OXBR Oxbridge Re Holdings Ltd

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

DIRECTORS

We currently have five directors serving on our Board, and our Board has nominated each of those five directors – Jay Madhu, Krishna Persaud, Ray Cabillot, Wrendon Timothy and Lesley Thompson – for re-election as directors at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company in 2022.

The following table sets forth the name, age, director service period and position of each of our current directors as of May 2, 2022:

Set forth below is biographical information concerning each of our directors, including a discussion of such person’s particular experience, qualifications, attributes or skills that led our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and our Board to conclude that the director should serve as a director of our Company.

Jay Madhu. Mr. Madhu has served as our Chief Executive Officer and President, and as a director of our Company, since April 2013, and has served as Chairman of the Board since January 2018. Mr. Madhu also serves as a director of Oxbridge Reinsurance Limited and Oxbridge Re NS, the wholly owned licensed reinsurance subsidiaries of our Company. Mr. Madhu has served since 2021, as the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of Oxbridge Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: OXAC) and its sponsor, OAC Sponsor Ltd. Mr. Madhu has also been a director of HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE: HCI), a publicly traded holding company owning subsidiaries primarily engaged in the property and casualty insurance business, since May 2007. He also served as the President of Greenleaf Capital, the real estate division of HCI Group, Inc., from June 2011 through June 2013 and as Vice President of Investor Relations for HCI Group, Inc. from February 2008 through June 2013. Mr. Madhu also served as Vice President of Marketing for HCI Group, Inc. from 2008 to 2011. In his various positions at HCI Group, Inc., Mr. Madhu’s responsibilities included marketing, investor relations and management and oversight of HCI Group’s real estate division. He has also been a director of HCI Group’s wholly owned subsidiary, Claddaugh Casualty Insurance Company Ltd (“Claddaugh”), since July 2010. From August 2013 to April 2014, Mr. Madhu has served on the board of directors of BayFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: BAFN) a bank holding company in Seminole, Florida. Mr. Madhu also served on the board of directors of Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLR), a publicly held real estate investment trust, from 2012 to June 2014. As an owner and manager of commercial properties, Mr. Madhu has been President of 5th Avenue Group LC, a real estate management company, since 2002 and was President of Forrest Terrace LC, a real estate management company, from 1999 until 2010. In addition, Mr. Madhu is an investor in banking and health maintenance organizations. He was also President of The Mortgage Corporation Network (correspondent lenders) from 1996 to 2011. Prior to that, Mr. Madhu was Vice President, mortgage division, at First Trust Mortgage & Finance, from 1994 to 1996; Vice President, residential first mortgage division, at Continental Management Associates Limited, Inc., from 1993 to 1994; and President, S&S Development, Inc. from 1991 to 1993. He attended Northwest Missouri State University, where he studied marketing and management.

Mr. Madhu brings considerable business and marketing experience to our Board.

Krishna Persaud. Mr. Persaud has been a director of our Company since April 2013. He has also been, since April 2013, a director of our reinsurance subsidiary, Oxbridge Reinsurance Limited. Mr. Persaud is a founder and the President, since June 2002, of KPC Properties, LLC, a real estate investment firm, where he leverages his knowledge and experience to identify opportunities to add value to real properties in the state of Florida. He implements a strategy of acquiring, adding value and relinquishing or holding the improved asset. He has demonstrated consistent success in implementing his strategy in real estate investments. Since June 2002, Mr. Persaud has been an asset manager, demonstrating the ability to consistently exceed average market returns. From May 2007 to May 2011, Mr. Persaud was a director of HCI Group, Inc., a publicly traded holding company owning subsidiaries primarily engaged in the property and casualty insurance business. Mr. Persaud received an award from the Tampa Bay INDOUS Chamber of Commerce as one of the most successful businessmen of the year in Tampa. Previously, he spent ten years working with several consulting firms and municipalities providing design and construction management services for a wide variety of building systems and public works projects. Mr. Persaud earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from City College of City University of New York. He holds licenses as a Professional Engineer in the States of Florida, New York and California.

Mr. Persaud brings considerable investment experience to our Board.

Ray Cabillot. Mr. Cabillot has been a director of our Company since April 2013. He has also been, since April 2013, a director of our reinsurance subsidiary, Oxbridge Reinsurance Limited. Since 1998, Mr. Cabillot has served as Chief Executive Officer and director of Farnam Street Capital, Inc., the General Partner of Farnam Street Partners L.P., a private investment partnership. Prior to his service at Farnam Street Capital, Mr. Cabillot was a Senior Research Analyst at Piper Jaffrey, Inc., an investment bank and asset management firm, from 1989 to 1997. Early in his career, Mr. Cabillot worked for Prudential Capital Corporation as an Associate Investment Manager and as an Investment Manager. Mr. Cabillot is currently a director for Pro-Dex, Inc. (NASDAQ: PDEX) and Air T Inc. (NASDAQ: AIRT) and several private companies and, from 2006 to 2010, served as director and Chairman of the board for O.I. Corporation (OICO). Mr. Cabillot earned his BA in economics from St. Olaf College and an MBA from the University of Minnesota. He is a Chartered Financial analyst (CFA).

Mr. Cabillot brings considerable investment expertise to our Board.

Wrendon Timothy. Mr. Timothy has been a director of our Company since November 2021. Mr. Timothy has served as the Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of our Company since August 2013. In his role, he has provided financial and accounting consulting services with a focus on technical and SEC reporting, compliance, internal auditing, corporate governance, mergers & acquisitions analysis, risk management, and CFO and controller services. Mr. Timothy also serves as an executive and director of Oxbridge Reinsurance Limited and Oxbridge Re NS, the wholly-owned licensed reinsurance subsidiaries of Oxbridge Re. Mr. Timothy serves as the Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, Secretary and director of Oxbridge Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: OXAC) and its sponsor, OAC Sponsor Ltd.

Mr. Timothy started his financial career at PricewaterhouseCoopers (Trinidad) in 2004 as an Associate in their assurance division, performing external and internal audit work, and tax-related services. Throughout his career progression and transitions through KPMG Trinidad and PricewaterhouseCoopers (Cayman Islands), Mr. Timothy has successfully delivered services across both the public and private sectors. Mr. Timothy management roles allowed him to be heavily involved in the planning, budgeting, and leadership of engagement teams, serving as a liaison for senior client management, and advising on technical accounting matters. Mr. Timothy is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), a Chartered Corporate Secretary and also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration, with Distinction (with a Specialism in Finance (with Distinction)), from Heriot Watt University in Edinburg, Scotland. Mr. Timothy holds directorship and leadership roles with a number of privately-held companies, and also serves on various not-for-profit organizations, including his governance role as Chairman of Audit & Risk Committee of The Utility Regulation & Competition Office of the Cayman Islands. Mr. Timothy is an active Fellow Member of the ACCA, an active member of the Cayman Islands Institute of Professional Accountants (CIIPA), and an active Associate Member of the Chartered Governance Institute (formerly the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators).

Mr. Timothy brings considerable finance, governance and risk management experience to our Board.

Lesley Thompson. Ms. Thompson has served as the Managing Director of Willis Towers Watson Management (Cayman) Ltd. (“Willis Cayman”) since March 2020 and as Secretary since April 2020. Willis Cayman is part of the Willis Towers Watson group (NASDAQ: WLTW). Ms. Thompson is responsible for the strategy and leadership of Willis Cayman providing insurance management and brokerage services to its client. Ms. Thompson also provides independent director services to insurance and structured finance companies administered by other service providers. Ms. Thompson currently serves as a director to ICP Investment Holdings Limited since November 2016, ICP Reinsurance Limited since January 2017 and Evergreen Pacific Reinsurance Company Limited since August 2019. Ms. Thompson previously served as Vice President of Maples Fiduciary Services (Cayman) Limited from February 2016 to March 2020 where she headed the insurance management services and provided independent director services to insurance and structured finance companies. From January 2000 to January 2016, Ms. Thompson held senior roles of Assistant Vice President, Assistant Manager & Group Vice President at Aon Insurance Managers (Bermuda) Ltd., HSBC Financial Services (Cayman) Ltd., Atlas Insurance Management (Cayman) Ltd. and Advantage International Management (Cayman) Ltd. where she led and managed large portfolio of property & casualty and life & annuity companies, including special purpose vehicles, segregated portfolio companies and group captives. Ms. Thompson has served as a member of the executive committee of The Insurance Managers Association of Cayman since August 2020. Ms. Thompson is a chartered management accountant, a fellow of captive insurance and holds accredited director designation through the Chartered Governance Institute of Canada.

Ms. Thompson brings invaluable experience in insurance, accounting and corporate governance to our Board.

 *See biography above under “Directors” above

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Board Leadership Structure and Risk Oversight

Our Company’s Board does not have a current requirement that the roles of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board be either combined or separated because the Board believes it is in the best interest of our Company to make this determination based upon the position and direction of the Company and the constitution of the Board. The Board regularly evaluates whether the roles of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board should be combined or separated.

Since the Company’s formation in 2013 through to December 31, 2017, the Company had bifurcated the positions of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Paresh Patel had served as Chairman of the Board since April 2013 through to his resignation in December 2017. Jay Madhu has served as Chief Executive Officer of the Company since April 2013, and took on the additional role of Chairman of the Board effective January 1, 2018.

Our independent directors have determined that the most effective leadership structure for our Company at the present time is for our Chief Executive Officer to also serve as our Chairman of the Board. Our independent directors believe that because our Chief Executive Officer is ultimately responsible for our day-to-day operations and for executing our business strategy, and because our performance is an integral part of the deliberations of our Board, our Chief Executive Officer is the director best qualified to act as Chairman of the Board. Our Board retains the authority to modify this structure to best address our unique circumstances, and so advance the best interests of all stockholders, as and when appropriate.

We have three independent directors and two non-independent director. We believe that the number of independent, experienced directors on our Board provides the necessary and appropriate oversight for our Company.

Management is primarily responsible for assessing and managing the Company’s exposure to risk. While risk assessment is management’s duty, the Audit Committee is responsible for discussing certain guidelines and policies with management that govern the process by which risk assessment and control is handled. The Audit Committee also reviews steps that management has taken to monitor the Company’s risk exposure. In addition, the Underwriting Committee approves and reviews our underwriting policies and guidelines, oversees our underwriting process and procedures, monitors our underwriting performance and oversees our underwriting risk management exposure. Management focuses on the risks facing the Company, while the Audit Committee and the Underwriting Committee focus on the Company’s general risk management strategies and oversee risks undertaken by the Company. We believe this division of responsibilities is the most effective approach for addressing the risks facing our Company and that our Board leadership structure supports this approach.

Board Committees and Meetings

Our Board has five committees: an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee, a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, an Underwriting Committee and an Investment Committee. Each committee, except for the Investment Committee, has a written charter. The table below provides current membership information for each of the committees.

* Committee Chairperson 

Our Board held five meetings in 2021. Each of our directors attended at least 80% of the meetings of the Board in 2021.

It is our policy that directors are expected to attend the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in the absence of a scheduling conflict or other valid reason. All of our directors attended our 2021 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

The Board has determined that (1) Jay Madhu and Wrendon Timothy do not qualify as independent directors under the applicable rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and (2) Krishna Persaud, Ray Cabillot and Lesley Thompson qualify as independent directors under the applicable rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market and the SEC.

The Board has also determined that all of the current members of the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee qualify as independent directors under the applicable rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market and SEC and that the current members of the Compensation Committee each qualify as a “non-employee director” as defined in Section 16b-3 of the Exchange Act.

Below is a description of each committee of our Board.

Audit Committee

Our Audit Committee consists of three members – Ray Cabillot, Krishna Persaud and Lesley Thompson. Each of these individuals meets all independence requirements for Audit Committee members set forth in applicable SEC rules and regulations and the applicable rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market. Ray Cabillot serves as Chairman of our Audit Committee and both Ray Cabillot and Lesley Thompson qualify as an “audit committee financial expert” as that term is defined in the rules and regulations established by the SEC.

The Audit Committee has general responsibility for the oversight of our accounting, reporting and financial control practices. The Audit Committee is governed by a written charter approved by our Board, which outlines its primary duties and responsibilities, and which can be found on our website at www.oxbridgere.com.

Compensation Committee

Our Compensation Committee currently consists of three members – Krishna Persaud, Lesley Thompson and Ray Cabillot. Ray Cabillot serves as Chairman of our Compensation Committee. All of the current members of our Compensation Committee qualify as independent directors under the applicable rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market and as “non-employee directors” under Section 16b-3 of the Exchange Act.   

The purpose of our Compensation Committee is to discharge the responsibilities of our Board relating to compensation of our Chief Executive Officer and to make recommendations to our Board relating to the compensation of our other executive officers. Our Compensation Committee, among other things, assists our Board in ensuring that a proper system of compensation is in place to provide performance-oriented incentives to management. Our Compensation Committee has the authority to delegate its responsibilities to a subcommittee or to officers of the Company to the extent permitted by applicable law and the compensation plans of the Company if it determines that such delegation would be in the best interest of the Company. Our Compensation Committee may engage a compensation consultant; however, it did not engage a compensation consultant with respect to executive or director compensation for 2021.

The Compensation Committee is governed by a written charter approved by our Board, which outlines its primary duties and responsibilities, and which can be found on our website at www.oxbridgere.com.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is composed of three members – Ray Cabillot, Lesley Thompson and Krishna Persaud. Lesley Thompson serves as the Chair of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. All of the members of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee qualify as independent directors under the applicable rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market and as “non-employee directors” under Section 16b-3 of the Exchange Act.   

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee makes recommendations to our Board as to nominations for our Board and committee members, as well as with respect to structural, governance and procedural matters. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also reviews the performance of our Board and the Company’s succession planning. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is governed by a written charter approved by our Board, which outlines its primary duties and responsibilities, and which can be found on our website at www.oxbridgere.com.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for reviewing the criteria for the selection of new directors to serve on the Board and reviewing and making recommendations regarding the composition and size of the Board. When our Board decides to seek a new member, whether to fill a vacancy or otherwise, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider recommendations from other directors, management and others, including shareholders. In general, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee looks for directors possessing superior business judgment and integrity who have distinguished themselves in their chosen fields and who have knowledge or experience in the areas of insurance, reinsurance, financial services or other aspects of the Company’s business, operations or activities. In selecting director candidates, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also considers the interplay of the candidate’s experience with the experience of the other Board members.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider, for director nominees, persons recommended by shareholders, who may submit recommendations to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee in care of the Company’s Secretary, at Suite 201, 42 Edward Street, P.O. Box 469, Grand Cayman, KY1-9006, Cayman Islands. To be considered by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, such recommendations must be accompanied by a description of the qualifications of the proposed candidate and a written statement from the proposed candidate that he or she is willing to be nominated and desires to serve if elected. Nominees for director who are recommended by shareholders to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will be evaluated in the same manner as any other nominee for director.

Underwriting Committee

The Underwriting Committee consists of three members – Lesley Thompson, Jay Madhu and Wrendon Timothy. Lesley Thompson serves as Chairman of our Underwriting Committee. The Underwriting Committee’s responsibilities include approving and reviewing our underwriting policies and guidelines, overseeing our underwriting process and procedures, monitoring our underwriting performance and overseeing our underwriting risk management exposure. The Underwriting Committee is governed by a written charter approved by our Board, which outlines its primary duties and responsibilities, and which can be found on our website at www.oxbridgere.com.

Investment Committee

The Investment Committee consists of four members – Krishna Persaud, Wrendon Timothy, Jay Madhu and Ray Cabillot. Kris Persaud serves as Chairman of the Investment Committee. The Investment Committee’s responsibilities include approving and reviewing any changes to our investment guidelines, and monitoring investment performance and market, credit and interest rate exposure as a result of opportunistic investment decisions undertaken by management. The Investment Committee is governed by investment guidelines that have been approved by our Board. There is no written charter for the Investment Committee.

Code of Ethics

Our Board has adopted a written Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions. We have posted a current copy of the code on our website, www.oxbridgere.com, in the “Investor Information” section of the website. We intend to disclose any change to or waiver from our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics by posting such change or waiver to our internet web site within the same section as described above. We will satisfy the disclosure requirements under Item 5.05 of Form 8-K regarding any material amendment to our code of ethics, and any waiver from a provision of our code of ethics that applies to all employees, including our CEO and CFO, Controller or any person performing similar functions, by posting such information on our website at the internet website address set forth above.

DELINQUENT SECTION 16(A) REPORTS

Based solely upon a review of Forms 3, 4 and 5 filed for the year ended December 31, 2021, we believe that all of our current directors, officers and 10% beneficial owners complied with all Section 16(a) filing requirements applicable to them. In addition, all such forms were timely filed, except as follows:

SHAREHOLDER COMMUNICATION

Our Board has adopted a policy for handling shareholder communications to directors. Shareholders may send written communications to our Board or any one or more of the individual directors by mail, c/o Secretary, Oxbridge Re Holdings Limited, Suite 201, 42 Edward Street, P.O. Box 469, Grand Cayman, KY1-9006, Cayman Islands. There is no screening process, other than to confirm that the sender is a shareholder and to filter inappropriate materials and unsolicited materials of a marketing or publication nature. All shareholder communications that are received by the Secretary of the Company for the attention of a director or directors are forwarded to such director or directors.