Maurice Conti
Maurice Conti is among the architects of the cutting-edge emerging technologies that are evolving humanity and the world around us: Artificial Intelligence, immersive reality (AR/VR/XR), advanced robotics and manufacturing, and technology for sustainability. He is a rare blend of hands–on practitioner and big thinker.
He is a sought-after and trusted advisor to the leadership teams of global companies, including Amazon Web Services, Lululemon, Mercedes AMG, NielsenIQ, Ralph Lauren, and Blackline Systems, on how to think about and deploy AI for the benefit of people and business. Working at the intersection of disruptive innovation, emerging technologies, and the future of work, cities, mobility, and climate, Conti is a vocal champion for the creation of technologies whose foundations are rooted in positive, human-centered purpose.
Conti takes audiences on a provocative and illuminating deep dive into how technology is changing the ways we live, work, and conduct business. He offers future-focused insights and actionable strategies to help organizations across industries understand what’s coming in the future, why it matters for them, and how to prepare for, and thrive, in this unprecedented era of disruption and transformation. More than 12 million people have watched his popular TED talks, and his engaging speaking style, deep subject-matter expertise, and relatable insights are based on decades of work “in the trenches” with leading brands, including Nike, Tesla, Disney, Amazon, Airbus, and Ford.
Previously, Conti served as the chief innovation officer at Alpha, a long-term innovation organization created by Telefonica to conceptualize and carry out breakthrough moonshot projects. Before that, he was the director of applied research and innovation at Autodesk, where he led new product ideation, prototyping, and development. Among his expansive portfolio of innovative impact, he and his teams built and improved upon various AI, robotics, and fully immersive virtual reality products, and he also owns various patents in these areas. His teams also developed moonshots in clean energy, education, sustainability, food, and cybernetics. Conti’s outstanding track record for building unusually diverse, high-performing, risk-taking teams and leading them to impactful, large-scale results precedes him. He focuses on fostering a culture of trust, daring, and pride in exceptional performance — an approach he has fine-tuned from his experiences working in design teams and collaborating with global organizations on pushing successful disruptive innovation projects to reality.
In addition to his standing at the forefront of tech and innovation, Conti is an explorer of geographies and cultures. He has sailed around the globe once and has been halfway around twice. In 2009, he was awarded the Medal for Exceptional Bravery at Sea by the United Nations, the New Zealand Bravery Medal, and a U.S. Coast Guard Citation for Bravery for risking his own life to save three shipwrecked sailors.
With visions of a world where humans and machines are empowered to work together to solve business and society’s most pressing challenges, Conti continues to help organizations bring to life a positive, successful, and sustainable future.
The Hon. E. David Burt, JP, MP
Premier of Bermuda
Premier the Hon. E. David Burt, JP, MP, is Bermuda’s youngest Premier. He is a graduate of The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a double major in Finance and Information Systems.
He was awarded The George Washington University Presidential Administrative Fellowship and received his Masters of Science degree in Information Systems Development in 2003. Mr. Burt attained a Project Management Professional certification in 2009. He is also a licensed private pilot.
An entrepreneur, Premier Burt started GMD Consulting Limited, an IT consulting company focusing on project management. He served as President since its inception until 2016 when he stepped down upon being appointed Leader of the Opposition. Premier Burt co-founded HITCH Limited and was the lead developer for the award-winning HITCH Mobile App enabling Bermuda residents to hail taxis.
In the past, Premier Burt has served on the Tourism Board, National Training Board, as a Director of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, and has been a Director of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation.
Mr. Burt is also active in local and international public service and community organizations. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, the Western Stars Sports Club, and the Devonshire Recreation Club.
Premier Burt and his wife Kristin have two children, Nia and Edward.
Mike Downing
Co-President of Athene USA and Chief Operating Officer, Athene Holding Partner, Apollo Global Management
Mike Downing is Co-President of Athene USA and Chief Operating Officer of Athene Holding. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations including maintaining the company's cost structure advantage, unlocking demand for annuities by improving customer experience, and leading industry adoption of the Insured Retirement Institute's Digital First initiative.
After joining Athene in 2015, Mike served as Executive Vice President and Chief Actuary, where he oversaw the traditional financial reporting functions, along with product development, inforce management, and product pricing across all key business channels. He was elevated to Chief Operating Officer in 2022 and led many initiatives to make retail annuities easier to understand and use.
Before joining Athene, Mike held senior executive roles at The Allstate Corporation. Previously, he was Senior Partner at Aon Hewitt, leading the International Consulting practice following assignments in the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
Mike holds a B.A. degree in mathematics from Gustavus Adolphus College. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, and he currently serves on the boards of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, ChildServe, the Federation of Iowa Insurers and the Insured Retirement Institute.
Darryl Herrick
Head of Reinsurance; President of Global Atlantic Re
Darryl is Head of the Reinsurance business at Global Atlantic, where he is responsible for helping to lead the Institutional Markets business across multiple key segments including Block and Flow reinsurance. Darryl is also responsible for expanding and broadening Global Atlantic’s institutional client base among the Top- 50 L&A insurance companies in the U.S., as well as with our partners globally. Darryl also helps to oversee the development of our Bermuda office and collaborating with key government, regulatory and industry relationships on the island. Prior to Global Atlantic, he worked as a Partner with C12 Capital Management, a Director at Barclays Capital and Vice President at Goldman Sachs.
Jacqueline King
Director, Conyers Dill and Pearman
Jacqueline King is a Director in the Bermuda corporate practice of Conyers Dill & Pearman. She joined Conyers in 2012 and her practice includes all aspects of corporate law, with a particular focus on insurance law and regulation.
Jacqueline has significant experience with advising Bermuda (re)insurance companies and Bermuda based insurance groups, having focused almost entirely on (re)insurance transactional and regulatory matters for the last ten years. She is a leading practitioner in the field of Bermuda insurance law, with a strong following of loyal clients. Her practice covers both transactional and regulatory matters, with notable experience counselling on the formation and licensing of new insurance entities as well as with their ongoing regulation.
Scott Silverman
General Counsel, Mergers & Acquisitions, Reinsurance and Managing Director, Prosperity Services Ltd., and Prosperity Life Assurance Limited (Bermuda)
Scott Silverman is General Counsel, Mergers & Acquisitions, Reinsurance and Managing Director, Prosperity Services Ltd, and Prosperity Life Assurance Limited (Bermuda). He joined Prosperity in July 2019 and has over 35 years of experience in legal, regulatory, insurance M&A, and business roles. Previously, Scott was General Counsel and Secretary of Global Atlantic Re, Vice President of the Goldman Sachs Reinsurance Group, and former Of Counsel of the Eversheds Sutherland law firm.
Gerald Gakundi
Deputy Managing Director - Supervision
Bermuda Monetary Authority
As Deputy Managing Director and Head of Insurance and Investment Funds at the Bermuda Monetary Authority (Authority or BMA), Gerald Gakundi is a member of the BMA’s Senior Leadership Team, contributing to the development and implementation of the Authority’s strategies and policies, with a specific focus on leading the teams supervising all (re)insurance and investment funds licensed entities.
Mr Gakundi has over 25 years of experience working in the insurance industry, including 18 of those in Bermuda. Mr Gakundi joined the Authority in 2010 as Assistant Director, Supervision (Insurance). He has extensive knowledge of Bermuda’s insurance regulatory environment which has allowed him to be an active contributor in the BMA’s international engagement efforts, including leading dialogue with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and numerous other insurance regulatory authorities. Over the years, he has also assisted in developing and implementing the Authority’s long and medium-term insurance supervision strategy and policy.
Prior to joining the Authority, Mr Gakundi worked as a Senior Audit Manager at Ernst & Young Ltd. Bermuda.
George Alayon
Deputy Director, Supervision (FinTech)
Bermuda Monetary Authority
As Deputy Director, Supervision (FinTech) at the Bermuda Monetary Authority (Authority or BMA), George directs and manages Supervisory teams and individuals to meet the goals and objectives of the FinTech Department. In his current role, he leads a team that develops and implements tools, capabilities and technologies to support the supervisory activities of the FinTech Department. His team also provides oversight to the Authority’s regulatory sandbox and innovation hub.
Currently, Mr Alayon sits at both the Insurance and FinTech Assessment and Licensing Committees to review and approve licensing applications for InsurTech and FinTech sectors. He also represents the Authority in relevant international cooperation forums and has spoken in conferences and other public events on various topics such as financial services innovation, cyber risk, artificial intelligence and operational resilience. Mr Alayon provides advice, guidance and direction on all relevant matters pertaining to the Authority’s legislative and regulatory framework for FinTech and InsurTech sector, and makes strategic recommendations to the Chief FinTech Officer and Executive Management. He also leads various strategic initiatives with the aim of cascading innovation and creating efficiencies across the Authority.
Mr Alayon joined the Authority in 2015 and was responsible for supervising Groups and Large Commercial Insurers for four years in the Insurance Department before moving to the FinTech Department. Prior to joining the Authority, Mr Alayon served as Assistant Vice President and Senior Account Manager at CTC Insurance Management (Bermuda), and before that, as a Senior Portfolio Accountant at Caceis (Bermuda) Limited. Before coming to Bermuda, George served as Audit In-charge at Ernst and Young Philippines.
Mr Alayon is a Certified Public Accountant (Philippines and Bermuda) and a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter. In addition, he holds designations and certifications in various disciplines, including cyber risk management, cybersecurity standards, internal audit, AML and sanctions compliance, emerging areas such as insurance data analytics, blockchain/distributed ledger technology and other related applications, smart contract programming, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and various RegTech and SupTech applications.
Benjamin E. Kralstein
Partner, Mayer Brown
Ben Kralstein is a partner in Mayer Brown’s Corporate & Securities practice and a member of the Global Insurance Industry Group. With over 12 years of experience, his practice focuses on advising US and non-US insurers, reinsurers, insurance markets, agents, brokers, managing general agents, reinsurance intermediaries, investors and financial institutions in a broad range of transactional and regulatory matters in the insurance and reinsurance industry. Ben has extensive experience in advising clients on domestic and cross-border reinsurance transactions and related collateral arrangements, sidecar transactions, pension risk transfer transactions, mergers and acquisitions, structured finance solutions, insurance securitizations and capital markets transactions. Ben’s work has put him in the spotlight by Chambers USA — most recently ranked as an “Up and Coming” attorney (2024 - 2025) and previously ranked as an “Associate to Watch” (2021 - 2023) — with clients praising Ben for his contract drafting and responsiveness and noting he “will work tirelessly to meet client needs.”
