The Bermuda Business Development Agency’s New York City executive forum, which concluded Wednesday, enabled the Bermuda team to engage in numerous business development meetings with potential New York City prospects, David Hart, the BDA CEO said today.

He added: “Across three days, we were able to engage in numerous business development meetings with potential New York City prospects.

“The Bermuda delegation also met with several influential global media outlets, including Bloomberg, The Financial Times; The Wall Street Journal; and Business Insurance. ”The BDA will continue to travel overseas to tell the Bermuda story in important markets to promote and protect sustainable and equitable economic growth, greater diversification and prosperity in Bermuda.”

The big city executive forum was Bermuda’s first since 2019.

The team included Jason Hayward, Minister of Economy and Labour, who commented: “It is imperative for Bermuda’s continued growth that the government of Bermuda and its partners communicate Bermuda’s value proposition to international stakeholders.

“Bermuda is the premier jurisdiction to foster innovative international business ideas from inception to market. This forum continued the efforts of the BDA’s climate risk roadshows in NYC in late 2021 to strengthen relationships with leading global capital allocators and familiarise industry leaders with Bermuda’s unique advantages.”

Also on the mission were BDA chair, Stephen Weinstein and Bermuda Monetary Authority CEO, Craig Swan.

The BDA will follow up its NYC event with an at-capacity Bermuda Climate Summit on May 23-24. Click here to learn more about the BDA.

The just finished event included representatives from a number of companies and industry organisations, including the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, the Association of Bermuda International Companies, the Bermuda International Long-Term Insurers and Reinsurers, the Alternative Investment Management Association Bermuda, the Bermuda Bankers Association and NEXT Bermuda.

The BDA said over 200 friends of Bermuda and potential partners gathered at Convene, One Liberty Plaza, located in the heart of New York City’s financial district for the forum.

The forum began with a series of thought leadership breakout sessions focusing on technology, high net worth services and asset management, including a blue-chip breakout session called ‘Climate and Natural Disaster Resiliency’.

Moderated by Stephen Weinstein, panellists included: Benoit Allehaut, Managing Director, KKR Infrastructure (Energy Transition); Abhisheik Dhawan, Sustainable Finance & Partnership Specialist/Corporate Lead of Climate Change, United Nations Capital Developments Fund (UNCDF); Peter Giacone, Senior Managing Director, KBRA; and Arianne West, Co-Founder, COO and Head of Structured Finance, Re2 Capital.

Another panel focused on innovation in Bermuda. Moderated by Lauren Berry, Managing Editor, Deputy NYC bureau chief, Bloomberg News, panellists included Stephen Weinstein; Fiona Beck, BDA board member; Brian Dusek, Head of Americas, Cyber, Mosaic; Joe Ziolkowski, CEO and co-founder, Relm; and James Robinson, co-founder and CTO, Cactus.