A veteran Bermudian reinsurer told scholarship winners they had not only been recognised by the island’s reinsurance industry, but also “entrusted”.

Speaking as the keynote speaker at the Association of Bermuda International Companies Education Awards Luncheon, Gino Smith said: “The expectation that comes with it is not perfection; it’s growth and adaptability. Make that responsibility worth inheriting.”

Mr Smith has experience spanning more than 25 years, six countries and three continents. He is an independent non-executive director of the Bermuda Monetary Authority and Nova Ltd, a technology company focused on reinsurance and insurance-linked securities.

He shared some of his own journey.

“I learnt accountability at a young age,” Mr Smith said. “I was raised by a mother in a single-parent home, with support from my father. I went through a rebellious phase. I made my share of mistakes, but I learnt from them. I kept moving forward, and I never let those mistakes define where I would finish.”

Scholarships changed his life.

“They did not just pay my tuition,” he said. “They told me that someone believed in me more than my circumstances may have suggested at the time. That is the same thing that Abic is telling you today.”

Mr Smith said in reinsurance, judgment under changing conditions is everything.

“Certainty is rare, yet decisions still have to be made,” he said. “Those who excel are not the ones who cling to a single playbook, but those who remain disciplined while continually evolving.”

Looking at Bermuda’s own evolution as a market, he was most impressed by continuity through collaboration and adaptation.

“I often think of a piece of advice I received early in my career from a senior underwriter who had already seen several of Bermuda’s market cycles,” he said.

“He told me the worst thing that a young underwriter could do was mistake a hard market for skill or attribute a soft market to failure. Market cycles will humble you either way.”

For the next generation entering international business, Mr Smith believed the real edge to have was exposure.

Bermuda is one of the few places in the world where newcomers can gain exposure to C‑suite leaders of legitimately global businesses, he stated.

“Very early on, you will find yourself sitting in meetings where decisions are being made that connect people, capital, ideas and opportunities across continents,” he said. “You will progress from listening, to questioning, to deciding.

“At first, you will mostly listen,” Mr Smith said. “Then you will ask some questions, and eventually, you will help make those decisions yourself.”

Speaking directly to the scholars, he urged them to embrace exposure, seek mentorship and learn how existing systems work.

He encouraged them to shape and improve those systems for the next generation, carrying industry knowledge and experience forward.