The BDA has appointed Greg Wojciechowski to our Board of Directors. Wojciechowski has served as President and CEO of the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) for the past 15 years, driving the development of Bermuda's domestic capital market and attracting global capital market support. A Bermudian, he serves as Chairman of Bermuda's Financial Intelligence Agency and ILS Bermuda, and sits on the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE).

Business Development Manager Kevin Richards has joined the Board of the Bermuda International Shipping Association (BISA). The industry group works to promote Bermuda as a global shipping jurisdiction and provide support in the form of scholarships and mentoring for Bermudian students interested in maritime careers. Richards works closely with industry stakeholders, including BISA, to reinvigorate the island's shipping sector.

Bermudian anthropologist Dr Philippe Rouja will be the keynote speaker at this year's Bermuda Captive Conference (BCC) on Tuesday, September 12. Rouja, an accomplished marine heritage researcher and Principal Scientist for the Bermuda government, will speak about the island's world-renowned necklace of shipwrecks. The BCC, an annual three-day event held at the Fairmont Southampton, moved from June to the fall this year due to the America's Cup. It attracts over 800 delegates, more than half from the US, Canada, Latin America, and UK.

BDA will host a one-day forum in London this fall highlighting the world-class expertise of several Bermuda industry sectors. Local experts from the asset management, trust & private client, re/insurance, captives and insurance-linked securities fields will highlight the Bermuda market's innovation during five informative sessions at the November 28 event. The forum, at Covent Garden's ME London Hotel, will feature Hiscox Non-Executive Chairman Robert Childs as keynote speaker and will wrap with a networking reception.

Technology hub at Ariel Sands

Hub Culture is inviting visitors to drop by its new " Innovation Campus" at Ariel Sands, Devonshire. The company, which promotes pop-up-style collaborations highlighting cutting-edge technology around the world, has set up a sustainable, mobile village on the former hotel site. It comprises a bar-kitchen, lounge and pavilions promoting discussion and hands-on experimentation with virtual reality, blockchain, fintech, and artificial intelligence. Hub Culture's Stan Stalnaker said he chose Bermuda because of the America's Cup and the island's reputation as a multi-industry finance centre. All events and activities, running through August, are payable with "Ven," a digital currency accessed via Hub Culture's downloadable app.

The global Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) Society has selected a Bermuda resident as its 2017 international ambassador. Rachael Afford, vice president of specialty reinsurance for Allied World Assurance Company, will represent international members at the organisation's annual meeting September 16 to 19 in Orlando, Florida. The 22,000-member Society comprises credentialed insurance professionals who promote excellence through ethical behaviour and continuing education.

BDA's Deshay Caines and consultant John Narraway explored business opportunities at the annual Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto. Also attending were members of Bermuda-based film company Wishing Step Pictures. BDA sponsored a reception at the event, which draws producers, filmmakers, distributors and investors. Hot Doc s is North America's largest documentary film festival, conference and market.

BDA's Kevin Richards and Lynesha Lightbourne, along with Conyers, met with members of the global ship-finance community during the 30th-anniversary Marine Money Week in New York this month. The world's largest ship-finance conference attracts more than 1,000 leading ship owners, private and public-equity investors, and commercial and investment bankers. Bermuda's shipping registry is a Category 1 member of the prestigious Red Ensign Group (REG). 

BDA's Lynesha Lightbourne led a team of industry professionals to the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Summit in Miami. She was joined by Jonathan Dunlop and James Stooke (Butterfield Trust), Kim White (CHW), and Freya Giffen (Conyers). The STEP event brought together trust industry leaders to network and discuss issues and trends around private-client planning. Topics ranged from compliance and changing global regulatory requirements to the wealth needs of emerging generations.

Three BDA interns are learning the ropes of Bermuda's international business sector this summer. University students Zharia Rollins, Leah Amaral and Jason Gonsalves are getting to know various industry sectors, as well as key departments within the BDA, including business development, communications and marketing, conferences and events, and our finance office.

Two BDA team members have become " Certified Tourism Ambassadors." Colleagues Kevin Richards and Lynesha Lightbourne took the course which teaches tidbits of local history, culture, sightseeing attractions and island facts and figures. The course is offered to local stakeholders by the Bermuda Hospitality Institute on behalf of Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA).