tm239729-1_nonfiling - none - 8.6664431s
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A
(Rule 14a-101)
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Filed by the Registrant   ☒
Filed by a party other than the Registrant   ☐
Check the appropriate box:

Preliminary proxy statement

Confidential, for use of the Commission only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2)).

Definitive proxy statement

Definitive additional materials

Soliciting material under Rule 14a-12
James River Group Holdings, Ltd.
(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
   
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other Than the Registrant)
Payment of filing fee (Check the appropriate box):

No fee required.

Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.

Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.

 
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Wellesley House, 2nd Floor
90 Pitts Bay Road
Pembroke HM 08 Bermuda
Dear Shareholder:
You are cordially invited to attend the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of James River Group Holdings, Ltd. (the “Company”) to be held at 8:00 a.m. local time on Thursday, July 27, 2023 at Rosewood Bermuda located at 60 Tucker’s Point Drive, Hamilton Parish, HS 02 Bermuda.
We describe the actions we expect to take at our Annual Meeting in detail in the attached Notice of Annual General Meeting of Shareholders and proxy statement. Included with this proxy statement is a copy of our Annual Report for our year ended December 31, 2022. We encourage you to read our Annual Report. It includes information about our business as well as our consolidated audited financial statements.
Please use this opportunity to take part in our corporate affairs by voting on the business to come before the Annual Meeting. Whether or not you plan to attend our Annual Meeting, please complete, sign, date and return the accompanying proxy in the enclosed postage-paid envelope or vote electronically via the Internet or telephone. See “What options are available to me to vote my shares?” in the proxy statement for additional information. Returning the proxy or voting electronically does NOT deprive you of your right to attend the Annual Meeting or to vote your shares owned of record by you in person for the matters acted upon at the Annual Meeting.
We look forward to seeing you at the Annual Meeting.
Sincerely,
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Frank N. D’Orazio
Chief Executive Officer
June 22, 2023

 
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
About the Meeting
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WHEN:
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WHERE:
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RECORD DATE:
8:00 a.m. local time
on Thursday, July 27, 2023
At Rosewood Bermuda located
at 60 Tucker’s Point Drive, Hamilton Parish, HS 02 Bermuda
June 6, 2023
PROXY VOTING
It is important that your shares be represented and voted at the annual general meeting of shareholders. You can vote your shares by completing and returning the proxy card or voting instruction card sent to you. You also have the option of voting your shares on the Internet or by telephone. Voting instructions are printed on your proxy card and are included in the accompanying proxy statement. You can revoke a proxy at any time prior to its exercise at the annual general meeting of shareholders by following the instructions in the proxy statement.
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VIA THE
INTERNET
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VIA THE
TELEPHONE
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BY MAIL
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IN PERSON AT
THE MEETING
Follow the instructions on the proxy card or voting instruction form
Call the telephone number on your proxy card or voting instruction form provided by your bank, broker or other intermediary.
Sign, date, and return your proxy card in the enclosed envelope
Attend the meeting in-person
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF
SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON JULY 27, 2023:
The Notice of Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, Proxy Statement and 2022 Annual Report are available at https://materials.proxyvote.com/G5005R. These documents are first being mailed to shareholders on or about June 22, 2023.

 
Items of Business
ITEMS TO BE VOTED ON
BOARD’S
RECOMMENDATION
MORE
INFORMATION
PROPOSAL 1
The election of  (i) three Class II directors for a one-year term to hold office until the 2024 annual general meeting of shareholders, and (ii) one Class III director for a one-year term to hold office until the 2024 annual general meeting of shareholders;
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FOR each nominee
44
PROPOSAL 2
Re-appointment of Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as our independent auditor to serve until the 2024 annual general meeting of shareholders and authorization of our Board of Directors, acting by the Audit Committee, to determine the independent auditor’s remuneration; and
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FOR
45
PROPOSAL 3
To approve, on a non-binding, advisory basis, the 2022 compensation of our named executive officers.
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FOR
47
Any other business that may properly come before the annual general meeting of shareholders and any adjournments or postponements thereof.
By order of the Board of Directors,
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Frank N. D’Orazio
Chief Executive Officer

 
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
1 General
1 Nominees for Election as Class II and Class III Directors
3
5 Director Independence
5 Board Structure
6 Board Skills Disclosure
6 Board Composition Disclosure
7 Board Diversity Disclosure
7 Risk Oversight
8 Our Board and its Committees
10 Annual Evaluations
10 Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
10 Attendance at Annual General Meetings of Shareholders
10 Communications with our Board of Directors
10 Code of Conduct
11 Prohibition on Pledging & Hedging
11 Investor Engagement and Feedback
11 Environmental, Social & Governance
13 Compensation of Directors
14 Share Ownership Guidelines
15 EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
17 EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
17 Compensation Discussion and Analysis
25 Summary Compensation Table
26 Grants of Plan-Based Awards
27 Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End
28 Option Exercises and Stock Vested
28 Pension Benefits & Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
28 Chief Executive Officer Pay Ratio
29 Pay versus Performance
33 Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Control
39 Compensation Risk Assessment
40 EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION
41 CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
41 Policies and Procedures for Related Person Transactions
41 Related Party Transactions
42 SECURITIES OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
44 PROPOSAL NO. 1 ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
45
47
48 OTHER MATTERS
48 Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports
48 Other Business at the Annual Meeting
48
49 Shareholders Sharing the Same Address
50 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
50 Where and when will the meeting take place?
50
50 Who is entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting?
51 How many votes do I have?
51
51
51 What options are available to me to vote my shares?
52 How many votes must be present to hold the Annual Meeting?
52
52 What does it mean if I receive more than one set of proxy materials?
52
53 How can I attend the Annual Meeting?
53
53 What does solicitation of proxies mean?
53 What else will happen at the Annual Meeting?
53
53 How do I find out the voting results?
54 Forward-Looking Statements

 
PROXY STATEMENT DATED JUNE 22, 2023
FOR THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON JULY 27, 2023
We are providing these proxy materials to you in connection with our 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, which we refer to in this proxy statement as the Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting will be held at Rosewood Bermuda located at 60 Tucker’s Point Drive, Hamilton Parish, HS 02 Bermuda on Thursday, July 27, 2023, at 8:00 a.m. local time. This proxy statement and our 2022 Annual Report are being made available to our shareholders beginning on or about June 22, 2023. This proxy statement contains important information for you to consider when deciding how to vote on the matters brought before the Annual Meeting. Please read it carefully.
For information regarding voting your shares and other important information regarding the Annual Meeting, please see “Frequently Asked Questions” in this proxy statement.

 
BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
General
Our Board of Directors (the “Board of Directors” or “Board”) consists of ten directors, with four directors serving in Class I, three directors serving in Class II, and three directors serving in Class III. J. Adam Abram and Michael T. Oakes, Class III directors whose terms expire at the Annual Meeting, have each decided not to stand for re-election. At our 2022 annual general meeting of shareholders (the “2022 Annual Meeting”), our shareholders approved an amendment to the Company’s bye-laws (as amended through the date hereof, our “Bye-laws”) to declassify the Board so that directors are elected for one-year terms rather than staggered three-year terms as provided by our bye-laws in place prior to the 2022 Annual Meeting. The amendment was effective immediately for Class II directors elected at the 2022 Annual Meeting, while directors serving in Class I and Class III will continue to serve for the remainder of the terms to which they were elected or appointed (i.e., Class III directors will serve until the Annual Meeting, and Class I directors will serve until the Company’s 2024 annual general meeting of shareholders), and at the expiration of such terms will be eligible for election for one-year terms.
Nominees for Election as Class II and Class III Directors
The nominees for election as Class II and Class III directors were recommended to our Board and approved for nomination by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board. Unless otherwise specified in the accompanying proxy, the shares voted on the proxy will be cast in favor of the election of Dennis J. Langwell, Peter B. Migliorato and Ollie L. Sherman, Jr. as Class II directors, and Frank N. D’Orazio as a Class III director. Each of the nominees has consented to being named as a nominee in this proxy statement. If, for any reason, any nominee is unable or unwilling to serve, the persons named in the proxy will use their best judgment in selecting and voting for a substitute candidate or our Board of Directors may reduce the size of our Board and eliminate the vacancies. Our Board of Directors, however, has no reason to believe that any of the nominees will be unable or unwilling to be a candidate for election at the time of the Annual Meeting.
The following table identifies the nominees for election as Class II and Class III directors at the Annual Meeting and their age as of June 6, 2023.
NAME
AGE
CLASS
POSITION
Dennis J. Langwell
64
II
Director
Peter B. Migliorato
64
II
Director
Ollie L. Sherman, Jr.
71
II
Director
Frank N. D’Orazio
55
III
Chief Executive Officer and Director
The nominees for election as Class II and Class III directors will serve until the Company’s 2024 annual general meeting of shareholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualified.
2023 Proxy Statement1

 
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DENNIS J. LANGWELL
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Dennis J. Langwell has served on our Board of Directors since April 2023. He retired in 2021 from Liberty Mutual Group Inc., a holding company of Liberty Mutual Insurance Operations (“Liberty Mutual”), a global provider of insurance products and services, where he most recently served as Vice Chairman of Insurance Operations. Mr. Langwell joined Liberty Mutual in 1997 and served in various leadership roles during his tenure, including as President — Global Risk Solutions from 2018 to 2021 and as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2003 to 2018. Mr. Langwell previously worked in finance and reporting roles for Liberty Mutual and other insurance companies and began his career at KPMG (Peat Marwick). Mr. Langwell currently serves on the board of Safety Insurance Group, Inc., and as a member of the board of trustees at Providence College and the USS Constitution Museum. Mr. Langwell received a Bachelor of Science degree (magna cum laude) in Accounting from Providence College. He is a former certified public accountant.
We believe Mr. Langwell’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his executive leadership experience at Liberty Mutual, his knowledge of the property and casualty industry, and his financial and accounting expertise.
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PETER B. MIGLIORATO
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Peter B. Migliorato has served on our Board of Directors since October 2022. He retired in 2021 as a partner of Deloitte Consulting (“Deloitte”), where he most recently served as Lead Client Service Partner to insurance clients. Mr. Migliorato also served as the North American Insurance Consulting practice leader with Deloitte in the property & casualty, life & retirement, and employee benefits sectors. Mr. Migliorato joined Deloitte in 2001 and served in various leadership roles during his twenty-year tenure. Before joining Deloitte, Mr. Migliorato served as an equity partner at Emergence Consulting and C-Change Consulting, two start-up strategy consultancies, from 1998 to 2001 and as Senior Vice President, Marketing and Business Development at Marketing Technologies International, a data sciences firm, from 1997 to 1998. Prior to that, he led the Insurance Practice, served clients across multiple industries, and was Chief of Staff to the CEO of Gemini Consulting, a global management consulting firm, from 1985 to 1997. Mr. Migliorato serves as an advisory board member to Machine Cover, Inc., an insurance technology company, since June 2021 and to Owl.co, a Canadian based insurance technology company providing AI solutions to insurance claims organizations, since April 2023. He served on the board of directors of State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company, the mutual holding company parent of State Auto Financial Corporation (“State Auto”) from March 2021 until State Auto was acquired by Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc. in March 2022; and as an advisory board member to Safekeep, Inc., an insurance technology company, from June 2021 until its acquisition by CCCIS in February 2022. Mr. Migliorato received a Bachelor of Arts degree with dual majors in History and Geology from Oberlin College where he was also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society.
We believe Mr. Migliorato’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his extensive experience at Deloitte advising insurance companies on implementation of growth strategies, executing mergers and acquisitions and implementing technology and data platforms, his knowledge of the property and casualty insurance industry and his experience as an advisory board member to two insurance technology companies.
2James River Group Holdings, Ltd.

 
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OLLIE L. SHERMAN, JR.
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Ollie L. Sherman, Jr. has served on our Board of Directors since May 2016 and has served as our Lead Independent Director since April 2022. Mr. Sherman retired as a Managing Principal with Towers Watson in 2010. At Towers Watson, Mr. Sherman functioned as a consulting actuary and practice manager for Tower Watson’s property and casualty division for over 25 years. Prior to joining Towers Watson, Mr. Sherman was employed by the Travelers Insurance Company for ten years where he had overall responsibility for countrywide workers’ compensation pricing. Mr. Sherman graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics, and he is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society.
We believe Mr. Sherman’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his extensive experience as a consulting actuary in property and casualty insurance, as well as his knowledge of the Company gained from his service on our Board.
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FRANK N. D’ORAZIO
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Frank N. D’Orazio has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a director and as Chief Executive Officer of James River Group, Inc. since November 2020. Mr. D’Orazio formerly served as Corporate Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff of Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, Ltd. (“Allied World”), a global provider of property, casualty and specialty insurance and reinsurance, from March 2019 through January 2020. Prior to that, Mr. D’Orazio served as President, Underwriting and Global Risk of Allied World from December 2014 through February 2019. From September 2009 to December 2014, Mr. D’Orazio served as the President — Bermuda and International Insurance of Allied World Ltd. From June 2003, when Mr. D’Orazio joined Allied World, through September 2009, Mr. D’Orazio held leadership roles with increasing responsibility in the company’s general casualty business and in underwriting. Before joining Allied World, Mr. D’Orazio worked for the retail insurance market arm of Munich-American Re-Insurance from August 1994 to May 2003, where he held a succession of underwriting and management positions. Prior to that Mr. D’Orazio held various underwriting positions in the excess casualty division of the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies from June 1990 to July 1994. Mr. D’Orazio received a B.A. from Fairfield University.
We believe Mr. D’Orazio’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his extensive experience as an executive officer in the insurance industry and significant insurance, underwriting and enterprise risk management knowledge, as well as his extensive knowledge of the Company’s day to day operations based upon his service as our Chief Executive Officer.
Members of our Board of Directors Whose Terms Do Not Expire at the Annual Meeting
The following table identifies the continuing members of our Board of Directors, their age as of June 6, 2023, the class each director serves in, and the positions each director presently holds with the Company.
NAME
AGE
CLASS
POSITION
Matthew B. Botein
50
I
Director
Thomas L. Brown
66
I
Director
Kirstin M. Gould
56
I
Director
Patricia H. Roberts
67
I
Director
2023 Proxy Statement3

 
The following biographical information is furnished as to each continuing director:
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MATTHEW B. BOTEIN
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Matthew B. Botein has served on our Board of Directors since January 2023. Mr. Botein is a co-founder of Gallatin Point Capital LLC (“Gallatin Point”), a private investment firm founded in 2017, and serves as a Managing Partner of Gallatin Point. Prior to founding Gallatin Point, Mr. Botein served as co-head and Chief Investment Officer for Alternatives of BlackRock Alternative Investors (“BAI”) from 2009 through 2017 and as an advisor to BAI from 2017 through 2020. Prior to joining BAI, Mr. Botein served as a Managing Director and member of the Management Committee at Highfields Capital Management, a Boston-based private investment partnership. He also served as a member of the private equity departments at The Blackstone Group and Lazard Frères & Co. LLC. Mr. Botein currently serves on the board of directors of Hunt Capital Holdings, Amber Infrastructure Group Holdings Limited, Fortuna Holdings Limited (parent of Lloyd’s insurer Canopius), Bowhead Insurance Holdings LP, Tower Hill Risk Management, LLC, and Northeast Bancorp (Nasdaq: NBN). Mr. Botein previously served on the board of directors of PennyMac Financial Services (NYSE: PFSI), Aspen Insurance Holdings (NYSE: AHL), CoreLogic Inc. (NYSE: CLGX), First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF), PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE: PMT) and numerous private companies. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the CareGroup/CJP Board of Managers and Boston Medical Center. Mr. Botein received a Bachelor of Arts degree (magna cum laude) from Harvard College and a M.B.A degree (with high distinction) from Harvard Business School, where he was awarded Baker and Loeb scholarships.
We believe Mr. Botein’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his extensive investment management and investment banking experience and knowledge of financial institutions and his experience as a public company board member.
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THOMAS L. BROWN
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Thomas L. Brown has served on our Board of Directors since October 2021. Mr. Brown retired in 2019 as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of RLI Corp. (“RLI”), a NYSE listed specialty insurer serving diverse niche property, casualty and surety markets. He previously served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at RLI from 2011 to 2017. Prior to that, Mr. Brown was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he served for ten years as its Central Region Financial Services Leader and led teams responsible for the banking, insurance, capital markets, real estate and investment management business sectors. Mr. Brown currently serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Old National Bancorp, a Nasdaq listed company, and served on the board of First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. from 2017 until its acquisition by Old National Bancorp in February 2022. In 2020, Mr. Brown joined the board of directors of Easter Seals DuPage & Fox Valley, and he previously served on the board of Easter Seals Central Illinois. From 2004 to 2017, Mr. Brown served on the board of trustees of Illinois Wesleyan University. Mr. Brown received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1979. He is a certified public accountant.
We believe Mr. Brown’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his management experience at RLI, his knowledge of the property and casualty insurance industry, his financial and accounting expertise and his experience as a public company board member.
4James River Group Holdings, Ltd.

 
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KIRSTIN M. GOULD
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Kirstin M. Gould has served on our Board of Directors since October 2021. Ms. Gould served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of XL Group Ltd (“XL”), a NYSE listed global insurance and reinsurance company, until XL was acquired by AXA, S.A. in 2018. Ms. Gould joined XL in 2000 and served in various leadership roles during her tenure, including leading the marketing and communications function from 2007-2015 while concurrently serving as General Counsel from September 2007. From 2005-2011, Ms. Gould chaired the Policy Committee of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR), which is a trade association of international property and casualty insurers and reinsurers. Ms. Gould currently serves on the board of Pacific Life Re Global Limited where she is a member of the Risk, Audit and Remuneration Committees. She is also the founder of Harrington Advisors LLC, a consulting company focused on strategic advice including M&A, corporate governance and insurance regulatory matters. Ms. Gould began her career in private practice with the law firms Dewey Ballantine LLP in New York (1991-1995) and Clifford Chance LLP in New York and London (1996-2000). Ms. Gould received a Bachelor of Arts degree (summa cum laude) from the State University of New York at Albany and a Juris Doctor degree (cum laude) from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law.
We believe Ms. Gould’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include her executive leadership at XL, as well as her extensive experience in corporate governance, risk management, insurance regulatory matters and mergers and acquisitions.
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PATRICIA H. ROBERTS
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Patricia H. Roberts has served on our Board of Directors since July 2019. She retired in 2012 from her dual position as President and Chairman of General Star Management Company and President and Chairman of Genesis Management and Insurance Services Corporation, two wholly-owned subsidiaries of General Reinsurance Corporation (“GenRe”). Ms. Roberts began working at GenRe in 1977 and held positions with increasing levels of responsibility. Ms. Roberts served on the Navigators Group Inc. (“Navigators”) board from 2014 until 2019 when Navigators was sold to Hartford Financial Services Group. Ms. Roberts holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from George Mason University and received her CPCU (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter) designation in 1985.
We believe Ms. Roberts’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include her management experience at GenRe, her knowledge of the insurance and reinsurance industry, her operational and strategic expertise and her experience as a public company board member.
There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.
Director Independence
Our Board has reviewed the independence of our directors and nominees using the Nasdaq Stock Market independence standards. Based on this review, we have determined that Messrs. Botein, Brown, Langwell, Migliorato, Oakes and Sherman, Ms. Gould and Ms. Roberts are independent. In making its independence determination, the Board considered the current and prior relationships with the Company, including Mr. Oakes’s service as a former executive officer of the Company and the transaction described in the section titled “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions”.
Board Structure
Mr. Abram has served as our Non-Executive Chairman since November 2020. He previously served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from August 2019 to November 2020 and also served in such roles from 2014 through 2017. Mr. Abram served as our Non-Executive Chairman of the Board from the time of his initial retirement in January 2018 through July 2019. The Board believes that Mr. Abram’s continued service as Chairman following his retirement as our Chief Executive Officer was appropriate because of his familiarity with the Company’s business and strategy and significant experience in the property and casualty insurance industry, based upon being the founder of the Company and other companies in the industry. Upon Mr. Abram’s decision to not stand for re-election at the Annual Meeting, the Board identified Mr. Sherman as Mr. Abram’s successor as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board, effective upon the conclusion of the Annual Meeting and contingent upon Mr. Sherman’s re-election as a Class II director at the Annual Meeting.
2023 Proxy Statement5

 
Mr. Sherman was selected as the Board’s next Non-Executive Chairman due to his experience as our lead independent director since April 2022 and his familiarity with the Company developed over his tenure as a director. As our lead independent director, Mr. Sherman leads executive sessions of the Board of Directors and communicates with our Chief Executive Officer between meetings to discuss strategy and other matters that may require the attention of the Board of Directors.
Board Skills Disclosure
The following table sets forth certain skills that our continuing directors and nominees have, which we believe benefits the Board.
MATTHEW B.
BOTEIN
THOMAS L.
BROWN
FRANK N.
D’ORAZIO
KIRSTIN M.
GOULD
DENNIS J.
LANGWELL
PETER B.
MIGLIORATO
PATRICIA H.
ROBERTS
OLLIE L.
SHERMAN, JR.
NUMBER
OF
DIRECTORS/​
NOMINEES
WITH SKILL
Executive Leadership
6/8
Insurance Industry Expertise
8/8
Risk Management
7/8
Corporate Governance
8/8
Business Operations
8/8
Finance / Capital
Management
5/8
Investments
3/8
Mergers and Acquisitions
5/8
Information Technology /​
Cyber Security
4/8
Legal and Regulatory
1/8
Board Composition Disclosure
The following charts display the tenure, age and diversity of our directors following the Annual Meeting (assuming the re-election of all nominees):
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6James River Group Holdings, Ltd.

 
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Prior to the 2022 Annual Meeting, the Board enjoyed greater than 30% gender diversity, and the Board’s goal is to regain compliance with that minimum standard at or prior to the Company’s annual general meeting of shareholders in 2024.
Board Diversity Disclosure
The table below provides the self-identified composition of our Board members as of June 6, 2023. Each of the categories listed in the below table has the meaning as it is used in Nasdaq Rule 5605(f). For our Board Diversity Matrix as of August 15, 2022, see our definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC on September 20, 2022.
BOARD DIVERSITY MATRIX (AS OF JUNE 6, 2023)
Total Number of Directors
10
FEMALE
MALE
NON-BINARY
DID NOT DISCLOSE
GENDER
Part I: Gender Identity
Directors 2 7 1
Part II: Demographic Background
African American or Black 1
Alaskan Native or Native American
Asian
Hispanic or Latinx
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
White 2 6
Two or More Races or Ethnicities
LGBTQ+
Did Not Disclose Demographic Background
1
Risk Oversight
The Company’s management, including and under the supervision of our Chief Executive Officer, has the primary responsibility for managing risks of the Company, subject to Board oversight. The Board has delegated certain of its risk oversight responsibilities to various Board committees. Specifically, the Board has assigned oversight of the risks associated with the Company’s investment portfolio to the Investment Committee and of the risks associated with the Company’s compensation policies and practices to the Compensation Committee. The Board has delegated to the Audit Committee the responsibility for oversight of the Company’s financial risks, financial controls, cybersecurity risks, internal audit and potential conflicts of interest and receives regular internal audit updates from our Chief Financial Officer and head of internal audit. Finally, our Board of Directors reviews strategic and operational risk in the context of reports from our senior management team, receives reports regarding activities of our Board committees at each regular meeting, and evaluates the risks inherent in significant transactions. In addition to the Audit Committee’s regular oversight of cybersecurity risks, the full Board receives updates on at least an annual basis from the Company’s Chief Information Officer on the Company’s information technology and cybersecurity posture and risks.
2023 Proxy Statement7

 
Our Board and its Committees
The Company’s Bye-laws prohibit meetings via telephone or video conferences with a director participant in the United States. This restriction proved difficult for us during the coronavirus pandemic (“COVID-19”). As a result of COVID-19, each of the Board and its committees were unable to hold any in-person meetings during the first half of 2022, but resumed meetings in Bermuda in July 2022. During the first half of 2022, our Board and its committees held informational videoconferences on a regular basis, with actions requiring approval taken by written consent after extensive discussion in the informational sessions.
During 2022, our Board of Directors held two in-person meetings and two informational videoconferences. Additionally, all of our directors attended at least 75% of the aggregate number of meetings and informational videoconferences of our Board of Directors and committees that he or she served on during 2022.
Our Board of Directors has established four standing committees to assist it in carrying out its responsibilities: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and the Investment Committee. Each of the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and the Investment Committee operates under its own written charter. The charters of the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee comply with the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the Nasdaq Stock Market. Copies of the charters of our standing committees are available on our website at https://jrvrgroup.com/. The membership of each committee and the function of each of the committees are described below. Mr. D’Orazio is not a member of any committee, but regularly attends the non-executive session portion of all committee meetings.
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AUDIT COMMITTEE
Thomas L. Brown (Chair)
Dennis J. Langwell
Peter B. Migliorato
Ollie L. Sherman, Jr.
Our Audit Committee consists of Messrs. Brown (Chairman), Langwell, Migliorato and Sherman. During 2022, our Audit Committee held two in-person meetings and two informational videoconferences.
Our Board has determined that all of the members of the Audit Committee are independent as defined under the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market and the independence requirements contemplated by Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Additionally, Messrs. Brown, Langwell and Sherman have been identified by our Board of Directors as an “audit committee financial expert” ​(“AC Financial Expert”) as that term is defined in Item 407(d)(5) of Regulation S-K. Mr. Brown acquired the skills necessary to qualify as an AC Financial Expert through his experience as Chief Financial Officer of RLI, his accounting and auditing experience while at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and status as a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Langwell acquired the skills necessary to qualify as an AC Financial Expert through his experience as Chief Financial Officer of Liberty Mutual Insurance and in other finance and accounting roles at Liberty Mutual Insurance and other insurance companies. Mr. Sherman acquired the skills necessary to qualify as an AC Financial Expert through his experience at Towers Watson as a consulting actuary and manager for the company’s property and casualty insurance practice, where his responsibilities included the review of property and casualty insurance financial data in connection with the issuance of actuarial opinions for use in connection with financial statements and other financial analysis.
The Audit Committee assists our Board of Directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities relating to:

the integrity of our financial statements and our financial reporting process;

internal and external auditing and the independent registered public accounting firm’s qualifications and independence;

the performance of an internal audit function and our independent registered public accounting firm;

the integrity of our systems of internal accounting and financial controls; and

our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
In so doing, the Audit Committee is responsible for maintaining free and open communication between the committee, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our management. In this role, the Audit Committee is empowered to investigate any matter brought to its attention with full access to all books, records, facilities and personnel of our Company and has the power to retain outside counsel or other experts for this purpose.
The Audit Committee has direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, retention and oversight of our independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee engages in an annual evaluation of the independent public accounting firm’s insurance industry qualifications and expertise, assesses the firm’s quality of service, the firm’s sufficiency of resources, the quality, timeliness and practicality of communication and interaction with the firm, the adequacy of information provided on accounting issues, auditing issues and regulatory developments affecting the property and casualty insurance industry, the firm’s ability to meet deadlines and respond quickly, the firm’s timeliness and accuracy of all services presented to the Audit Committee for pre-approval and review, management’s feedback, the lead partner’s performance, the comprehensiveness of evaluations of our internal control structure, and the firm’s independence, candor, objectivity and professional skepticism. The Audit Committee also considers the advisability and potential impact of selecting a different independent public accounting firm.
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The Audit Committee recognizes the importance of maintaining the independence of the Company’s independent auditors, both in fact and in appearance. On at least an annual basis, the Audit Committee receives and reviews written disclosures and a letter from our independent public accounting firm required by applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) regarding the firm’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence, and discusses with the firm the firm’s independence from the Company and management. These discussions include, among other things, a review of the nature of, and fees paid to the firm for, non-audit services and the compatibility of such services with maintaining the firm’s independence.
The Audit Committee meets with the independent registered public accounting firm and the Company’s internal audit group independently without the presence of management at least quarterly.
The Audit Committee is responsible for approving all transactions with related persons. On an annual basis, the Audit Committee reviews and approves all director and executive officer related party transactions that the Company is a party to, and on a quarterly basis receives a summary of such transactions as prepared by management. To the extent any new transactions may arise during the course of the year, management discusses such transactions with the Audit Committee. A further description of the Audit Committee’s role in reviewing related party transactions is set forth in this proxy statement under “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions.”
The Audit Committee also has responsibility for the oversight of the Company’s cybersecurity risks.
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COMPENSATION COMMITTEE
Patricia H. Roberts (Chair)
Matthew B. Botein
Ollie L. Sherman, Jr.
Our Compensation Committee consists of Ms. Roberts (Chairperson) and Messrs. Botein and Sherman. During 2022, the Compensation Committee held one in-person meeting and seven informational videoconferences.
Our Board of Directors has determined that the current members of our Compensation Committee are independent under applicable rules and regulations of the Nasdaq Stock Market.
The Compensation Committee assists our Board of Directors with reviewing the performance of our management in achieving corporate goals and objectives and assuring that our executives are compensated effectively in a manner consistent with our strategy, competitive practice and the requirements of the appropriate regulatory bodies. Toward that end, the Compensation Committee, among other responsibilities, makes recommendations to our Board of Directors regarding director and executive officer compensation, equity-based compensation plans and executive benefit plans. In determining compensation recommendations to the Board of Directors, the Compensation Committee consults with our Chief Executive Officer. The Compensation Committee also administers the Company’s incentive plans.
The Compensation Committee has the authority to retain compensation consultants and fix any such consultant’s fees and other retention terms and may obtain advice and assistance from internal or external legal and other advisors as it deems necessary to fulfill its duties and responsibilities. In 2022, the Compensation Committee approved the retention of Mercer US LLC (“Mercer”), an independent compensation consultant, to assist with the Company’s executive officer compensation plans and programs. For information regarding the scope of Mercer’s work, please see “Compensation Discussion and Analysis.”
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NOMINATING AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
Ollie L. Sherman, Jr. (Chair)
Kirstin M. Gould
Patricia H. Roberts
Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consists of Mr. Sherman (Chairman) and Ms. Gould and Ms. Roberts. During 2022, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee held two in-person meetings and two informational videoconferences.
Our Board of Directors has determined that our current members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are independent under applicable rules and regulations of the Nasdaq Stock Market. Among other responsibilities, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee identifies individuals qualified to become board members and recommends to the Board of Directors the director nominees for the next annual general meeting of shareholders.
The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee determines the qualifications, qualities, skills and other expertise required to be a director and develops and recommends such criteria to the Board of Directors when commencing a director search (the “Director Criteria”). In evaluating a candidate for director, the committee may consider, in addition to the Director Criteria and such other criteria as the committee considers appropriate under the circumstances, whether a candidate possesses the integrity, judgment, knowledge, experience, skills, diversity, expertise, and viewpoints that are likely to enhance the Board’s ability to manage and direct the affairs and business of the Company, including, when applicable, to enhance the ability of committees of the Board to fulfill their duties. The committee may take into account the satisfaction of any independence requirements imposed by law, regulation or the Board. The committee has authority to retain and terminate any search firm to be used to identify
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director candidates and to approve the search firm’s fees and other retention terms and may obtain advice and assistance from internal or external legal and other advisors as it deems necessary to fulfill its duties and responsibilities. The committee also retained a search firm to assist the committee in its board nominee search, and the search firm identified Mr. Langwell as a potential candidate for director. The search firm continues to provide assistance to the committee in its ongoing search for additional director candidates, with a focus on, among other things, increasing the Board’s diversity and identifying director candidates with information technology, cybersecurity, and human capital experience. Prior to the 2022 Annual Meeting, the Board enjoyed greater than 30% gender diversity, and the Board’s goal is to regain compliance with that minimum standard at or prior to the Company’s annual general meeting of shareholders in 2024.
The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may consider candidates recommended by any of the Company’s shareholders. In considering any such candidate, the committee may use the Director Criteria and such other criteria as the committee considers appropriate under the circumstance to evaluate any such candidate. For details on how shareholders may submit nominations for directors, see “Other Matters.”
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INVESTMENT COMMITTEE
Michael T. Oakes (Chair)
J. Adam Abram
Matthew B. Botein
Our Investment Committee consists of Messrs. Oakes (Chairman), Abram and Botein. During 2022, the Investment Committee held one in-person meeting and three informational videoconferences. The Investment Committee oversees the implementation of our overall investment policy.
Annual Evaluations
On an annual basis each of the members of the Board and each of our committees completes a self-assessment questionnaire to determine whether the Board and each committee is functioning effectively. The questionnaires invite written comments on all aspects of the Board and each committee’s process, and are completed on an anonymous basis to encourage candor. The results are then summarized by outside counsel and reviewed at a subsequent Board meeting.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
During 2022, each of Ms. Roberts (Chairperson), Mr. Sherman, Sundar S. Srinivasan and Jerry R. Masters served on our Compensation Committee (with Mr. Srinivasan and Mr. Masters serving on the committee for a portion of the year, prior to their departure from the Board). None of our executive officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our Board of Directors or Compensation Committee.
Attendance at Annual General Meetings of Shareholders
We encourage each member of our Board of Directors to attend the annual general meeting of shareholders. In 2022, five of our directors (including Mr. Migliorato, who was a director nominee at the 2022 Annual Meeting) attended our annual general meeting. Three of our other directors planned to attend the 2022 Annual Meeting, but experienced a late flight cancellation that prevented them from traveling to Bermuda. We are unable to hold our annual general meeting by videoconference due to restrictions in the Bye-laws regarding participation by shareholders from the United States.
Communications with our Board of Directors
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Any shareholder that desires to communicate directly with our Board of Directors, or any committee thereof, or one or more individual directors may do so by addressing the communication to our Secretary at James River Group Holdings, Ltd., Conyers Corporate Services (Bermuda) Limited, Clarendon House, P.O. Box HM 1022, Hamilton HM DX, Bermuda or Investors@jrvrgroup.com, in either case with a request to forward the communication to the intended recipient. The outside of the envelope or subject line of the email, as applicable, should be clearly marked “Director Communication.” All such correspondence will be forwarded to the relevant director or group of directors, except for items unrelated to the functions of the Board, including business solicitations or advertisements.
Code of Conduct
We have a Code of Conduct (the “Code of Conduct”) applicable to our directors, officers and employees that complies with the requirements of applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and the Nasdaq Stock Market. This code is designed to deter wrongdoing and to promote:

honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of avoiding actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional responsibilities to the Company;
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full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that we file with the SEC and in other public communications made by us, as well as communications with insurance and other regulators;

compliance with applicable governmental laws, rules and regulations;

prompt reporting of violations of the Code of Conduct to the Chairman of our Audit Committee; and

accountability for adherence to the Code of Conduct.
Our Code of Conduct is available on the Our Group — Governance — Corporate Governance portion of our website (www.jrvrgroup.com).
Prohibition on Pledging & Hedging
Our insider trading policy prohibits our directors, officers and employees from engaging in any pledging, hedging or monetization transactions or similar arrangements with respect to our securities. Such parties are also prohibited from engaging in any short sales, utilizing a margin account with respect to buying or selling our securities, or trading in exchange-traded options or other derivative securities.
Investor Engagement and Feedback
We are committed to effective corporate governance that is informed by our shareholders, promotes the long-term interests of our shareholders, and strengthens Board and management accountability. We are committed to ensuring that we understand our shareholders’ issues and potential concerns, and that our shareholders understand our corporate governance and executive compensation programs. We have a robust shareholder outreach program that involves members of the Board of Directors, executive management and Investor Relations.
The benefits of regular engagement include:

Keeping the Board and management accountable for addressing shareholder concerns;

Gaining and maintaining shareholder trust through visibility and transparency; and

Providing the Board and management with visibility into emerging issues that are important to our shareholders.
We engage with our shareholders through different methods. These include, among others, earnings conference calls, investor conferences, individual and group investor conference calls and conference participation, outreach, and calls and meetings with investor corporate governance departments. Topics covered through our different forms of engagement include, among others:

Strategic and financial goals and performance, business initiatives;

Executive compensation;

Regulatory and rating agency considerations;

Leadership structure;

Board composition, including qualification, skills, background of Board members; and

Corporate governance and Board structure.
Our shareholder outreach initiative over the last twelve months has included communication with over 250 existing and potential shareholders. Additionally, shareholders and other interested parties may communicate with members of the Board of Directors, executive management and Investor Relations through Investors@jrvrgroup.com.
Environmental, Social & Governance
We are committed to fostering a sustainable business that supports the well-being of our employees, customers and communities. We strive to put our corporate values into action every day, including by providing engaging and rewarding work for our employees and always demonstrating integrity in our actions.
ETHICS
We are committed to conducting our business in compliance with the law and the highest ethical standards. The Company has adopted a Corporate Governance Manual that includes a series of policies designed to ensure our directors, officers and employees act in an ethical and legally compliant manner in the course of their service to the Company. The policies contained in the Corporate Governance Manual include, among others, our Code of Conduct, Policy on Insider Trading and Tipping, Whistleblower Policy, Conflict of Interest Policy, and Related Party Transactions Policy & Procedures. All directors, officers, and employees are required to review and sign an acknowledgement of the Corporate Governance Manual on an annual basis.
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OUR EMPLOYEES
We strive to make James River a great place to work and a place where everyone is treated with dignity and fairness, respecting and recognizing each employee as an individual. We know our success as a company is founded on the talents, skills and efforts of our employees. We believe our culture enables us to attract and retain exceptional talent.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION
Our strength and success derive from our diversity, and we believe we are at our best when we embrace diverse views and perspectives. Equality in opportunity, career development, compensation and respect for all individuals are fundamental human rights that are at the forefront of our culture and promoted within our workplace.
Our Board is committed to diversity within its structure, as well as emphasizing its importance in our senior executive leadership team. We believe that diversity in gender, age, ethnicity and skill set allows for dynamic and evolving perspectives in governance, strategy, corporate responsibility, human rights and risk management. We have two highly respected women with proven leadership experience as members of our Board, as well as another member of our Board who is an underrepresented minority.
Within our Company, our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts are ultimately overseen by our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Human Resources Officer but are developed and run on a day-to-day basis by our DEI Committee. This committee is both diverse and made up of employees from all segments, levels and office locations. Over the last year, our DEI Committee made significant progress in bringing additional awareness and focus to DEI topics throughout the Company and in the locations where we operate. The primary objectives of the committee are to increase awareness of diversity and inclusion, provide education opportunities to all employees, improve understanding of how diversity and inclusion affect our corporate objectives, and identify and address potential roadblocks to diversity and equity in hiring, promotion, physical environment and professional development. In 2022, we launched our first Listening Circles to gather feedback from employees and implemented a robust training program including sessions on DEI, Sensitivity & Racism, Unconscious Bias, Microaggressions in the Workplace, and Cultural Competency & Humility. We expect to continue holding the Listening Circles and conduct training on a quarterly basis.
WORKFORCE DIVERSITY
As of December 31, 2022, we had 639 employees located in the United States and Bermuda, all classified as full-time. Of that population, 56% identified as female and 44% identified as male. Among the 98% of our employees who chose to disclose their race and ethnicity, approximately 12% identified as Black or African American, 6% as Asian, 4% as Hispanic or Latino, 2% as two or more races, less than 1% as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and less than 1% as American Indian or Alaska Native.
Our hiring practices are designed to meet business hiring needs as well as maintain a high bar for talent. In an effort to promote diversity in our hiring practices and in the workforce broadly, we have a number of recruiting partnerships including those focused on bringing former military members into the corporate workforce, an internship program for diverse students interested in careers in the insurance industry, and a work-study program for high school students providing access to professional environments that typically are underrepresented in the students’ communities. In addition to these partnerships, our diversity hiring efforts include subscribing to and posting on diversity websites, relationships with recruitment centers at historically black colleges and universities, and sponsorship of career events focused on recruiting women and underrepresented minorities.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
We offer competitive salaries and a benefits package that is designed to support the well-being of our workforce. Most employees are eligible for an annual bonus based upon individual performance, department performance, and overall performance of the Company. Benefits offered to our full-time employees include, among others, medical, dental and vision insurance, a comprehensive employee assistance program to support the mental health of our employees and their families, employer-paid life and disability plans, contributions to employee retirement accounts through a Company match with immediate vesting, paid parental leave and adoption assistance, and paid time off. In addition, we offer a range of discounts, incentives and supplemental benefit programs including preventative care and fitness incentives, matching gifts program, and flex schedules that allow employees to better balance personal and professional considerations.
EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
We recognize the mutual benefits for our Company and our employees to further their formal education and professional development. Our Employee Development and Education Assistance program provides financial assistance for courses, development programs and professional affiliations. Training is available to every employee and ranges from onboarding training for new hires to training sessions on general workplace and management skills. All employees, whether full-time or part-time, have access to an online learning management system that hosts courses and modules across a wide range of topics.
We have a formal, annual performance review process. This provides managers and employees opportunities to discuss job responsibilities, encourage strengths and identify opportunities for development.
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EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
We value the opinions and diverse perspectives of our employees and utilize the feedback that we receive throughout the year to help develop many of our company programs, policies, and benefits. We believe soliciting candid employee feedback is a means to further the Company’s goals and value the opinions and diverse perspectives of our employees. We conduct an annual anonymous engagement survey followed by voluntary focus group sessions to better assess how motivated and engaged our employees are to perform their best each day. New hire feedback is collected following an employee’s first 30 days of employment, which allows us to reflect upon and improve aspects of our recruitment and onboarding processes. In addition to the formal surveys and feedback meeting, we collect valuable input through our Employee Suggestion Program where employees may express their feedback regarding any aspect of their employment with the Company.
Our last annual employee engagement survey, conducted in November 2022, had a 76% participation rate. Results were positive and compared favorably to other companies in the financial services industry that participated in the same survey. Based on the results, our Company was named a 2023 Top Workplaces USA winner, a recognition that we have received three years in a row. The top words to describe our culture included: flexible, supportive, diverse, inclusive, collaborative, engaging, communicative, resilient, and respectful. We believe this demonstrates a positive perception of the Company’s culture among our employees.
OUR COMMUNITIES
We believe it is important to engage with and provide support to our communities, and to encourage and support our employees as they volunteer time and resources to community-based charitable organizations. We have an internal committee staffed by employees at various levels that identify and support our charitable and volunteer involvement in the Richmond, Virginia, and Raleigh, North Carolina communities, as well as the other communities in which we have offices. In addition, we have a Matching Gifts Program to support our employees’ contributions to their preferred charitable organizations, and we donate information technology equipment no longer needed by the Company to an organization that refurbishes computers at low or no cost to qualifying veterans or support organizations.
Compensation of Directors
Our non-employee directors (excluding Mr. Abram, whose director compensation is described below, and Mr. Botein) receive an annual cash retainer in the amount of  $125,000 per year, payable in four equal installments at the beginning of each quarter, and a restricted stock unit (“RSU”) award with a fair market value of  $50,000 per year. The awards of RSUs are made from the Non-Employee Director Plan and vest in full on the first anniversary of the date of the grant.
In addition to the aforementioned compensation, the Chairman of our Audit Committee is paid additional cash compensation in the amount of $25,000 per year for service in such capacity. No other committee chairman or committee member receives additional compensation for such service.
Mr. Abram, as our Non-Executive Chairman, is paid a retainer of  $18,750 per month in cash, for such service, which amount is paid to him monthly. Mr. Botein, who joined the Board in 2023, does not receive compensation for his service as a director, pursuant to the terms of the Investment Agreement relating to the issuance of our Series A Preferred Shares, described under “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions — Related Party Transactions”.
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The following table sets forth information concerning compensation earned by our non-employee directors during the year ended December 31, 2022.
NAME
FEES EARNED OR
PAID IN CASH(1)
($)
STOCK
AWARDS(2)
($)
ALL OTHER
COMPENSATION(4)
($)
TOTAL
($)
J. Adam Abram
$ 225,000 $ 225,000
Thomas L. Brown
$ 137,500 $ 50,000 $ 187,500
Janet R. Cowell
$ 102,242 $ 50,000(3) $ 1,194 $ 153,436
Kirstin M. Gould
$ 125,000 $ 50,000 $ 175,000
Jerry R. Masters
$ 75,000 $ 50,000(3) $ 1,194 $ 126,194
Peter B. Migliorato
$ 22,758 $ 22,758
Michael T. Oakes
$ 125,000 $ 50,000 $ 1,194 $ 176,194
Patricia H. Roberts
$ 125,000 $ 50,000 $ 1,194 $ 176,194
Ollie L. Sherman, Jr.
$ 125,000 $ 50,000 $ 1,194 $ 176,194
Sundar S. Srinivasan
$ 102,242 $ 50,000(3) $ 1,194 $ 153,436
(1)
The cash compensation paid to Messrs. Masters, Migliorato and Srinivasan, and Ms. Cowell was prorated based upon the portion of the year that such individuals served as directors during 2022. Mr. Masters served as a Class II director until his retirement on April 26, 2022. Mr. Srinivasan and Ms. Cowell served as directors until the expiration of their terms as Class II directors at our 2022 Annual Meeting, at which time Mr. Migliorato joined the Board as a Class II director.
(2)
Represents the grant date fair value of restricted share units awarded under the 2014 Non-Employee Director Incentive Plan (the “2014 Director Plan”), calculated in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718.
(3)
The restricted share unit awards to Ms. Cowell and Messrs. Masters and Srinivasan were forfeited upon their departure from the board of directors.
(4)
Represents dividends paid to directors that accrued on unvested restricted share units and were paid at the time awards vested.
Share Ownership Guidelines
In July 2022, the Board, at the recommendation of the Compensation Committee of the Board, adopted share ownership guidelines (the “Guidelines”) to more closely align the financial interests of the Company’s directors and executive and other senior officers with those of the Company’s shareholders. Pursuant to the Guidelines, within five years of becoming subject to the Guidelines, (i) non-employee directors are required to beneficially own common shares with a fair market value equivalent to three times their annual cash retainer, (ii) the Company’s Chief Executive Officer is required to beneficially own common shares with a fair market value equivalent to five times his annual base salary, and (iii) other executive officers and designated members of the senior management team of the Company are required to beneficially own common shares with a fair market value equivalent to three times their annual base salary. For additional information regarding the requirements of our share ownership guidelines, see, “Executive Compensation — Compensation Discussion and Analysis — Share Ownership Guidelines.”
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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
The following table identifies each of our executive officers and their age as of June 6, 2023:
FRANK N.
D’ORAZIO
SARAH C.
DORAN
RICHARD J.
SCHMITZER
TERENCE M.
MCCAFFERTY
DANIEL J.
HEINLEIN
MICHAEL J.
HOFFMANN
JEANETTE L.
MILLER
55 49 67 60 38 57 44
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Financial Officer
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Excess and Surplus Lines segment
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Specialty Admitted Insurance segment
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Casualty Reinsurance segment
Group Chief Underwriting Officer
Chief Legal Officer
The following biographical information is furnished regarding each of our executive officers, excluding Mr. D’Orazio, whose biographical information is included in the section “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance.”
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SARAH C. DORAN
Sarah C. Doran has served as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer since January 2017. Ms. Doran also serves as a Director of our U.K. holding company and a director and officer of most of our domestic subsidiaries. Before joining the Company, Ms. Doran served as Senior Vice President, Strategy, Investor Relations and Treasurer of Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, AG, a global provider of property, casualty and specialty insurance and reinsurance, since April 2013. Prior to that, Ms. Doran worked as an investment banker in the Financial Institutions Group of Barclays and Lehman Brothers. Ms. Doran received an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Government from the University of Notre Dame.
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RICHARD J. SCHMITZER
Richard J. Schmitzer has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of James River Insurance Company and our other subsidiaries in our Excess and Surplus Lines segment since March 2010. He joined James River Insurance Company in July 2009 as Senior Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer. Prior to that, Mr. Schmitzer served nineteen years at Scottsdale Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Nationwide Mutual, where he served in a variety of underwriting and underwriting management roles, most recently as Vice President of Brokerage, Professional Liability and Programs. Mr. Schmitzer received his B.S. in Business Administration from Central Michigan University.
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TERENCE M. MCCAFFERTY
Terence M. McCafferty has served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of Falls Lake National Insurance Company and our other subsidiaries in our Specialty Admitted Insurance segment since joining the Falls Lake Insurance group in October 2018. Prior to that, he served from 2015 to 2018 as Head of Group Captives and Alternative Risk at Zurich Insurance Group. From 2006 to 2015, he served as Chief Operating Officer at Zurich Programs and Direct Markets. From 2000 to 2006, he held multiple Vice President positions at Farmers Insurance Group, a property and casualty insurance company, including in Finance Operations, Corporate Planning and property and casualty insurance operations. He served as Assistant Vice President at Zurich Personal Insurance, Recreational Products, from 1998 to 2000. Mr. McCafferty began his career as an auditor at Ernst & Young. He has also worked at Great American Insurance in Internal Audit, Financial Reporting and Product Management. Mr. McCafferty received his M.B.A. in Finance from Xavier University and B.A. in Finance and Accounting from Miami University.
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DANIEL J. HEINLEIN
Daniel J. Heinlein has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of JRG Reinsurance Company Ltd. (“JRG Re”), the Company’s subsidiary engaged in third-party casualty reinsurance business, since April 2018. He most recently held the position of Vice President of Underwriting for JRG Re, and in different positions with increasing responsibility at JRG Re from the time he joined the company in 2012. Prior to that, Mr. Heinlein served as Assistant Vice President at Willis Re Inc., a risk management consulting company. Mr. Heinlein is a graduate of Appalachian State University with a B.S. in Business Administration with majors in Finance and Banking and Risk Management and Insurance.
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MICHAEL J. HOFFMANN
Michael J. Hoffmann has served as the Company’s Senior Vice President, Chief Underwriting Officer since November 2021. Mr. Hoffmann also serves as a director of JRG Reinsurance Company Ltd. Before joining the Company, Mr. Hoffmann served as Head of Risk & Ceded Reinsurance at Everest Insurance Company (“Everest”), a division of Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer Everest Re Group, from August 2020 to November 2021. Prior to Everest, Mr. Hoffmann spent 15 years at Allied World, a global provider of property, casualty and specialty insurance and reinsurance, where he most recently served as Global Insurance Chief Underwriting Officer. Prior to Allied World, Mr. Hoffmann spent 14 years with Chubb in a variety of roles in the U.S. and Bermuda. Mr. Hoffmann received a B.A. in History from Swarthmore College.
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JEANETTE L. MILLER
Jeanette L. Miller has served as the Company’s Chief Legal Officer since April 2021, and prior to that served as the Company’s Assistant General Counsel since October 2018. Ms. Miller also serves as an officer of James River Group, Inc. Before joining the Company, Ms. Miller served as Corporate Counsel & Deputy Compliance Officer at International Farming Corporation LLC, a privately owned institutional investment manager specializing in agriculture, from May 2017 to October 2018, and as Assistant General Counsel at CIFC LLC, an asset manager based in New York specializing in alternative credit, from December 2011 to June 2016. From 2006 to 2011, Ms. Miller was an attorney with Milbank LLP in New York in its Alternative Investments Practice. Ms. Miller received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Maine and a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School.
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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Compensation Discussion and Analysis
This Compensation Discussion and Analysis provides information about the Company’s compensation philosophy, objectives and other relevant policies applicable to our executive officers who are named in the Summary Compensation Table below (our “named executive officers” or “NEOs”), and the material factors relevant to an analysis of these policies and decisions. The named executive officers for 2022 are:

Frank N. D’Orazio, our Chief Executive Officer;

Sarah C. Doran, our Chief Financial Officer;

Richard J. Schmitzer, the President and Chief Executive Officer of James River Insurance Company and our other subsidiaries in our excess and surplus lines insurance business;

Terence M. McCafferty, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Falls Lake National Insurance Company and our other subsidiaries in our specialty admitted insurance business; and

Daniel J. Heinlein, the President and Chief Executive Officer of JRG Re, our subsidiary in our third-party casualty reinsurance business.
COMPENSATION PHILOSOPHY AND OBJECTIVES
In designing and implementing our executive compensation program, the Compensation Committee of the Board (which for purposes of this Executive Compensation discussion we refer to as the “Committee”), and the Board, seek to achieve three principal objectives:
1
First, to establish compensation on a fair and reasonable basis that is competitive with our peers in the specialty insurance and reinsurance business, so that we may attract, motivate and retain talented executive officers.
2
Second, to create an alignment of interests between our executive officers and shareholders. For this purpose, a portion of each executive officer’s compensation consists of one or more forms of equity awards.
3
Finally, we seek to reward performance that supports our principles of building long-term shareholder value overall and to recognize individual performance that contributes to the success of our Company.
The principal elements of our compensation program for our executive officers are base salary, cash short-term incentive bonuses and equity awards.
In determining how to best achieve our compensation objectives, the Committee maintains flexibility in order to react to changing conditions, circumstances, or best practices. For example, in July 2022, the Committee (with approval from the Board and assistance from the Company’s compensation consultant, Mercer US LLC (“Mercer”)) redesigned the prior discretionary cash bonus and equity programs to better align with market practices and tie to clearly-defined performance goals.
ROLE OF COMPENSATION COMMITTEE AND OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS IN SETTING EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
The Committee assists our Board with reviewing the performance of our management in achieving corporate goals and objectives and seeking to assure that our executives are compensated effectively in a manner consistent with our strategy, competitive practice and the requirements of the appropriate regulatory bodies. Toward that end, the Committee, among other responsibilities, makes recommendations to our Board regarding director and executive officer compensation and administers our equity compensation plans.
In 2022, the Company, with the Committee’s approval, retained Mercer to identify a peer group of companies and to perform a competitive assessment of our executive compensation programs, evaluate the compensation of our CEO, our other NEOs, and our other executives, to develop and support the implementation of our compensation philosophy and programs, and to assist with compensation reporting requirements.
The Committee determined its 2022 executive compensation recommendations for the Board leveraging the market study developed by Mercer, in accordance with the STI Plan (as defined below), and in consultation with Mr. D’Orazio as our Chief Executive Officer. Mr. D’Orazio made recommendations to the Committee as to the compensation of other executive officers, and attended portions of Committee sessions where executive officer compensation was discussed. Mr. D’Orazio was not involved in any deliberations regarding his own compensation.
2023 Proxy Statement17

 
Peer Group. With Mercer’s assistance, the Committee identified a peer group based upon the following factors:

companies engaged in property & casualty insurance; and

companies with total revenue and assets that were approximately 0.5x to 2.0x compared to the Company.
Based upon these criteria, the Committee identified the following 14 companies as its peer group for both evaluating compensation positioning and to help with redesigning both short-term and long-term incentive plans:
Amerisafe, Inc. Kinsale Capital Group, Inc.
Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. ProAssurance Corporation
Donegal Group Inc. RLI Corp.
Employers Holdings, Inc. SiriusPoint Ltd.
Global Indemnity Group, LLC United Fire Group, Inc.
Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. United Insurance Holdings Corp.
HCI Group, Inc. Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc.
WEIGHTING OF COMPENSATION COMPONENTS
As a general guideline, we use a target allocation of one-third of a named executive officer’s total compensation to base salary, one-third to bonus and one-third to equity awards. When determining the amount of each element of compensation, however, there may be some deviation from those target allocations due to multiple factors, including market conditions, individual and Company performance and our desire to attract and retain executives.
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INTERNAL PAY EQUITY
Differences in compensation levels paid to our executive officers generally reflect their differing levels of responsibility. Our Chief Executive Officer has typically been paid the highest amount of compensation among our executive officers, reflecting reliance on the management and leadership skills of the chief executive officer position.
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION COMPONENTS
[MISSING IMAGE: ic_arrow-pn.gif]
BASE SALARY
[MISSING IMAGE: ic_arrow-pn.gif]
DISCRETIONARY BONUSES
[MISSING IMAGE: ic_arrow-pn.gif]
EQUITY AWARDS
Base Salary. The Committee endeavors to set base salaries for executive officers at levels that enable the Company to attract and retain talented individuals and that provide fair compensation, taking into account the officer’s level of responsibility.
In February 2022, the Committee recommended to the Board that Mr. D’Orazio receive a salary increase to $925,000, and Ms. Doran receive an increase to $550,000, representing increases over their 2021 salaries of approximately 8.8% and 6.8% respectively. The Committee determined the recommended amount of Mr. D’Orazio’s salary increase based in significant part on the additional responsibilities that he assumed upon our former Chief Operating Officer’s retirement, which included assuming responsibility for the Chief Operating Officer’s former direct reports, and direct oversight responsibility of, among other departments, claims, actuarial and information technology. The Committee’s recommendation for Ms. Doran’s salary increase was determined based upon her leadership on several significant matters for the Company, as well as for retention purposes. The Committee also recommended that Messrs. Schmitzer’s, McCafferty’s and Heinlein’s salaries be increased to $650,000, $420,000 and $365,000 respectively, representing raises over their 2021 salaries of approximately 1%, 5% and 4.3%. The Board approved the salary adjustments as recommended by the Committee.
18James River Group Holdings, Ltd.

 
Short-Term Incentive Plan. In July 2022, the Board, upon the recommendation of the Committee, approved the James River Group Holdings, Ltd. Short-Term Incentive Plan (the “STI Plan”), to replace the discretionary bonuses annually granted through 2021. The STI Plan is designed to provide incentives to designated senior officers of the Company to achieve certain financial and strategic performance targets and to link executive compensation to shareholder results by rewarding competitive and superior performance. Under the STI Plan, participants had the opportunity to receive a cash incentive award based upon the level of achievement of the performance goals for the 2022 fiscal year. For the named executive officers, the target amount was set at 100% of each such officer’s 2022 salary.
Based upon a review of the peer group’s short-term compensation practices and the Company’s strategic plan and historical performance levels, the Committee recommended to the Board, and the Board approved, the use of three performance metrics. Two of these are financial performance metrics: adjusted combined ratio and adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), which are non-GAAP financial measures. The Committee believes that the financial performance metrics based on combined ratio and EBIT are appropriate, as they are industry standard measures of profitability.
The third performance metric was based upon the achievement of Company strategic goals for 2022, the achievement of which were non-formulaic, and determined on a subjective basis. The Company’s 2022 strategic goals were identified by the Committee as among the most important goals in a broader set of companywide objectives identified by Mr. D’Orazio for 2022, and focused on significant progress on technology improvements, strategically leveraging the capabilities of the Company’s enterprise risk management practices, and developing more formalized practices around compensation.
CALCULATION OF ADJUSTED COMBINED RATIO METRIC
The Company’s adjusted combined ratio is calculated as the combined ratio of the Company on a consolidated basis, calculated prior to the effect of favorable or unfavorable prior year reserve development for which the Company’s subsidiaries ceded the risk under retroactive reinsurance agreements and the related changes in the amortization of the deferred gain.
For each segment, adjusted combined ratio is calculated as the segment’s combined ratio, calculated prior to the effect of favorable or unfavorable prior year reserve development for which such segment ceded the risk under retroactive reinsurance agreements, if any, and the related changes in the amortization of the deferred gain.
CALCULATION OF ADJUSTED EBIT
Adjusted EBIT is calculated as net income of the Company before interest and income taxes, and excluding the portion of favorable or unfavorable prior year reserve development for which the Company’s subsidiaries ceded the risk under retroactive reinsurance agreements and the related changes in the amortization of the deferred gain.
For a member of our senior management with Company-wide responsibility, which includes Mr. D’Orazio and Ms. Doran, adjusted Company combined ratio, adjusted EBIT and the strategic goals are each weighted one-third in determining the actual incentive award payout. For a member of senior management who is a business segment leader or whose responsibilities are primarily focused on a single business segment, including Messrs. Schmitzer, McCafferty and Heinlein, the only variation in the performance metrics and weighting is that the adjusted combined ratio metric is split evenly between the Company’s adjusted combined ratio and the adjusted combined ratio of the applicable segment that such member of senior management performs services for, so each is weighted 16.665% of such person’s short term incentive opportunity. Payouts for achievement of threshold, target and maximum performance levels by named executive officers are set at 50%, 100% and 150% of the target opportunity, respectively. Performance falling between these levels is determined by linear interpolation. The Committee has discretion to adjust final results in the event of unusual or nonrecurring events. No discretion was used by the Committee for awards made in 2022.
2023 Proxy Statement19

 
The 2022 threshold, target and maximum financial metrics, actual performance, and performance as a percentage of target, for each financial performance goal (group adjusted combined ratio and adjusted EBIT for Mr. D’Orazio and Ms. Doran, group and segment adjusted combined ratio and adjusted EBIT for Messrs. Schmitzer, McCafferty and Heinlein) are set forth in the table below:
($ IN THOUSANDS)
GROUP
ADJUSTED
COMBINED RATIO
(ALL NEOS)
SEGMENT ADJUSTED COMBINED RATIO
(SEGMENT LEADERS)
GROUP
ADJUSTED
EBIT
(ALL NEOS)
STRATEGIC
GOALS
(ALL NEOS)
EXCESS &
SURPLUS
LINES
SPECIALTY
ADMITTED
CASUALTY
RE
Weighting of Metric
33.3% Group /
16.7% Segment
16.7%
33.3%
33.3%
Threshold
99.9%
91.3% 99.9% 99.9%
$50.7 million
N/A
Target
93.5%
84.9% 95.0% 93.9%
$107.9 million
N/A
Maximum
87.1%
78.5% 88.6% 87.5%
$165.0 million
N/A
Actual Result
93.5%
85.1% 94.3% 96.2%
$91.8 million
Met
Weighting % of Target based on Actual Achievement
33.3% Group /
16.6% Segment
16.5% 17.6% 13.5%
28.7%
33.3%
The Committee discussed the Company’s achievement of the strategic goals with Mr. D’Orazio and reviewed related materials, evaluating the level of achievement on a companywide basis. The Committee determined that the strategic goals were achieved at target.
The Board approved payouts under the STI Plan for the named executive officers in the amounts recommended by the Committee aligned with the results above. The table below sets forth the amount of each named executive officer’s STI Plan payment and the percentage that it represented compared to such officer’s 2022 base salary, which, for each named executive officer, represented his or her target payout.
NAME
2022 STI
PLAN PAYMENT
PAYMENT AS A % OF
2022 BASE SALARY
Frank N. D’Orazio $ 881,155 95.3%
Sarah C. Doran $ 523,930 95.3%
Richard J. Schmitzer $ 618,085 95.1%
Terence M. McCafferty $ 404,124 96.2%
Daniel J. Heinlein $ 336,165 92.1%
Equity Awards. For 2022, equity awards were made to our executive officers from the Company’s 2014 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “2014 LTIP”). The equity awards were intended to align the interests of our executive officers with our shareholders as well as retain and motivate our executive officers, in that they typically vest in equal installments over a three-year period following the grant date.
Commencing with the equity awards made in 2022, the grant date and pricing of our annual equity awards, made in February each year, are on the second trading day following the public dissemination of our fiscal year-end earnings release. The Committee and Board adopted this practice so that the number of shares that are subject to awards would take into account the trading price of our shares after the markets respond, positively or negatively, to our announced financial results.
2022 EQUITY AWARDS
In determining the recommended value of RSU awards made to our executive officers in February 2022, the Committee considered the same performance factors identified in the determination of the amount of discretionary cash bonuses made in February 2022 for 2021 performance, and the Committee’s desire to further align the interests of our executive officers and our shareholders.
20James River Group Holdings, Ltd.

 
Individual performance factors considered by the Committee for each executive officer in determining the value of the 2022 RSU awards included:
Frank N. D’Orazio
In addition to Mr. D’Orazio’s leadership of the Company as our Chief Executive Officer, the following extraordinary activities:

his leadership in the capital raise during spring 2021 and negotiation and execution of the loss portfolio transfer transaction later in the year, and his work toward similar transactions that occurred in February 2022;

his recruitment and integration into the Company of the new chief underwriting officer, chief actuary and chief claims officer, and being instrumental in identifying and bringing on two new independent directors with extensive prior experience as executives in the insurance industry; and

his work in the development of an enhanced enterprise risk management system.
Sarah C. Doran In addition to Ms. Doran’s leadership in overseeing the financial and legal functions of the Company as our Chief Financial Officer, her role in the capital raise during spring 2021 and the loss portfolio transfer transaction later in the year, and work toward similar transactions that occurred in February 2022.
Richard J. Schmitzer Mr. Schmitzer’s leadership of the excess and surplus segment, including the growth and profitability of the core excess and surplus lines business (excluding commercial auto).
Terence M. McCafferty Mr. McCafferty’s leadership of the specialty admitted segment, including its significant growth and attractive combined ratio for 2021.
Daniel J. Heinlein Mr. Heinlein’s leadership of the casualty reinsurance segment and his assistance with the segment’s loss portfolio transfer transaction in February 2022.
The Committee recommended to the Board for approval, and the Board approved, the value of the RSU awards to the named executive officers.
The grant date fair market value of the RSU awards received by each named executive officer, and the number of common shares awarded based upon the fair market value of the common shares on the date of grant, are as follows:
NAME
2022 RSU FMV
ON GRANT DATE
NUMBER OF SHARES
REPRESENTED BY RSUS
Frank N. D’Orazio $ 1,274,998 62,195
Sarah C. Doran $ 590,236 28,792
Richard J. Schmitzer $ 642,388 31,336
Terence M. McCafferty $ 399,996 19,512
Daniel J. Heinlein $ 402,497 19,634
The above equity awards vest in equal installments over a three-year period following the grant date.
2023 EQUITY AWARDS
Commencing in 2023, equity awards to our executive officers under the 2014 LTIP were made pursuant to the long-term incentive plan approved by the Board upon recommendation from the Committee (the “LTI Plan”). The LTI Plan is designed to align compensation of designated senior officers of the Company, including the named executive officers, with Company performance and shareholder interests over the long-term. Awards under the LTI Plan are made in the form of performance-based restricted share units (“PRSUs”) and service-based restricted share units (“Service Based RSUs”).
The performance period for the PRSUs awarded in 2023 is January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2025, and the awards have a target value equal to 50% of such named executive officer’s 2022 annual base salary. Each PRSU represents a contingent right to receive one Company common share based upon the level of achievement of certain performance metrics during the performance period.
Based upon a review of our peer group’s long-term compensation practices, and the Company’s own business, the Committee recommended to the Board, and the Board approved, the use of two financial performance metrics, which will be evenly weighted. The financial performance metrics are (i) the Company’s adjusted operating return on average adjusted tangible common equity, and (ii) growth in adjusted tangible common equity per common share. Both of these measures are non-GAAP measures. The Committee chose these metrics because it believes that these measures are indicators of the Company’s long-term financial performance.
2023 Proxy Statement21

 
CALCULATION OF ADJUSTED OPERATING RETURN ON AVERAGE ADJUSTED TANGIBLE COMMON EQUITY
The Company calculates adjusted operating return on average adjusted tangible common equity for the performance period as the three-year average adjusted net operating income divided by the four-year average adjusted tangible common equity. For purposes of this calculation:
Adjusted net operating income” is defined as net income (loss) available to common shareholders excluding (i) net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments, (ii) the portion of favorable or unfavorable prior year reserve development for which the Company’s subsidiaries ceded the risk under retroactive reinsurance agreements and the related changes in the amortization of deferred gain, and (iii) certain non-operating expenses, such as professional service fees related to a purported class action lawsuit, various strategic initiatives, the filing of registration statements for the offering of securities, and severance costs associated with terminated employees, calculated as of December 31 of each fiscal year during the performance period.
Adjusted tangible common equity” is defined as shareholders’ equity less goodwill and intangible assets, net of amortization, accumulated other comprehensive income, and realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments, and plus deferred gains under retroactive reinsurance agreements entered into by the Company’s subsidiaries, calculated as of the December 31st immediately preceding the performance period and December 31 of each fiscal year during the performance period.
CALCULATION OF GROWTH IN ADJUSTED TANGIBLE COMMON EQUITY PER COMMON SHARE
The Company calculates growth in adjusted tangible common equity per common share for the performance period as a percentage equal to the greater of  (i) ((A-B)/B)/4, and (ii) 0%, where:
A = adjusted tangible common equity per common share as of the last day of the performance period; and
B = adjusted tangible common equity per common share as of the December 31st immediately preceding the performance period.
Adjusted tangible common equity per common share” is calculated as (i) adjusted tangible common equity, divided by (ii) the number of common shares outstanding.
The number of PRSUs that will be eligible to be earned and become vested for participants will be based upon both continued employment (subject to certain exceptions described under “Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Control — Equity Awards” below) and the achievement of the performance metrics during the performance period, with payout for achievement of threshold, target and maximum performance levels for named executive officers set at 50%, 100% and 200% of the target number of PRSUs, respectively. Performance falling between these levels will be determined by linear interpolation. The Committee has discretion to adjust final results in the event of unusual or nonrecurring events.
The Service Based RSUs awarded in 2023 have a fair market value equal to 50% of the named executive officer’s 2022 base salary, and will vest in three substantially equal annual installments commencing on the first anniversary of the grant date, provided that the recipient remains employed, subject to certain exceptions described under “Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Control — Equity Awards” below.
The LTI Plan awards received by each named executive officer, and the number of common shares awarded based upon the closing price of common shares on the date of grant (in each case with the amounts representing PRSUs determined at target), are as follows:
NAME
2023
PRSU AWARD
AT TARGET LEVEL
NUMBER OF SHARES
REPRESENTED
BY PRSU AT
TARGET LEVEL
2023
SERVICE-BASED
RSU AWARD
NUMBER OF
SHARES
REPRESENTED BY
SERVICE-BASED RSU
Frank N. D’Orazio $ 462,500 18,626 $ 462,500 18,626
Sarah C. Doran $ 275,000 11,075 $ 275,000 11,075
Richard J. Schmitzer $ 325,000 13,089 $ 325,000 13,089
Terence M. McCafferty $ 210,000 8,457 $ 210,000 8,457
Daniel J. Heinlein $ 182,500 7,349 $ 182,500 7,349
Welfare Benefits and Perquisites. Our named executive officers are provided welfare benefits that are generally the same as our other employees, such as Company-paid life insurance, contributions to the Company’s 401(k) Plan, medical, dental and vision plan coverage and long and short-term disability insurance.
In addition to the above benefits, Mr. Heinlein and Ms. Doran are entitled to receive benefits based upon their required work for the Company in Bermuda. The Company implemented these benefits for its executive officers in 2008, when the Company formed its holding and reinsurance company in Bermuda. These benefits are:

payment of certain housing expenses in Bermuda for Mr. Heinlein;
22James River Group Holdings, Ltd.

 

payment of travel costs for Mr. Heinlein; and

tax equalization gross-up payments or other Bermuda tax payments (collectively, “Tax Equalization Payments”) to which Mr. Heinlein or Ms. Doran may be subject with respect to payments or benefits that such named executive officer receives under his or her employment agreement.
We make the above housing, travel and tax benefits available to the specified named executive officers employed by the Company or its Bermuda subsidiary based upon the unique challenges of performing work in the Bermuda market, including the cost of living and maintaining a residence, travel to and from the island and additional tax expenses primarily resulting from the housing and travel benefits. We believe that providing these benefits is common practice for other Bermuda based insurers, and is consistent with our goal to attract and retain talented executive officers. During 2022, Mr. Heinlein was the only named executive officer that received benefits in connection with performing work in Bermuda.
Leadership Recognition Program. In addition to the other benefits paid to our named executive officers, Mr. Schmitzer receives an annual retention payment under the James River Management Company, Inc. Leadership Recognition Program (the “Recognition Program”). The Recognition Program was adopted by James River Management Company, Inc., one of the Company’s subsidiaries, effective September 30, 2011, to help attract and retain key employees of our excess and surplus lines business. Under the Recognition Program, the Chief Executive Officer of our U.S. holding company, or in the case of executive officers of the Company, our Board of Directors, upon recommendation of the Compensation Committee, selects the employees who participate in the Recognition Program and determines the annual dollar amount to be credited to each participant’s account under the Recognition Program. The dollar amount credited to a participant’s account under the Recognition Program each year is paid to the participant in five equal annual installments, commencing as of the end of the second plan year beginning after the year in which the amount was credited to the participant’s account. Participants must be employed at the time of payment of an installment to be entitled to receive the payment, subject to certain exceptions described under “Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Control”.
All amounts credited to a participant’s account remain unvested until paid and may be reduced, modified or terminated at the sole discretion of the Company. The Company may amend, modify or terminate the Recognition Program at any time, including, without limitation, to comply with the provisions of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, so as not to trigger any unintended tax consequences prior to the distribution of benefits under the program. There are no vested rights to amounts under the Recognition Program at any time prior to the payment of such amounts, and all amounts under the Recognition Program are at all times discretionary obligations of the Company, which may be reduced or terminated by the Company at any time. Except as otherwise stated above, the Recognition Program is administered by the board of directors of our U.S. holding company.
In 2017, we determined to cease making new dollar credits to accounts under the Recognition Program. The determination was made in recognition of the fact that following our 2014 initial public offering, we were able to make regular equity awards to our executives. All amounts previously credited to Mr. Schmitzer’s account will continue to be paid in accordance with the terms of the Recognition Program.
Mr. Schmitzer received a payout under the terms of the Recognition Program in 2022 of  $40,250 based on amounts credited to his account in prior years. Mr. Schmitzer’s last payment under the program will be in 2023.
SHARE OWNERSHIP GUIDELINES
In July 2022, the Board, at the recommendation of the Committee, adopted share ownership guidelines (the “Guidelines”) to more closely align the financial interests of the Company’s directors and executive and other senior officers with those of the Company’s shareholders. Pursuant to the Guidelines, within five years of becoming subject to the Guidelines, (i) non-employee directors are required to beneficially own common shares with a fair market value equivalent to three times their annual cash retainer, (ii) the Company’s Chief Executive Officer is required to beneficially own common shares with a fair market value equivalent to five times his annual base salary, and (iii) other executive officers and designated members of the senior management team of the Company are required to beneficially own common shares with a fair market value equivalent to three times their annual base salary. In calculating ownership under the Guidelines, common shares subject to restricted share units with time-based vesting requirements are counted as owned shares (but shares subject to performance restricted share units are not).
For purposes of the Guidelines, the fair market value of the common shares is established using the greater of  (i) the average closing price of the common shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market for the 30 trading day period immediately prior to the applicable determination date (the “Market Price”) or (ii) the price paid at the time of purchase, or, if the shares were not purchased (for example, if the shares were acquired on exercise of an equity award), the closing price of the common shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market on the date of acquisition.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, pursuant to the Guidelines, (a) shares subject to eligible unvested restricted share units are valued at the greater of (i) the Market Price or (ii) the closing price on the Nasdaq Stock Market on the grant date, and (b) shares received upon the vesting of RSUs are valued at the greatest of  (i) the Market Price, (ii) the closing price on the Nasdaq Stock Market on the grant date, or (iii) the closing price of shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market on the date of vesting.
Pursuant to the Guidelines, covered persons are required to retain 100% of the net-after-tax shares received for one year following the vesting or settlement of an equity award regardless of whether the Guidelines have been met, and additionally, until a covered participant comes into compliance with the applicable ownership level, such person must retain 75% of the net-after tax shares received upon vesting or settlement of an equity award.
2023 Proxy Statement23

 
TERMINATION BENEFITS
Each of our named executive officers is party to an employment agreement with us that provides for certain benefits if his or her employment is terminated under certain circumstances. This arrangement provides the named executive officers with a core level of assurance that their actions on behalf of the Company and its shareholders can proceed without the potential distraction of short-term issues that may affect the Company (e.g., a strategic transaction involving the Company) and helps ensure that our named executive officers continue to act in the best interests of the Company. In addition, the agreements contain measures that protect the Company past the date of the named executive officer’s termination, such as confidentiality, non-compete and non-solicitation requirements and the requirement that named executive officers execute a general release in favor of the Company in order to receive benefits. Named executive officers may also receive benefits with respect to unpaid amounts under the STI Plan, unvested equity awards under our 2014 LTIP, and in the case of Mr. Schmitzer, unpaid amounts under the Recognition Program. The key terms of the separation arrangements are described below in “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control.”
RESPONSE TO SAY-ON-PAY RESULTS
In 2018, our shareholders selected, on an advisory basis, the option to hold an advisory vote on executive compensation every year, and after giving this vote consideration, our Board selected an annual frequency to hold the advisory vote. In the 2022 advisory vote, shareholders holding approximately 98.5% of our common shares that were voted on the proposal voted in favor of the compensation of our named executive officers as described in our 2022 proxy statement. We considered the result of the 2022 advisory vote and believe that it affirms shareholder approval of our current approach to compensation of our executive officers. Therefore, we plan to continue our current approach to executive compensation.
COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT
The members of the Compensation Committee of the Company have reviewed and discussed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis required by Item 402(b) of Regulation S-K with management and, based on such review and discussions, the Compensation Committee recommended to the Board that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and in the definitive proxy statement for our 2023 annual general meeting of shareholders.
Compensation Committee​
Patricia H. Roberts (Chairperson)
Matthew B. Botein
Ollie L. Sherman, Jr.​
24James River Group Holdings, Ltd.

 
Summary Compensation Table
The following table provides information regarding the compensation of our 2022 named executive officers:
NAME AND PRINCIPAL POSITION
YEAR
SALARY
($)
BONUS
($)
SHARE
AWARDS(1)
($)
NON-EQUITY
INCENTIVE PLAN
COMPENSATION
($)
ALL OTHER
COMPENSATION(2)
($)
TOTAL
($)
Frank N. D’Orazio,
Chief Executive Officer
2022
$
912,500
$
1,274,998
$
881,155
$
53,282
$
3,121,935
2021
$
850,000
$
425,000
$
42,980
$
1,317,980
2020(3)
$
141,667
$
200,000
$
2,999,965
$
113
$
3,341,745
Sarah C. Doran,
Chief Financial Officer
2022
$
544,167
$
590,236
$
523,930
$
48,737
$
1,707,070
2021
$
512,500
$
257,500
$
249,994
$
35,570
$
1,055,564
2020
$
491,667
$
250,000
$
1,099,950
$
67,342
$
1,908,959
Richard J. Schmitzer,
President and Chief
Executive Officer, Excess
and Surplus Lines segment
2022
$
648,750
$
642,388
$
618,085
$
86,677
$
1,995,900
2021
$
642,500
$
312,917
$
329,574
$
195,371
$
1,480,362
2020
$
625,833
$
312,917
$
542,459
$
185,678
$
1,666,887
Terence M. McCafferty,
President and Chief Executive
Officer, Specialty Admitted
Insurance segment
2022
$
416,667
$
399,996
$
404,124
$
35,050
$
1,255,837
2021
$
397,708
$
320,000
$
386,245
$
36,347
$
1,140,300
2020
$
384,375
$
288,281
$
374,966
$
27,071
$
1,074,693
Daniel J. Heinlein,
President and Chief Executive
Officer, Casualty Reinsurance
segment
2022
$
362,500
$
402,497
$
336,165
$
280,273
$
1,381,435
2021
$
348,317
$
175,000
$
169,912
$
226,270
$
919,499
2020
$
338,250
$
169,950
$
329,978
$
222,752
$
1,060,930
(1)
Represents the aggregate grant date fair value of RSUs awarded under the 2014 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “2014 LTIP”) computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718.
(2)
See the immediately following table for a breakdown of the compensation included in the All Other Compensation column.
(3)
Mr. D’Orazio joined the Company in November 2020.
The following table provides a breakdown of the amounts set forth in the All Other Compensation column of the Summary Compensation Table:
NAME
401(K) PLAN
CONTRIBUTION
($)
TRANSPORTATION(a)
($)
HOUSING(b)
($)
TAXES(c)
($)
RETENTION
AWARD(d)
($)
ACCRUED
DIVIDENDS
PAID UPON
VESTING OF
RSU AWARDS
($)
OTHER(e)
($)
TOTAL ALL
OTHER
COMPENSATION
($)
Frank N. D’Orazio $ 18,300 $ 34,469 $ 513 $ 53,282
Sarah C. Doran $ 18,300 $ 29,924 $ 513 $ 48,737
Richard J. Schmitzer $ 18,300 $ 40,250 $ 27,614 $ 513 $ 86,677
Terence M. McCafferty
$ 18,300 $ 16,237 $ 513 $ 35,050
Daniel J. Heinlein $ 18,300 $ 23,395 $ 141,321 $ 55,735 $ 16,544 $ 24,978 $ 280,273
(a)
For Mr. Heinlein, the transportation benefit represents home leave and travel costs incurred for travel to Bermuda, as well as the cost of any occasional family travel to Bermuda paid for by the Company. On one occasion in 2022, family members of Ms. Doran accompanied her on business travel and stayed in Company-paid accommodations. There is no incremental cost to the Company for this travel.
(b)
The housing benefit represents the cost of housing and utilities in Bermuda paid or reimbursed by the Company for Mr. Heinlein. Mr. Heinlein’s family lives in housing paid for by the Company. There is no incremental cost allocated for family use of this home.
2023 Proxy Statement25

 
(c)
The tax benefit represents Tax Equalization Payments made to Mr. Heinlein.
(d)
Represents amount of retention award paid in 2022 pursuant to the James River Management Company, Inc. Leadership Recognition Program.
(e)
The amount shown for each named executive officer includes company-paid life insurance. The amount shown for Mr. Heinlein also includes tax preparation services and club membership fees paid by the Company for the purpose of business entertainment.
Grants of Plan-Based Awards
The following table provides information regarding grants of equity awards to our named executive officers during 2022 and threshold, target and maximum annual incentive opportunities for named executive officers for performance in 2022 pursuant to the STI Plan. All equity awards granted to our named executive officers in 2022 were in the form of RSUs and were made under our 2014 LTIP.
NAME
GRANT
DATE
DATE OF
BOARD
ACTION (IF
DIFFERENT
FROM GRANT
DATE)(2)
ESTIMATED FUTURE PAYOUTS UNDER
NON-EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN AWARDS(1)
NUMBER OF
SHARES
OF STOCK
OR UNITS
(#)
GRANT DATE
FAIR VALUE OF
STOCK OR
OPTION
AWARDS
($)(3)
THRESHOLD
($)
TARGET
($)
MAXIMUM
($)
Frank N. D’Orazio
3/2/2022 2/21/2022 62,195 $ 1,274,998
7/26/2022 $ 462,500 $ 925,000 $ 1,387,500
Sarah C. Doran
3/2/2022 2/21/2022 28,792 $ 590,236
7/26/2022 $ 275,000 $ 550,000 $ 825,000
Richard J. Schmitzer
3/2/2022 2/21/2022 31,336 $ 642,388
7/26/2022 $ 325,000 $ 650,000 $ 975,000
Terence M. McCafferty
3/2/2022 2/21/2022 19,512 $ 399,996
7/26/2022 $ 210,000 $ 420,000 $ 630,000
Daniel J. Heinlein
3/2/2022 2/21/2022 19,634 $ 402,497
7/26/2022 $ 182,500 $ 365,000 $ 547,500
(1)
The amounts shown represent each named executive officer’s threshold, target and maximum annual incentive opportunities for performance in 2022, pursuant to the STI Plan. The actual amount of each named executive officer’s award is based on the achievement of certain performance goals as discussed in our Compensation Discussion and Analysis. The annual cash incentive awards earned by our named executive officers for performance in 2022 were paid during the first quarter of 2023.
(2)
On February 21, 2022, the Board, at the recommendation of the Committee, approved the equity awards to be granted to the named executive officers, but in accordance with the Committee and Board’s policy adopted in 2021, the grant date was not until the second trading day following the public dissemination of the Company’s 2021 fiscal year-end earnings release.
(3)
The grant date fair value of the RSUs was calculated in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718.
26James River Group Holdings, Ltd.

 
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End
The following table sets forth the outstanding equity awards held by our named executive officers on December 31, 2022.
OPTION AWARDS
STOCK AWARDS
NAME
GRANT DATE
NUMBER OF
SECURITIES
UNDERLYING
UNEXERCISED
OPTIONS
(#)
EXERCISABLE
NUMBER OF
SECURITIES
UNDERLYING
UNEXERCISED
OPTIONS
(#)
UNEXERCISABLE
OPTION
EXERCISE
PRICE
($)
OPTION
EXPIRATION
DATE
NUMBER OF
SHARES OR
UNITS OF
STOCK
THAT HAVE
NOT VESTED
(#)
MARKET VALUE
OF SHARES
OR UNITS OF
STOCK THAT
HAVE NOT
VESTED
($)(1)
Frank N. D’Orazio
11/2/2020(2)
20,890
$
436,810
3/2/2022(2)
62,195
$
1,300,497
Sarah C. Doran
2/19/2020(2)
3,444
$
72,014
10/28/2020(2)
4,141
$
86,588
2/17/2021(2)
3,318
$
69,379
3/2/2022(2)
28,792
$
602,041
Richard J. Schmitzer
2/16/2016(3)
43,427
$
32.07
2/15/2023
2/19/2020(2)
4,152
$
86,818
2/17/2021(2)
4,374
$
91,460
3/2/2022(2)
31,336
$
655,236
Terence M. McCafferty
2/19/2020(2)
2,870
$
60,012
2/17/2021(2)
5,126
$
107,185
3/2/2022(2)
19,512
$
407,996
Daniel J. Heinlein
2/14/2017(3)
6,266
$
42.17
2/14/2024
2/19/2020(2)
2,526
$
52,819
2/17/2021(2)
2,255
$
47,152
3/2/2022(2)
19,634
$
410,547
(1)
Market value is calculated as the number of common shares indicated multiplied by $20.91, which was the closing price of the Company’s common shares on December 30, 2022, the last trading day of 2022, as reported by the Nasdaq Stock Market.
(2)
Vesting occurs in three equal annual installments beginning on the first anniversary of the grant date.
(3)
Vesting occurred in three equal annual installments beginning on the first anniversary of the grant date.
2023 Proxy Statement27

 
Option Exercises and Stock Vested
The following table presents certain information concerning the exercise of stock options and the vesting of stock awards held by our named executive officers during 2022.
OPTION AWARDS
STOCK AWARDS
NAME
NUMBER OF SHARES
ACQUIRED ON EXERCISE (#)
VALUE REALIZED
ON EXERCISE ($)
NUMBER OF SHARES
ACQUIRED ON VESTING (#)
VALUE REALIZED
ON VESTING ($)(1)
Frank N. D’Orazio 20,890 $ 499,898
Sarah C. Doran 12,808 $ 336,551
Richard J. Schmitzer