Mosaic Insurance co-chief executive officer Mitch Blaser and the specialty insurer’s global head of cyber Yosha DeLong led expert panels at an inaugural forum of US government and industry cybersecurity leaders hosted by George Washington University.

Mosaic was a sponsor of the one-day GW Business & Policy Forum, “Attacking Cyber Security Risks,” held at the university’s Jack Morton Auditorium in Washington.

The event attracted more than 700 registrants and 28 expert speakers.

Participants included US senator Mark Warner of Virginia; Valerie Cofield of the US Department of Homeland Security; Google’s global affairs president Kent Walker; Verizon chairman and sing Hans Vestberg; Deloitte consulting chairman and CEO Dan Helfrich; David Sanger, White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times, and representatives from Aon, Blackstone, Microsoft, and the US Department of Defence, among other organisations.

Panel discussions explored trending cybersecurity topics, from digital ecosystems and data access and privacy, to the latest on ChatGPT and other forms of generative artificial intelligence.

“This confluence of industry, government, and academia is going to be vital in seizing opportunities and generating solutions for challenges in cybersecurity,” said Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

“We are grateful for Mosaic’s support and look forward to making this an annual showcase of ideas dedicated to this fast-changing landscape.”

Mr Blaser moderated a panel featuring Globant’s Nicolás Ávila; Renata Spinks of the US Marine Corps; Julian Zottl of Raytheon Technologies; and Dominic Delmolino of Amazon Web Services.

The group debated the impact of fast-moving generative AI advancements on cybersecurity.

“It was a stimulating discussion about disruptive technologies and their geopolitical impact – by both the good actors, and the bad,” said Mr Blaser, a GW alumnus, chairman of the GW School of Business advisory board, a recent inductee into the school’s Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame, and chairman of the forum’s organising committee.

“Most of all, it demonstrated how important it is to break down silos and share knowledge and best practices.”

Ms DeLong moderated an insurance-focused panel, joined by Aon’s Katherine Mulligan, Joseph Nemec of Morgan Stanley, and Michael Atkinson of Crowell & Moring, the international law firm.

They discussed the key role of public-private partnerships in thwarting theft of data and intellectual property by cybercriminals.

Ms DeLong said: “We were so proud to have Mosaic and the cyber insurance community play a key part in an event that encouraged leaders from industry, government, and the intelligence community to combat the impact of global cybercrime.

“The forum showcased the collective strength we have to tackle the economic impact of cyber threats when we share ‘intel’ and ideas.”

Mosaic said GW plans to publish a white paper capturing the forum’s key content and is also building a cyber web platform to drive further collaboration between public and private sectors.