Joel Murphy

About Joel Murphy

Joel T. Murphy, age 66, is an independent director of Crawford & Company, appointed June 25, 2024, with his initial term expiring at the 2025 Annual Meeting; he serves on the Compensation and Human Capital Committee and the Governance Committee . He is CEO of Murphy Capital and Advisory Group LLC (Aug 2022–present) and previously served as President/CEO and later Board Chair of Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. (PAC) (2019–2022); earlier, he co-founded and led New Market Properties, LLC from October 2014 . Murphy holds a Phi Beta Kappa BA in Economics from UNC–Chapel Hill and a JD (Law Review, honors) from the University of Georgia School of Law; he practiced commercial real estate law at King & Spalding (1983–1988) . The Board cites his business and investment experience and strategic acumen as core credentials for service .

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Committee assignments: Member, Compensation and Human Capital Committee (appointed June 25, 2024); Member, Governance Committee .
• Independence: Board determined all Compensation and Human Capital Committee members are independent under NYSE standards; Murphy was appointed as an independent director .
• Attendance: In 2024 the Board held five meetings; each current director attended at least 75% of aggregate Board and committee meetings of which they were a member . All director nominees except Murphy attended the 2024 annual meeting; a full Board meeting is held the same day to encourage attendance .
• Executive sessions of independent directors: Five in 2024, presided over by the Non-Executive Chair (Jesse C. Crawford, Jr.) .
• Term: Will stand for re-election at the May 8, 2025 Annual Meeting .

Fixed Compensation

• Director pay structure (2024): Annual cash retainer $50,000; restricted share award $90,000; Board and committee meeting fees $1,500 per meeting; Committee chair fees: Audit $25,000, Compensation $15,000, Governance $12,500; Chair of the Board $100,000; 2024 director restricted share awards vested in full on Dec 31, 2024 .
• Murphy’s 2024 actual director compensation (pro-rated upon appointment June 25, 2024; initial equity grant pro-rated): cash $37,822; stock awards grant-date fair value $46,229; total $84,051 .

Performance Compensation

• Director equity awards: Time-vested restricted share grants (vested in full on Dec 31, 2024); no performance metrics tied to non-employee director compensation disclosed .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

• Current public company directorships: None disclosed beyond Crawford & Company .
• Prior public company directorships: PAC (NYSE: APTS) director and Board Chair (2019–2022) .
• Board network overlap: Murphy previously practiced at King & Spalding; fellow Crawford director Rahul Patel is a current partner and co-head of private equity/M&A at King & Spalding; no related-party transactions disclosed involving Murphy .

Expertise & Qualifications

• Education: BA Economics, UNC–Chapel Hill (Phi Beta Kappa); JD, University of Georgia School of Law (Law Review, honors) .
• Technical/industry expertise: 35 years in capital markets, real estate acquisition/development, market analysis; board governance leadership at retail and real estate entities .
• Board qualifications: Strategic acumen, extensive business and investment experience .

Equity Ownership

• Stock ownership guidelines for non-employee directors: Required to own $200,000 in value or 25,000 shares; Murphy has until June 25, 2026 to achieve target; most other directors are in compliance .
• Beneficial ownership (as of March 14, 2025): 15,443 Class A shares; no Class B; less than 1% of outstanding Class A and Class B .

Policy signals: Company cites stock ownership guidelines, prohibition on hedging/pledging, and a clawback policy as risk-mitigating practices in incentive plans (executive-focused) .

Governance Assessment

• Board effectiveness: Murphy strengthens compensation and governance oversight as a member of both the Compensation and Human Capital Committee and the Governance Committee; Board affirms committee independence under NYSE standards and uses independent consultant Pay Governance LLC with no disclosed conflicts .
• Independence and conflicts: Appointed as an independent director; 8‑K notes no arrangements or related-party transactions involving Murphy; proxy confirms no related party transactions in 2024 .
• Attendance and engagement: Board met five times in 2024; each current director attended at least 75% of aggregate Board/committee meetings; independent directors held five executive sessions. Murphy did not attend the 2024 annual meeting, a minor engagement gap, though his appointment occurred mid‑year .
• Compensation alignment: Director pay mix combines cash and time-vested equity; Murphy’s pro-rated 2024 compensation and equity vesting align with standard non-employee director structure; no performance-based director metrics reduce pay-risk complexity .
• Ownership alignment: Murphy holds 15,443 Class A shares and has until June 25, 2026 to meet the $200,000 or 25,000-share guideline; explicit timeline reduces short-term misalignment risk but indicates a current shortfall versus target .

Red Flags and Watch Items

• Current ownership below director guideline; monitor accumulation toward June 25, 2026 deadline .
• Non-attendance at 2024 annual meeting noted; track future annual meeting participation and committee attendance disclosures for consistency .
• Board control context: The Crawford family maintains a controlling interest (majority ownership) which can influence governance dynamics; Murphy’s independent committee roles help balance oversight .