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Andrew Mais

Commissioner

Connecticut Insurance Department

Andrew N. Mais was nominated by Governor Ned Lamont to be Connecticut’s 33rd Insurance Commissioner. Mais is the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) President for the 2024 term and has served on their Executive Committee since 2021. He currently serves on the International Relations, Property & Casualty, and Financial Regulation Standards committees. He also serves on the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Macroprudential and Executive Committees and on their Insurance Capital Standards Task Force.

The IAIS is the international standard-setting body responsible for developing and assisting in the supervision of the insurance sector.

Mais has led discussions in several forums on race, diversity, and inclusion at the state level and within the insurance industry and in insurance practices. He has also joined the efforts led by Governor Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz to address social inequities in Connecticut, including the Council on Women and Girls and cultural competency initiatives.

Mais is also Co-Chair of the NAIC’s Special Executive Committee on Race and Insurance, charged with conducting research and analyzing issues of diversity and inclusion within the insurance sector.

Mais previously was a member of Deloitte’s Center for Financial Services, providing industry-leading thought leadership and insight on US and international regulatory affairs.

Prior to that, he was a Director at the New York State Insurance Department. There he served four governors as part of the Department’s senior leadership team through numerous events including the financial crisis of 2008 and major state and federal changes in health insurance regulations and laws.

Even outside the government, Mais dedicated much of his life to public service. He most recently served as chair of the Council on Ethics for the town of Wilton, CT, where he lives. Other recent service includes the Maritime Aquarium of Norwalk; the American Red Cross; the Board of Finance of the Town of Wilton; and the Rotary Club of Wilton.

Chris Brescia

Founder and CEO

Freshtech IT

Christopher Brescia is an entrepreneur, speaker, and Founder / CEO of Freshtech IT. Freshtech, an IT and Cybersecurity Management firm headquartered in CT, was founded with the mission to protect organizations from bad advice, bad actors, and bad technology.

Chris has 17 years in the field and primarily serves as fractional Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief InfoSec Officer (CISO) for organizations throughout the US.

Bill Etter

General Etter has over 23 years of experience in many different positions at the senior executive level of the United States government. From 2013 to 2016, General Etter served as the Commander of the 1st Air Force (Air Force North) and Commander of the Continental North American Aerospace Defense Command region. He was also responsible for the oversight of the 1,400 units and 56,000 volunteers of the Civil Air Patrol. His areas of expertise include National Guard, cybersecurity risk and oversight, strategic planning, complex project design, and legislative engagement.

Prior to serving as Commander of the 1st Air Force and Commander of the Continental North American Aerospace Defense Command, General Etter was the Assistant to the Joint Chiefs of Staff for National Guard matters. He also previously served as Deputy Director of the Air National Guard. Lt Gen Etter has served as a Captain for Delta Airlines for over 30 years and has totaled 11,000 civilian hours and is a 12-year member of Delta’s Military Leave Advisory Board. General Etter holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Connecticut, where he graduated summa cum laude; as well as a Master of Science degree in Management, from Troy University. Additionally, he completed the Senior Executives in the International Study program from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Leading Organizational Change program, from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Alexis Vaughn

Founder and CEO

Off Course Consulting

Alexis Cierra Vaughn is a 16 time Award-Winning Insurance Expert and the Founder & CEO of Off Course, an Insurtech Consulting Firm, dedicated to providing strategy consulting for Insurtechs, Carriers, MGA's, Accelerators, insurance agencies and Brokerages. Alexis is a 14 year licensed Insurance and Insurtech Executive, with a strong reputation as an Insurance Innovator within the industry. Her company Off Course was created due to her strategic and creative approach to innovation being in high demand within the industry and agent & broker distribution. Alexis decided that instead of just impacting one InsurTech, she would use her company Off Course to impact them all. Alexis is also the Producer and Host of the Insurance Unicorn podcast where she interviews insurance innovators in the InsurTech and Insurance industry. Off Course has helped Insurtechs and innovation labs in the areas of Cyber, Parametric flood insurance, agency management systems, technology, claims payment systems, and digital distribution for MGA’s.Alexis’ Co-Founder & COO is her husband Marvin Vaughn, who leads the strategy practice, talent advisory, and operations advisory verticals of their firm, he brings 20 years of Operations strategy experience to the practice from leading insurers and management consulting Big 4 firms.

Alexis was previously the AVP of Agency Marketing for Cowbell Cyber, she grew Cowbell's agency distribution channel from 4,500 to 23,000 agents and brokers globally in less than 2 years. She also owned a successful MGA of 26 single moms. Alexis and her initiatives have won numerous awards and her work has been featured in multiple publications. Some of her most notable awards are Cowbell Academy was awarded the “Ambitious Insurer Award” by Insurtech Insights and EIS in June 2023, it was also the Bronze winner for the Insurance Marketing & Communication Association’s “Showcase” awards in July 2023. She was featured in Insurtech Insights Empowering Insurance, Modern Insurance Magazine’s InsurTech Talk, celebrating the work that she has done in the cyber and Insurance Industry. Most recently Alexis was named on the Women to Watch in InsurTech list 2023, Insurance Business America Elite Women in Insurance, Insurance Innovators Top 100 Media Influencers List, ACCORD and Alchemy Crew’s Top 14 Insurtech Leaders of 2022 Globally, along with many more. She also serves on the Insurtech Atlanta AdvisoryBoard.

Alexis is a sought-after speaker in the areas of innovation, agent & broker distribution, insurtech, strategy, leveraging technology in the insurance space, commercial lines, and cyber insurance. She has spoken at leading industry conferences: ITC Vegas, Reuters USA, Insurtech Insights USA, Insurtech Insights Europe, Insurtech Hartford, Big I NY, IIAB California, Revtech Labs: Fintech & Insurtech Generations & Insurance Business America’s: Women in Insurance events.

Caitlin Alpern

Senior Cyber and Technology Underwriter

AXA XL

Caitlin Alpern is a Senior Cyber and Technology E&O underwriter on the Northeast team of AXA XL. She has over 7 years of experience underwriting cyber and technology risks. Caitlin manages a book of around $20M in premium and works on both new business and renewals. She has her Cyber COPE Insurance Certification from the Heinz College Information Systems and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University. Caitlin is also a Registered Professional Liability Underwriter. She has 12 years of underwriting experience and was also a broker at Marsh as a client advisor working on public director’s & officers’ liability for two years. Caitlin recently joined the Women in Cyber Insurance Group committee that was recently launched by Willis Towers Watson. Caitlin lives outside Hartford, Connecticut, and has two young children with her husband.

Gregory Bautista

Partner

Mullen Coughlin

Gregory Bautista, a Partner at Mullen Coughlin, is an experienced cybersecurity attorney and civil litigator. With deep knowledge about the unique and evolving data privacy and security landscape, Greg is routinely sought after by organizations for advice on data privacy and security issues.

Over the last decade, Greg has counseled hundreds of organizations through the response and investigation into all types of data privacy and security incidents, providing a steady and guiding hand during their most difficult days as they navigate through the recovery, investigation and communication of the incident to protect their business’ financials, data and reputation.

Greg also counsels organizations in responding to inquiries from state and federal regulators, including various state Attorneys Generals; insurance commissioners; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); the U.S. Department of Education; the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); and the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). He also assists organizations on their data privacy and information security compliance, providing pre-incident Advisory Compliance services such as incident response planning and tabletop exercises.

Greg’s clients primarily include small- to mid-size organizations representing a wide range of industry group sectors, including professional services; financial services & insurance; healthcare and life sciences; manufacturing and distribution; retail/e-commerce; hospitality and entertainment; public entities; education; and non-profit.

Greg is a Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US) and a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). In 2017, Greg was recognized as a 40 Under 40 Rising Star by the Business Council of Westchester.

Prior to joining Mullen Coughlin, Greg was the Chair of his former firm’s Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Practice

Isabelle Dumont

CMO

DeNexus

Isabelle Dumont is a seasoned high-tech product and marketing expert specializing in cybersecurity, cyber risk and cyber insurance and focusing on category creation and go-to-market strategies. At Cowbell Cyber, she was pivotal in elevating the firm from its inception to a $200 million ARR cyber insurance business. Isabelle applies technology acumen and her mastery of positioning, thought leadership, communications, and go-to-market to partner with entrepreneurs and drive success.

Prior to Cowbell, she led go-to-market efforts at category-defining companies: Lacework, one of the first companies to apply AI to cloud cyber security; BlueTalon which defined data-centric security before being acquired by Microsoft. Isabelle also held senior positions at Oracle, CollabNet, and IRI software. She is well-versed in Artificial Intelligence through her education and continuing studies at MIT Sloan and Stanford and is also an active member of the Forbes Communication Council. ​

Scott Furr

Co-Founder and Managing Partner

Resilience Group

Scott Furr is an action-oriented and exceptionally experienced Emergency Management, Disaster Response (EM/DR) professional well versed in state and federal emergency management procedures with a superb safety and customer satisfaction history. Scott retired from the military in 2016 with over 30 years of service as a recognized expert in Continuity of Operations (COOP) and Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA). In his last military assignment, he served as Deputy Group Commander for the 183d Air Operations Group, aligned with 12th U.S. Air Force at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. As a key leader in the planning and organization of the Joint Task Force-IL, Scott directed a 103-member planning cell to design, implement, and execute National Guard efforts in DSCA during catastrophic events such as the New Madrid earthquake. During this same period, Scott served as the Operational Aviation Energy Advisor, advising the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Operational Energy on large aircraft aviation energy matters.

Scott’s DSCA military experience includes accountability for COOP design, planning, and coordination for a member of the Department of Defense Joint Chiefs of Staff. Scott was a key contributor in designing and implementing the National Guard’s Homeland Response Force packages supporting each Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) region. He has supported operations at FEMA Regional Response Coordination Centers in the Northeast and FEMA National Response Coordination Center in Washington. Scott has also supported federal response efforts following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustave, Ike, Irene, and Sandy. Scott currently serves as the Emergency Manager Director for the Town of Southbury, CT, where he leads all disaster/emergency planning and coordination for 20K+ town residents. In 2018, Scott led the emergency response during a tornado event, where he orchestrated the coordination and execution of response efforts, including by public utilities, volunteer organizations, state, regional, and town departments, and local businesses. In 2020, he stood up and directed an Emergency Operations Center to handle OCVID-19 actions/response.

Scott is also the Co-Founder and Managing Partner for S2 Resilience Group, LLC. Created in 2017, S2 is a veteran-owned-and-operated consulting service dedicated to providing civilian and governmental continuity consulting, expert advice, education, and strategic crisis event coaching to give organizations a competitive edge. Additionally, since February 2020, Scott has served as a Senior Partner with Ardent Decisions Group, LLC, another veteran-owned decision-empowering consulting service for companies focusing on crisis leadership, mitigation, and education. ​

With both S2 and Ardent, Scott expertly leverages his years of crisis management, disaster relief/recovery, contingency operations, project management, and continuity of operations experience to advise C-suite and senior company leaders to assess internal preparedness plans and operations, then develops and delivers crisis-tested recommended improvements and targeted training plans to improve corporate outcomes regarding crisis leadership.

Brian Neal

Deputy Director

Air National Guard

Major General Brian G. Neal is Deputy Director, Air National Guard, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. He assists the Air National Guard Director in formulating, developing and coordinating all policies, plans and programs affecting more than 107,000 Air National Guard members and civilians in more than 1,800 units throughout the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands. In support of the Director, he also leads the development and integration of the Air National Guard's long range plans and approximately $70 billion Future Years Defense Program to ensure the ANG's ability to maintain both combat and homeland defense capabilities.

Gen. Neal received his commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1982. After completion of pilot training, General Neal served in operational C-130 assignments at Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany, and Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, prior to joining National Guard in 1989. General Neal has since served as a traditional Guardsman and with the Active Guard Reserve in a variety of operational, Air Staff, command, and joint positions. Gen. Neal has served as the Commander, Air National Guard Readiness Center and the Deputy Director for Nuclear, Homeland Defense and Current Operations on The Joint Staff. Prior to assuming his current duties, he was the Special Assistant to the Director, ANG for International Affairs and Director of Strategy, Operations, and Resources, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force (International Affairs).

Gen. Neal is a command pilot with more than 5,000 flying hours, primarily in the C-130. In addition to numerous deployed operational experiences, Gen. Neal served as Commander, 447th Air Expeditionary Group, Baghdad International Airport, Iraq, from January to June 2007.

Amy Goldsmith

Partner and Co-Chair of Privacy and Cybersecurity

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin

As co-chair of the firm’s Privacy and Cybersecurity Group and a partner in its Intellectual Property Group, Amy B. Goldsmith guides clients through the legal aspects inherent in data privacy, cyber security, and using artificial intelligence tools and platforms. Amy assists clients in building immediately recognizable brands, developing desirable products and services, and devising strategic IP plans to mitigate risk. With respect to IP risk management, Amy advises clients on U.S. and non-U.S. trademark due diligence, patent go-to-market strategy, and copyright compliance. Amy designs commercially responsive privacy policies, terms of use, end-user licenses, software-as-a-service agreements, and acceptable use policies for AI. Taking into consideration all jurisdictions to which her clients would be subject to regulations, she ensures that her clients meet all requirements set forth under global privacy and security laws, including the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, New York’s Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act (SHIELD Act), and the California Consumer Privacy Act. Amy also helps her clients respond to breach incidents, working with their internal IT and external cybersecurity resources.

Michael Grabowski

Task Force Officer

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Michael Grabowski has served with the Connecticut State Police since June 2012. He has held assignments as a patrol Trooper and as a detective in both the Major Crime Squad and, currently, the Bureau of Special Investigations - Statewide Organized Crime Investigative Task Force. In this role he focuses on racketeering, illegal gambling, human trafficking, public corruption, and white collar crimes. He has been involved with digital currency investigations since January 2022 and helped to co-found the Cryptocurrency Working Group within the Connecticut State Police. As part of the working group, he investigates fraud and money laundering crimes involving cryptocurrency and other digital assets. Det. Grabowski is also assigned as a Task Force Officer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, focusing on white collar and fraud investigations.

Det. Grabowski is also a member of the Connecticut Army National Guard, where he serves as a Judge Advocate and provides legal advice to commanders in a variety of practice areas. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Marist College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Nick P.R. Steinmann

Vice President of Client Engagement

PNG Cyber

Nicholas P.R. Steinmann is the Vice President of Client Engagement at PNG Cyber, LLC. Located in New York, NY, Nick works closely with cyber insurance stakeholders to ensure they are receiving the actionable intelligence and recommendations from PNG they need to manage and reduce cyber risk within their client portfolios. Additionally, Nick project manages high profile DFIR investigations to keep victims of cyber attacks up to date on techniques and contemporary methodologies for best possible incident resolution and reduced privacy (and regulatory) litigation risk. Prior to joining PNG Cyber, Nick held various DFIR leadership positions; most recently as the Director of Insurance Alliances at Arctic Wolf. Prior to graduating from SUNY Albany’s College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity, Nick was serving his local community as a small business owner in the New York City area for ten years.

Matthew Hogan

Detective

Connecticut State Police

Matt brings over 15 years of law enforcement experience currently serving as a detective with the Connecticut State Police Eastern District Major Crime Squad. He lends his expertise to national task forces as well, including the USSS Financial Crime Task Force in New Haven, the DOJ's SAR review team, and the FBI’s InfraGard as Financial Services Sector Chief. Matt also co-founded the Connecticut State Police Cryptocurrency Working Group. He holds a master’s degree in financial crime investigations from the University of New Haven. His specialized certifications include Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) where he also sits on the CT Chapter board, Economic Crime Forensic Examiner (NW3C), and cryptocurrency investigations credentials from Chainalysis, TRM Labs and Blockchain Intelligence Group.

Craig Moss

Executive Vice President

Ethisphere

EVP – Ethisphere Director Content and Certification – Cyber Readiness Institute

Scott Pierce

Detective

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Scott has over 14 years of law enforcement experience currently serving as a Detective with the Connecticut State Police and as a Task Force Officer for Federal Bureau of Investigation. His expertise includes investigating sophisticated cyber threats, identifying and thwarting network intrusions, and collaborating with federal agencies to combat current cyber threats.

Scott Garcia

Professional Services Risk Advisor

Smith Brothers Insurance

Scott Garcia is a Professional Services Risk Advisor at Smith Brothers Insurance in Glastonbury, CT where he has been for the past 11 years. He is considered Smith Brothers’ in-house Cyber Specialist and leads the Lawyers Professional Liability team.

Scott has a passion for educating organizations on how to prepare and protect their business in the event of a cyber breach. He is a trusted advisor for his clients and uses risk management techniques to minimize the impact of a potential cyber-attack.

Scott is a graduate of the University of Hartford and has most recently graduated from the Harvard Enterprise Cyber Risk Management program.