Guy Zeltser
About Guy Zeltser
Guy Zeltser, 37, is Chief Financial Officer of Hippo Holdings Inc. as of March 10, 2025, overseeing all financial functions; he previously served as VP of Finance (Jun 2022–Mar 2025) and Director of Strategic Finance (Aug 2020–Jun 2022), following earlier work as an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company (2017–2020). He holds a BA in Economics and Accounting from Tel Aviv University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management . Company performance focus under his tenure includes 2025 guidance of GWP $1.15–$1.2B annualized for Q2–Q4, Net Loss Ratio 62–64%, Adjusted Net Income $28–$32M, and Adjusted ROE 8–9%; medium-term targets aim to double GWP to >$2.0B and grow adjusted net income to >$125M by 2028 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hippo Holdings Inc. | Chief Financial Officer | Mar 2025–Present | Oversees all financial functions of Hippo |
| Hippo Holdings Inc. | Vice President of Finance | Jun 2022–Mar 2025 | Finance leadership; responsible for corporate finance activities |
| Hippo Holdings Inc. | Director of Strategic Finance | Aug 2020–Jun 2022 | Strategic finance; planning and analysis responsibilities |
| McKinsey & Company | Engagement Manager | Sep 2017–Aug 2020 | Led consulting engagements; strategy and operations advisory |
External Roles
No external directorships or board roles disclosed for Zeltser .
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | $450,000 |
| Target Bonus (%) | 35% of base salary |
| Effective Date | March 10, 2025 |
Performance Compensation
- No specific CFO performance metrics, weightings, or payout formula disclosed; only the 2025 target bonus percent is provided .
- Company-level operating focus and performance measures highlighted for 2025–2028 (GWP, Net Loss Ratio, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted ROE), but not explicitly tied to executive incentive plan metrics in public disclosures .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Beneficial ownership for Zeltser is not individually disclosed in the 2025 proxy’s security ownership table; he was not listed among NEOs or directors in that table .
- Anti-hedging policy prohibits directors, officers, and employees from engaging in hedging transactions (e.g., collars, swaps, exchange funds) on Company equity .
- Clawback policy (effective Oct 2, 2023) requires recovery of erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation from current/former Section 16 officers for the three fiscal years preceding any required accounting restatement, subject to NYSE rules .
- Director stock ownership guidelines (5x annual retainer within five years) apply to non-employee directors; no officer ownership guidelines disclosed .
Employment Terms
- Appointment: CFO effective March 10, 2025; designated principal financial officer and principal accounting officer .
- Indemnification: Will enter into the Company’s standard indemnification agreement for executive officers (reference to form filed Aug 5, 2021) .
- Relationships/Arrangements: No arrangements or understandings tied to CFO selection; no family relationships or related-party transactions requiring disclosure .
- Severance/Change-of-Control: No CFO-specific severance or change-of-control provisions disclosed. Equity plan change-in-control full acceleration noted for directors’ RSU awards; employee treatment not specified in proxy excerpts .
Performance & Track Record
| Metric | Q2–Q4 2025 Annualized | 2028E Annualized |
|---|---|---|
| Gross Written Premium ($ Millions) | $1,150–$1,200 | >$2,000 |
| Net Loss Ratio (%) | 62–64 | 40–45 |
| Adjusted Net Income ($ Millions) | $28–$32 | >$125 |
| Adjusted ROE (%) | 8–9 | 18%+ |
- Zeltser presented the “Financials & Outlook” at Investor Day 2025, framing the path to doubling top-line premiums by 2028, maintaining underwriting profitability and retention, and increasing operating leverage via a scalable, technology-enabled platform .
- Company medium-term roadmap anticipates underwriting profit before overhead rising from ~$120–$125M (2Q–4Q’25 annualized) to >$220M by 2028, with overhead growing slower than GWP (11% to 7% of GWP) .
Compensation Committee Analysis
- Compensation Committee members: Eric Feder, Sam Landman (Chair), John Nichols; all independent and non-employee directors .
- Committee met four times in 2024 and engaged Radford Data & Analytics (Aon) for peer benchmarking; independence assessed with no conflicts of interest found .
- As an Emerging Growth Company, Hippo provides scaled executive compensation disclosures and is not required to hold a say-on-pay vote .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Option Repricing: On March 1, 2023, a one-time repricing of out-of-the-money employee options (including NEOs) to $15.88, with a one-year exercise premium of $31.76 that expired March 6, 2024; no changes to shares, vesting, or expiration dates—repricing events can be viewed as a governance red flag by some investors .
- Anti-Hedging: Robust policy prohibits hedging or offsetting transactions by insiders, supporting alignment .
- Section 16(a): One late Form 4 for each of five executives due to administrative error in 2024; timely compliance otherwise .
- Related Party Transactions: Payments and commercial arrangements with Lennar affiliates (including $3.8M earnout to Lennar Title in 2024); director affiliation disclosed (Eric Feder) .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: CFO pay mix includes at-risk cash via a 35% target bonus; anti-hedging and clawback policies strengthen alignment, but lack of disclosed individual equity grants and ownership limits transparency into “skin-in-the-game” .
- Execution Focus: CFO’s Investor Day framing emphasizes underwriting discipline, adjusted profitability, ROE expansion, and operating leverage—key levers for value creation in an insurer with a portfolio of risk .
- Governance Watchouts: Historical option repricing and related-party dealings warrant ongoing monitoring; scaled EGC disclosures reduce granularity on executive-specific incentives and severance/change-of-control terms .