Jeffrey Strickland

About Jeffrey Strickland

Jeffrey A. Strickland is Executive Vice President and President, Global Automotive at Assurant, appointed effective January 1, 2025; he is 48 years old and has been an Assurant executive officer since 2025 after joining the company in 2019 . Before Assurant, he spent 20 years at FCA (FIAT Chrysler Automobiles) in dealer-facing and corporate roles, including head of U.S. Dealer Relations and Retail Strategies, and leading retail operations for multiple U.S. Business Centers . Assurant’s long-term incentives pay for performance via PSUs tied to 3-year relative TSR vs. S&P 500 and Adjusted earnings per diluted share, and ESTIP annual incentives weighted to Adjusted EBITDA (ex-catastrophes) and revenue growth, aligning leadership with shareholders . Say-on-pay support was ~96% in 2024, indicating broad investor backing of the pay program design .

Past Roles

External Roles

• No public company directorships or external board roles disclosed in the latest proxy or company releases reviewed. (No disclosure found in DEF 14A 2025; press releases reference operating leadership and industry engagement rather than formal board roles) .

Fixed Compensation

• Base salary and target bonus for Strickland were not disclosed in the 2025 proxy (he was not a 2024 Named Executive Officer). The company’s program elements for executives consist of base salary, annual ESTIP, and long-term equity (ALTEIP) .
• Stock ownership guidelines for “Other Executive Officers” require holdings equal to 3x base salary within five years; until compliant, executives are generally restricted from selling more than 50% of net-after-tax shares from vesting events .

Performance Compensation

Program structure and metrics applicable to executive officers (NEOs shown for 2024):

• Annual ESTIP metrics and weightings (company-level):
  • Adjusted EBITDA excluding reportable catastrophes (50%), Net earned premiums/fees/other income (30%), Individual performance component (20%) .
• Long-term incentives (ALTEIP):
  • 2024 mix: PSUs 75%, RSUs 25%; max payout 200%; no payout if below minimum .
  • PSU performance over 3-year period on Relative TSR vs S&P 500 and Adjusted earnings per diluted share; above-target TSR payout requires performance above 50th percentile .
• Clawback and governance: robust clawback policy for current/former executive officers; prohibition on hedging, pledging, and speculative transactions; no single-trigger vesting; no excise tax gross-ups .

Detailed metric table (plan-level, not Strickland-specific):

Vesting/acceleration framework (plan-level): RSUs typically vest over 3 years; PSUs vest at end of 3-year period subject to performance. Upon double-trigger CIC, RSUs vest in full and PSUs vest at target pro-rata or actual performance, whichever is greater; pro-rata vesting for death, disability, and certain involuntary terminations; retirement settlements per plan terms .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

Note: Ownership percentage is calculated from Form 3 shares and total shares outstanding in the proxy as of Feb 14, 2025 .

Employment Terms

• Appointment: EVP & President, Global Automotive effective January 1, 2025 .
• Change-in-control framework (for NEOs; Strickland was not a 2024 NEO): double-trigger; if terminated without cause or for good reason within 2 years post-CIC, cash severance equals 2x (base salary + target ESTIP) plus an additional 0.5x target ESTIP, 18 months of company healthcare/life insurance contributions, and outplacement; no excise tax gross-up (best-net cutback applies) .
• Severance policy (company-wide): separation pay upon involuntary termination based on tenure and job grade (policy applicable to all U.S. employees) .
• Restrictive covenants: confidentiality, non-compete, non-solicitation, and non-disparagement are included in CIC agreements for covered executives .
• Clawback: applies to current and former executive officers in the event of restatements or specified misconduct .

Performance & Track Record

• Leadership transition and succession: Named successor to retiring Global Automotive President (effective start of 2025), with the CEO citing Strickland’s decades of automotive experience and his track record integrating field service teams across acquisitions to build a “one-culture” environment aligned with long-term growth strategy .
• Product innovation: Announced “Assurant Vehicle Care Technology Plus,” pairing VSC coverage for high-tech vehicle components and wear-and-tear items with smartphone repair benefits; Strickland highlighted the combined automotive-device protection value proposition .
• Strategic ecosystem engagement: Supported Assurant Ventures’ investment in Automotive Ventures’ Mobility Fund II to access early-stage mobility startups that can enhance dealer solutions; positioned to evaluate next-gen technologies for dealer partners .

Compensation Peer Group (Benchmarking context)

• In 2025, the Compensation & Talent Committee established a formal compensation peer group (e.g., ACGL, HIG, WTW, WRB, BRO, PFG, MKL, ALLY, etc.) to inform pay levels and structures; criteria included revenue $3–30B, assets $10–100B, market cap ~$2–20B, and headcount 4,000–42,000 .
• Program governance highlights: no single-trigger vesting; no tax gross-ups; strong clawback; 96% say-on-pay support in 2024 .

Risk Indicators & Red Flags

• Red flags mitigated by design: prohibition on hedging/pledging; no single-trigger; no option/SAR repricing; robust clawback; best-net 280G cutback rather than gross-up .
• Insider activity: Initial Form 3 filed Jan 7, 2025; no Form 4 transactions were identified in the documents reviewed; initial beneficial ownership includes RSUs .
• Governance support: 2024 say-on-pay approval ~96% suggests low near-term shareholder pressure on compensation design .

Investment Implications

• Alignment and retention: Strickland’s initial ownership is modest in % terms, but ownership guidelines (3x salary for executive officers) and net-share retention requirements limit near-term selling pressure and incentivize accumulation, supporting alignment and retention .
• Incentive levers: ESTIP and PSU designs emphasize profitability (Adjusted EBITDA), revenue growth, and multi-year TSR/earnings, reinforcing performance accountability in the Automotive segment he leads .
• Governance quality: Double-trigger CIC, absence of gross-ups, and strong clawback reduce shareholder risk of misaligned payouts; high say-on-pay support lowers governance overhang .
• Execution watch items: As a newly appointed segment leader, key signals to monitor include ALTEIP grant size/mix in the next proxy, any Form 4 activity around vesting dates, and delivery against Automotive growth/product innovation agenda indicated by recent product and venture initiatives .