Kent H. Somers

B.S. Mathematics 1986

FSA, CERA, CFA, MAAA, Vice President, Appointed Actuary and Head of Financial Actuarial Department, Lincoln Financial Group

Written by: Meghan Honerlaw, M.S. candidate in Statistics

Kent H. Somers was born and raised in Indiana. As a native Hoosier, Somers played football in high school and was recruited to play in college; ultimately accepting a walk-on position at Purdue. One would not normally connect playing football and being introduced to actuarial science as a major, but that is exactly what happened for Somers. "The recruiter from Indiana State brought the actuarial profession to my attention. When I arrived at Purdue for my Senior Day, Dr. Keith Schwingendorf took the time to provide me one-on-one attention to better explain the profession to me. I was sold and switched majors that day from pre-pharmacy to mathematics with an actuarial science focus. Keith later served as the academic advisor for the Purdue Actuary Club that I co-founded during my junior year at Purdue," Somers remembers.

Kent Somers is a proud graduate of Purdue University. In 1986, Somers graduated from the Department of Mathematics with a Bachelor of Science degree. "My proudest moment was getting my diploma and seeing the joy from my parents as they were able to celebrate the culmination of their financial sacrifices to help send me to college," says Somers.

Directly after graduating from Purdue, Somers went to work for The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, which is part of a larger organization known as Lincoln Financial Group. The company provides retirement income and insurance solutions to individuals and employer groups. This is done through the sales and servicing of annuity, life insurance, and group protection products designed to meet the customers' specific needs. Somers' direct responsibilities lie in "statutory and tax valuation for all U.S. domestic insurance business, GAAP valuation for domestic life and annuity business, participation in the equity risk management for the Corporation, internal management reporting, product profitability analysis, and annual review and opining to the overall adequacy of reserves to meet customer obligations."

Somers is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst, a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder, and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He also serves on the Executive Steering Committee for the Actuarial Development program for the Lincoln Financial Group. Beyond, Somers’ incredible professional achievements, he is still a true Boilermaker; making numerous trips back to campus in the fall as a season ticket holder for football games. While football is a passion and hobby, he spends all of his time outside of work with his family. "My wife and I have three wonderful children, Kyle (16), Kira (5), and Kenna (3)." He is very involved in their school district, serving on the academic advisory council. Kent says, "They keep us very busy with their school activities and just spending quality time with them."

Kent H. Somers received the Actuarial Science Outstanding Alumni Award from Purdue University, Actuarial Science Program, which is jointly administered by the Department of Statistics and the Department of Mathematics, in 2009.

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