much different from our regular meetings. This was due in no small part to the leadership and facilitation of our Board Chair, Jim Christie. Maybe next time we’ll all turn on our web cams too!
As we’ve explained in past blog posts summarizing our Board meetings, we publish these to help our stakeholders understand the role of the Board and the strategic issues the Board is addressing. As you review the highlights, if you have a reaction or suggestion for the Board to consider, please leave a comment below or feel free to contact me directly.
The March Board meeting began with a report from Victor Carter-Bey, our recently appointed CEO. Victor’s report was originally intended to focus solely on his goals and themes for the coming year, but discussion quickly turned to Victor’s overview of COVID-19 impacts on CAS operations, which he summarized in an update for all members that you can find on the CAS website. The Board was fully engaged in considering how the novel coronavirus is affecting CAS activities and finances, and what future decisions we may need to carry out as the pandemic continues.
While COVID-19 was top-of-mind, the CAS Board continued its on-going discussions on the long-term strategic direction of the CAS, focused on three areas:
- CAS International Strategy
Kendra Felisky, VP-International, presented a proposal for the CAS’s International Strategy to the Board. The proposal outlined strategic recommendations for where the CAS should concentrate time and resources internationally over the next three to five years. The Board was supportive of the proposal, and Kendra will be proceed with a prioritization of the tactics identified to implement the strategy. - Admissions Roadmap: 2020 – 2023
Wes Griffiths, CAS Admissions Actuary, provided an update to the Board on the development of a multi-year roadmap for the admissions and education function of the CAS. The roadmap is intended to help CAS stakeholders (like those of you reading this blog post) to better understand the longer-term goals for evolving the CAS admissions program and allow you to more effectively anticipate and plan for changes that will occur. Wes provided an overview of the strategic highlights of the initial draft roadmap and 2023 CAS Syllabus, and got a lot of feedback from the Board. The admissions team will be refining the roadmap based on the Board discussion and bringing forward an update for discussion at the May Board meeting. We’re looking forward to communicating the roadmap with stakeholders later in 2020.
- CAS Envisioned Future
We also discussed the development of the CAS’s envisioned future, which is the first step in developing a new iteration of the CAS Strategic Plan. We heard a report on the status of the market research project that will inform the Board’s deliberations on our future direction as an organization, as the Board prepares to introduce a revised Strategic Plan in 2020.
Again, we welcome your feedback in the comment section below, or I’m only an email away!
