ALL ABOUT JOHN

John Buchanan spent more than 40 years working as an actuary based in New York City and New Jersey, earning the designation of Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS), one of the highest professional credentials in the property and casualty insurance industry.  He spent much of his career bringing together many different actuarial, underwriting, and educational professionals from around the world, winning prestigious honors in the US, UK and Germany setting various industry standards.

Throughout his career, he was also deeply committed to education, mentorship, and professional development. He led educational initiatives for more than two decades across several areas of the profession, helping to develop and deliver training programs for both students and practicing actuaries. Among his many contributions, he helped launch one of the first boot camps for college students interested in reinsurance, an effort that earned him the industry's Above and Beyond Award.

John also founded the American Academy of Actuaries Climate Change Subcommittee for Student Outreach, which sought to engage younger audiences on climate-related risk issues. One byproduct was the Franklin Climate Change short film released in 2010, supported by organizations including NOAA, NASA, the UK Met Office, Globe.gov, Google-UK and ACRE Australia. The film was used in various college high school and college settings to interest students in analyzing climate change from historical records back through Ben Franklin's time, and was submitted to the Sundance Film Festival under the environmental category.

In recognition of his longstanding service to the actuarial profession, John received the Rodermund Award in 2020 for lifetime contributions to actuarial education and professional service.

Now retired, John enjoys spending more time pursuing his longtime interests in education, filmmaking, dancing, and travel. Throughout his life, he has valued the balance between analytical thinking and creative expression, and he continues to explore both in this new chapter.