Peter Neuwirth has been an actuary for over thirty-five years, and after decades of having been asked too many times the question “What is an actuary exactly?” he has decided to go beyond answering that question to answer another—“How does an actuary think and why does it matter?”

Peter began his career after graduating from Harvard College in 1979 with a degree in mathematics and linguistics. After spending his first two years at Connecticut General Life Insurance (now CIGNA), he spent the next thirty-three in the consulting world, holding significant leadership positions at a variety of firms around the country, including most of the major consulting firms (Aon, Hewitt Associates, Watson Wyatt, Towers Perrin, and now Towers Watson) as well as spending five years as chief actuary at a regional benefits consulting firm (Godwins), seven years running a small actuarial firm (Coates Kenney), and one year in a large accounting firm (Price Waterhouse). He is currently a senior consultant at Towers Watson, serving as one of the firm’s thought leaders and national experts in the area of financing nonqualified executive retirement plans.

Peter has consulted with dozens of the largest corporations in the world and worked closely with many European based multinational corporations during the crash of 2008–2009, getting the unique opportunity to view the unfolding of the global financial crisis from the perspective of an American actuary doing business in Europe. This experience among many others in his career has provided him with a deep practical understanding of three of the fundamental concepts (time, risk, money) that shape our world. Many of those insights are shared in this book.

While this is his first book, Peter’s work is well known in actuarial circles. He is a frequent speaker at professional conferences and has been quoted in both the mainstream and industry press on actuarial matters. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary under ERISA, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries.

With a reputation among his peers as being a creative, knowledgeable, and experienced actuary with a penchant for both problem solving and thinking “outside of the box,” Peter is also a storyteller who believes that the story of the actuarial perspective is one that needs to be told.

Pete lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and son. You can visit his website at www.peterneuwirth.com.