Odilon Almeida Junior
About Odilon Almeida Junior
Odilon Almeida Junior (age 63) was appointed an independent director of Amerant Bancorp (AMTB) on January 22, 2025. He holds an MBA from Fundação Getulio Vargas (1986) and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Universidade de São Paulo (1982), with additional post-graduate education at MIT, Harvard Business School, Wharton, and the International Institute of Management. His core credentials include CEO-level leadership and global expertise in payments, digital transformation, and business integration across financial services and technology, with deep Florida market ties .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advent | Operating Partner | 2023–Present | Private equity operating advisor; value creation and strategy |
| ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW) | CEO, President, Board Member | 2020–2022 | Led strategy and growth acceleration |
| Western Union | President, Global Money Transfer; President Americas & Europe; President Americas; senior roles since 2002 | 2002–2019 | Ran global operations and digital transformation initiatives |
| ADDventure, Inc. | Founder & CEO | 2001–2002 | Entrepreneurial leadership |
| BankBoston International | CMO & VP, Digital Ventures | 1998–2001 | Digital ventures and marketing leadership |
External Roles
| Company | Role | Committees | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCR Atleos Corporation (NYSE: NATL) | Director | Audit; Nominating & Governance | 2023–Present |
| Millicom International Cellular (NASDAQ: TIGO) | Director (former) | — | 2015–2023 |
| ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW) | Director (former) | — | 2020–2022 |
Board Governance
- Independence: The Board determined Mr. Almeida Junior qualifies as an independent director under NYSE rules . The slate comprises 9 out of 10 independent nominees; independent-only Audit, Governance, and Compensation Committees; executive sessions led by the Lead Independent Director .
- Committee assignments: As of the proxy date, he was not appointed to any AMTB board committees .
- Attendance: 2024 Board held 18 meetings and 4 independent director executive sessions; all directors met at least 75% attendance except one retiring director (Mr. Almeida joined in 2025; 2024 attendance not applicable to him) .
- Board practices: Directors may not serve on more than three other public company boards; no mandatory retirement age but resignation tender at 75; annual majority voting; robust director education and orientation .
| Committee | 2024 Meetings | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Audit | 11 | 100% independent membership |
| Compensation & Human Capital | 9 | 100% independent membership; clear charter incl. stock ownership oversight |
| Governance (Corporate Governance, Nominating & Sustainability) | 9 | Oversees director succession, independence, evaluations, orientation |
| Risk | 6 | Independent members; one director became independent in Jan 2025 |
Fixed Compensation
- Structure effective January 1, 2024 for non-employee directors (policy baseline applicable to 2025 service): cash retainer, committee fees, chair/LID retainers, and annual equity RSUs .
| Component | Amount | Vesting/Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Board cash retainer | $46,000 | Paid in equal monthly installments |
| Audit Committee membership (each) | $12,000 | — |
| Other Committee membership (each) | $10,000 | — |
| Bank Trust Committee membership | $5,000 | — |
| Lead Independent Director retainer | $35,000 | — |
| Audit Chair retainer | $18,000 | — |
| Other Committee Chair retainer | $15,000 | — |
| Trust Committee Chair retainer | $7,500 | — |
| Annual equity grant (RSUs) | $65,000 | One-year vesting starting after annual meeting |
Note: Mr. Almeida’s appointment was in January 2025; the 2024 director compensation table excludes him. The structure above is the program in effect setting expectations for 2025 grants/fees .
Performance Compensation
- Non-employee directors receive time-based RSUs; no disclosed performance-based director awards (PSUs are used for executives) .
| Performance Metric | Applies to Director Pay? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Relative TSR (3-year) | No for directors; Yes for NEO PSUs | Director RSUs are time-based |
| Core PPNR; Efficiency; ROAA; NPL/Loans; Deposits growth; Relative TSR | Executive metrics; not used for director pay | — |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| External Board | Potential AMTB Conflict | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| NCR Atleos (NATL) | None disclosed | Serves on Audit and Nominating & Governance Committees |
| ACI Worldwide (ACIW) | None disclosed | Former director/CEO; no AMTB related-party disclosures |
| Millicom (TIGO) | None disclosed | Former director; no AMTB related-party disclosures |
Compensation Committee interlocks: None requiring disclosure in 2024; one director had a related-party family employment (not Mr. Almeida) .
Expertise & Qualifications
- CEO-level operator with payments and fintech expertise, M&A integration, global operations, digital transformation leadership; broad governance experience across public and private boards; respected in Florida market .
- Formal education and executive programs across leading institutions (FGV, USP, MIT, HBS, Wharton, IIM) .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares (Voting) | % of Voting Outstanding | Shares (Non-Voting) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odilon Almeida Junior | 500 | ~0.0013% (500 / 38,986,099) | 0 | As of March 10, 2025 |
- Shares outstanding: 38,986,099 Class A Voting; 2,934,282 Class A Non-Voting, as of March 10, 2025 .
- Stock ownership guidelines: Non-employee directors must hold shares equal to 4x annual cash retainer; five years to comply; retain 50% of net shares until compliance; unearned performance awards and options do not count .
- Hedging/pledging: Prohibited, including margin accounts; policy updated May 2024 .
Governance Assessment
-
Strengths
- Independence confirmed; seasoned payments/fintech operator adds risk/commercial acumen to a regional bank board .
- Robust governance infrastructure: independent-only committees, annual evaluations, majority voting, executive sessions, director education, and ownership guidelines; anti-hedging/pledging and clawback policy in place .
- External Audit and Nominating & Governance committee experience at NATL enhances oversight skill transference to AMTB .
-
Watch items
- New director not yet assigned to AMTB committees as of proxy date—monitor committee placement for fit (Audit/Risk/Technology) and workload .
- Early-stage AMTB share ownership (500 shares) below long-run guideline; track accumulation over the 5-year compliance window .
- Multi-board responsibilities must remain within AMTB’s limit of ≤3 other public boards; currently compliant with one external board .
-
Red flags
- None disclosed for Mr. Almeida: no related-party transactions, hedging/pledging, or attendance issues noted; Section 16(a) compliance issues in 2024 did not involve him (appointment in 2025) .