Alex Baker

About Alex Baker

Alex Baker, age 44, serves as Group Chief Risk Officer (since 2022) and has been appointed to succeed Adrian Daws as Chief Executive Officer of Hamilton Global Specialty effective September 1, 2025, subject to regulatory approval. He joined Hamilton in 2016 after senior actuarial roles at Chubb and Chaucer and consultancy at PwC; he is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries (FIA) and holds a Master’s in Mathematics from Oxford University . Company performance context for incentive alignment: in 2024, Hamilton reported net income to common shareholders of $400.4M, ROE of 18.3%, gross premiums written (GPW) of $2,422.6M, net premiums earned of $1,734.7M, underwriting income of $149.4M, and a 91.3% combined ratio . The appointment announcement for Baker’s new role was made June 17, 2025 .

Past Roles

External Roles

No external directorships or public company board roles were disclosed for Alex Baker in the 2025 proxy .

Fixed Compensation

Individual pay elements for Alex Baker (base salary, target bonus, actual bonus) were not disclosed in the proxy. The program design for executive officers emphasizes pay-for-performance with market benchmarking and no executive perquisites .

Performance Compensation

Company-wide incentive architecture and 2024 outcomes that fund executive bonuses and LTIs:

• Annual Cash Incentive Plan (AIP) design and 2024 outcomes (applies to executives) | Measure | Weight | Threshold | Target | Maximum | Actual 2024 | Achievement | Weighted payout | |---|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:| | Combined ratio (profitability) | 60% | 111.5% | 95.2% | 88.5% | 91.3% | 163% | 98% | | Strategic Growth | 20% | — | — | — | See accomplishments | 200% | 40% | | Technology Enablement | 10% | — | — | — | See accomplishments | 75% | 7.5% | | Magnet for Talent | 10% | — | — | — | See accomplishments | 150% | 15% | | Total AIP pool funding | | | | | | | 160% |

• Long-Term Incentives (LTI) structure for executives (PSUs and RSUs) | Equity vehicle | 2024 allocation | Vesting | Performance metrics | Rationale | |---|---|---|---|---| | PSUs | 50% | 3-year cliff | 3-yr avg ROE; 3-yr annualized book value per share growth (BVSG) | Focus on core profitability and sustainable growth; alignment | | RSUs | 50% | 1/3 per year over 3 years | Time-based | Retention and alignment through share value at vest |

• Recent PSU performance completion (company-wide 2022–2024 cycle): Underwriting Return on Capital achieved 6.1% vs target curve; payout 146.4% of target .

• Value Appreciation Pool (VAP) that covers employees employed in the month prior to the IPO: two tranches vest on November 10, 2024 and November 10, 2025, subject to continued employment; indicates potential supply/vesting cadence relevant for insider-selling pressure across the organization .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

Employment Terms

• Change-in-control/acceleration: Company equity plans provide “double trigger” vesting—unvested awards accelerate if a change in control is followed within 12 months by termination without cause or resignation for good reason; PSUs vest at greater of actual or target upon such event . If awards are not assumed in a change in control, unvested awards may vest and be settled in cash at the Committee’s discretion .
• Clawback: Dodd-Frank/NYSE-compliant clawback capturing both “Big R” and “Little r” restatements; up to three-year lookback; Company will enforce recovery unless impracticable under defined conditions .
• Insider trading controls: Blackouts, pre-clearance for executive officers, and prohibition on short sales; 10b5-1 plan usage allowed under policy .
• Non-compete/Restrictive covenants: The Company commonly uses confidentiality, non-competition, and non-solicitation covenants in executive agreements (e.g., Daws’ 2025 agreement); specific terms for Baker were not disclosed as of the filings reviewed .

Performance & Track Record

Compensation Committee, Peers, and Governance (context for incentives)

• Compensation & Personnel Committee members and independence; quarterly meetings; independent consultants (Aon, Mercer) engaged without conflicts .
• Peer benchmarking includes U.S./Bermuda specialty and reinsurance companies; 2024/2025 peer group updates to better position Hamilton near median revenue and disclosure quality .
• Governance protections: no excise tax gross-ups; no executive perquisites; double-trigger only; robust clawback; prohibition on hedging/pledging .

Investment Implications

• Role transition: Baker’s promotion to CEO of Hamilton Global Specialty (effective Sept 1, 2025, pending approvals) is a positive internal succession signal pointing to depth and confidence in leadership; it may increase his variable pay leverage to business unit performance in future cycles .
• Incentive alignment: Executive pay is tightly linked to underwriting profitability (combined ratio) and multi-year ROE/BVSG; this creates clear levers for performance compensation and near-term bonus funding sensitivity to operating results .
• Selling pressure watch-outs: Organization-wide VAP tranche vests on Nov 10, 2025, and executive RSU schedules vest annually over three years—both can create episodic supply; however, hedging/pledging prohibitions and 10b5-1 pre-planned trading mitigate adverse optics and signal discipline .
• Retention/COC risk: Double-trigger equity acceleration and ownership guidelines support retention and alignment; absence of disclosed individual severance terms for Baker slightly reduces transparency on downside protection, but company frameworks are well-defined .
• Governance posture: Strong pay governance (no perqs, no gross-ups, clawback, independent oversight) and prior 82% say-on-pay support reduce headline risk on compensation .