BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Board of Directors

David R. Cayemitte

Chairman of the Board

David Cayemitte is a seasoned insurance executive with over 30 years of dedicated service in the insurance industry. David led management and underwriting teams at the executive level with Fortune 100 insurers for nearly 20 years, developing complex financial and executive liability programs for all types of organizations.

In 2005, he founded The Cayemitte Group. TCG is a full service, minority owned and certified insurance brokerage and management consulting firm which creates innovative solutions to overcome barriers faced by minority business owners. In 2010, he founded the Minority Business Development Institute, a 501C3 non-profit that provides education and advocacy to build the capacity of minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses to grow and thrive by working in the public sector.

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Vincent C. Tizzio

Board Member

Vincent C. Tizzio is Chief Executive Officer of Specialty Insurance & Reinsurance at AXIS and serves on the Company’s Executive Committee. Mr. Tizzio oversees all customer facing operations, leading a coordinated global approach to drive growth in key markets, expand the Company’s product pipeline, and further enhance the service that AXIS provides to its customers. The business’ core divisions include Wholesale, International, Financial Lines, Accident & Health, and Cyber, as well as Reinsurance (AXIS Re).

Prior to joining AXIS, Mr. Tizzio served as Executive Vice President and Head of Global Specialty at The Hartford, leading a team focused on delivering a broad array of specialty products through retail and wholesale channels, including U.S. Specialty Insurance and International.

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R. Sharon Smith

Board Member

R. Sharon Smith is a legal and business strategist in the financial services sector whose in-depth experience spans complex business transactions, strategic planning, corporate governance, regulatory compliance and new business development. Since 2017, she has been Chief of Staff and Senior Managing Director of Ambac Financial Group, Inc. and Ambac Assurance Corporation (Ambac). Ms. Smith serves as Ambac’s corporate development strategist in charge of new business development and strategic planning post exit from rehabilitation.

Prior to joining Ambac, Ms. Smith was Managing Director and Associate General Counsel at Syncora Holdings Ltd. Concurrently, she served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer to CamberLink, a registered investment adviser and wholly owned subsidiary of Syncora.

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Paul Wendler

Board Member

Paul is Senior Vice President at CAC Specialty and focuses on traditional Executive Liability insurance as well as non-traditional risks, All-Risk Professional Liability, Professional Liability for law firms, and Transaction Liability solutions.

Paul works with clients to leverage deep insurer relationships and complex coverage experience. He crafts and negotiates insurance that has efficiently paid hundreds of millions of dollars (without insurer litigation) when other similarly situated companies have seen insurers deny coverage for the same underlying loss events.

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Valerie D. White

Board Member

Valerie D. White is a chief executive, economic development expert, and leading advocate with more than 30 years of experience across private, public, and non-profit sectors. Valerie’s professional career started in city government, working for the City of New York’s Department of Personnel followed by eight years with the New York City Housing Authority, where she led the highly visible implementation of three urban revitalization projects with a budget totaling over $250 million.

Following her work in city government, Standard & Poor’s Rating Services tapped Valerie to help lead its municipal and public finances department.

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David R. Cayemitte

Chairman of the Board

David Cayemitte is a seasoned insurance executive with over 30 years of dedicated service in the insurance industry. David led management and underwriting teams at the executive level with Fortune 100 insurers for nearly 20 years, developing complex financial and executive liability programs for all types of organizations.

In 2005, he founded The Cayemitte Group, a full service, minority owned and certified insurance brokerage and management consulting firm where he creates innovative solutions to overcome barriers faced by minority business owners as they strive to grow, prosper, and hire with well-paying jobs in at-risk communities. In 2005, he founded the Minority Business Development Institute, a 501c3 non-profit that provides education and advocacy to build the capacity of minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses to grow and thrive by working in the public sector.

Most recently, Mr. Cayemitte founded Embrace Partners, a minority business enterprise that is comprised of a managing general underwriter, a consulting business, and a training platform for contractors. Embrace’s three business prongs serve one goal—to support minority contractors in the construction industry.

Embrace MGU writes surety bonds for eligible contractors and plans to expand further into professional lines and excess casualty. Embrace DE&I is a consulting firm providing capital management, risk management and other program management services associated with construction projects. Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: AMBC) (“Ambac”), a financial services holding company, has formed a strategic partnership via a minority ownership stake in Embrace Partners.

Mr. Cayemitte has founded a revolutionary suite of services that wrap around and support small and diversely-owned contractors and developers to facilitate their growth and profitability. These offerings have been carefully designed to mitigate risk to lenders and sureties while promoting contract opportunities for the emerging businesses. For instance, David originated the DASNY Surety Bond and Capital Access Program which became a model for MWBE capacity building education programs nationwide. He has developed and manages collateral access bond funds to help minority contractors to qualify for surety bonding, including a $10 million fund managed on behalf the Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC), a nimble non-profit with strong community partnerships that connects hard-to-tap public and private resources with underinvested places and people. David has conceived of a capital management platform that provides growing businesses with a strong financial infrastructure while teaching the operational best practices needed for sustainability. He provides construction management services that help businesses owners transition into public work by advancing their capacity in the field.

David holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance from Adelphi University. He is a frequent speaker about MWBE financial capacity, bonding, and insurance issues around the country. As a former member of the U.S. National Soccer Team, David is a developmental trainer for youth soccer players and enjoys skiing.

Vincent Tizzio

Member at Large

Vincent C. Tizzio is Chief Executive Officer of Specialty Insurance & Reinsurance at AXIS and serves on the Company’s Executive Committee. Mr. Tizzio oversees all customer facing operations, leading a coordinated global approach to drive growth in key markets, expand the Company’s product pipeline, and further enhance the service that AXIS provides to its customers. The business’ core divisions include Wholesale, International, Financial Lines, Accident & Health, and Cyber, as well as Reinsurance (AXIS Re).

Prior to joining AXIS, Mr. Tizzio served as Executive Vice President and Head of Global Specialty at The Hartford, leading a team focused on delivering a broad array of specialty products through retail and wholesale channels, including U.S. Specialty Insurance and International.

Mr. Tizzio joined The Hartford from Navigators as part of the company’s acquisition in May 2019. Mr. Tizzio served as President and CEO of Navigators Management Company, Inc., the U.S. underwriting operation of Navigators. In that role he was responsible for the management of the U.S. Specialty, Commercial, Navigators Pro, Marine and Property divisions. Joining Navigators in 2012, Mr. Tizzio enhanced the profitability of the company’s U.S. business and led its growth – launching new products, leveraging technology to deliver more value and support to brokers and policyholders, broadening Navigators’ local presence in major cities across the United States, and providing critical leadership during the acquisition process and integration with The Hartford.

Mr. Tizzio joined Navigators from Zurich, where he was executive vice president of Zurich North America, leading the company’s commercial markets business. Zurich North America produced double-digit growth and significant profitability gains each year under his leadership. Mr. Tizzio was also with American International Group (AIG) for 16 years, during which time he held a number of underwriting and management positions.

Mr. Tizzio received a B.A. degree in finance and sociology from Adelphi University. He serves on the board of governors for Maguire Academy of Risk Management at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, is a board member of the Visiting Nurse Association, and a longstanding board member of the Freedom House, an organization committed to helping people with addiction. He is the founder of Feed Belly Farm, an organization that helps provide food to people in need.

R. Sharon Smith

Member at Large

R. Sharon Smith is a legal and business strategist in the financial services sector whose in-depth experience spans complex business transactions, strategic planning, corporate governance, regulatory compliance and new business development. Since 2017, she has been Chief of Staff and Senior Managing Director of Ambac Financial Group, Inc. and Ambac Assurance Corporation (Ambac). Ms. Smith serves as Ambac’s corporate development strategist in charge of new business development and strategic planning post exit from rehabilitation.

Prior to joining Ambac, Ms. Smith was Managing Director and Associate General Counsel at Syncora Holdings Ltd. Concurrently, she served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer to CamberLink, a registered investment adviser and wholly owned subsidiary of Syncora. Ms. Smith also served as Head of Investor Relations at Syncora Holdings Ltd. Previous to that, Ms. Smith was Vice President and Assistant General Counsel in the Corporate Securities Department of New York Life Investment Management LLC (New York Life). In her early career, she was a corporate attorney for major New York law firms Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP; and Clifford Chance Rogers & Wells LLP.

Ms. Smith is a Fellow of the American College of Investment Counsel (ACIC) and a member of Corporate Counsel Women of Color, Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics, and National Investor Relations Institute. Since 2014, Ms. Smith has been a member of the Advisory Board of Self Help Africa (USA), a leading international development charity with a mission to bring economic empowerment to rural African communities.

Ms. Smith has a Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University – Barnard College. She is licensed to practice law in New York State and in the State of Pennsylvania.

PAUL WENDLER

Member at Large

Paul is Senior Vice President at CAC Specialty and focuses on traditional Executive Liability insurance as well as non-traditional risks, All-Risk Professional Liability, Professional Liability for law firms, and Transaction Liability solutions.

Paul works with clients to leverage deep insurer relationships and complex coverage experience. He crafts and negotiates insurance that has efficiently paid hundreds of millions of dollars (without insurer litigation) when other similarly situated companies have seen insurers deny coverage for the same underlying loss events.

Before joining CAC, Paul was with McGriff, Seibels & Williams. While at McGriff, Paul was involved in and contributed to, the negotiation and execution of insurance products achieving insurance recovery in excess of $2B. Similar results have been achieved for clients across a wide range of industries, including energy, technology, manufacturing, healthcare, and law firms.

Prior to becoming a broker 2005, Paul spend 15 years as an underwriter at Metropolitan Property & Casualty, AIG and St. Paul Companies (now Travelers).

Paul is a graduate of St. Lawrence University with a Bachelor of Science and is a licensed insurance agent in all 50 states. He resides in Atlanta, GA with his wife and two children.

Valerie White

Senior Executive Director

Valerie D. White is a chief executive, economic development expert, and leading advocate with more than 30 years of experience across private, public, and non-profit sectors. Valerie’s professional career started in city government, working for the City of New York’s Department of Personnel followed by eight years with the New York City Housing Authority, where she led the highly visible implementation of three urban revitalization projects with a budget totaling over $250 million.

Following her work in city government, Standard & Poor’s Rating Services tapped Valerie to help lead its municipal and public finances department. As managing director, Valerie led a team of approximately 50 analysts and established herself as the go-to thought leader in the international public finance housing sector, authoring nearly 60 commentary papers on market trends and issues relevant to the sector. Since her time spent in the private sector, Valerie has become a leading figure in New York’s economic development space, particularly in devising and implementing community development initiatives for the state’s most vulnerable and financially distressed communities.

Valerie played a critical role in the resurgence of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where she served as vice president of external affairs, building strategic partnerships with government leaders, community groups and corporations, which in turn generated significant grant funding and raised the Navy Yard’s global, national, and local visibility.

Valerie’s success at the Navy Yard led her next to Empire State Development (ESD), a statewide organization that provides loans, grants, tax credits, real estate development, marketing and other forms of assistance to promote economic opportunity. As executive vice president at ESD, as well as executive director of the agency’s Division of Minority and Women’s Business Development, Valerie spearheaded business development and engagement strategies for MWBEs, while establishing and executing the strategic development of outreach, positioning, and marketing strategies for the division’s goals for MWBEs, developers, prime contractors, community partners, and other external stakeholders.

Since 2020, Valerie has served as the executive director, now senior executive director, of LISC NYC, the flagship New York City office of the national Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), where she’s committed herself and the organization to a singular focus: closing the racial wealth gap through equitable community development.

Named executive director of LISC NYC just as the COVID-19 virus took hold of New York, Valerie leveraged her network and time-tested economic development know-how to establish a Small Business Relief & Recovery Fund to support hundreds of minority-owned businesses across the five boroughs with grants, saving these businesses on the brink of collapse. Valerie’s leadership ultimately led to more than $4 million dollars injected into more than 400 small businesses, along with an additional $13 million in PPP loans provided to non-profits and small businesses. Additionally, under Valerie’s leadership, LISC NYC has invested nearly $40 million in affordable housing projects, leveraging $335 million and supporting the development of more than 850 affordable units. She’s since developed innovative programs like a Developers of Color Training Program and forged public-private partnerships with agencies like the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York to expand opportunities for Black and brown developers, businesses, and neighborhoods.

Valerie holds both a bachelor’s degree in Communications and a law degree from Fordham University, and master’s degree and Certificate in Organization Development from The New School. She also serves on the advisory board for the Fordham Urban Law Center and is a director on the Fordham Law Alumni Association.