Sharon Binnun
About Sharon Binnun
Sharon Binnun, 63, is Chief Accounting Officer at Heritage Insurance Holdings (HRTG) and a Florida-licensed CPA; she has served as CAO since May 2016 and previously as EVP of Finance beginning November 2014, with prior roles as CFO of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, Executive VP at Cypress Property Insurance Company, Deputy Insurance Commissioner in Florida, and earlier with Deloitte & Touche . Company performance during her tenure has strengthened: FY2024 net income rose to $61.5M (from $45.3M in FY2023), ROE was 24.1%, book value per share increased 30.3% in 2024, and TSR (value of $100 investment from Dec 31, 2021) reached $205.78 by FY2024; these improvements reflect underwriting actions, rate adequacy, and exposure management .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heritage Insurance Holdings | Chief Accounting Officer | May 2016 – present | Corporate accounting leadership through profitability turnaround; supports disclosure controls and governance |
| Heritage Insurance Holdings | EVP, Finance | Nov 2014 – May 2016 | Finance oversight integrating NBIC acquisition and multi-state expansion |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens Property Insurance Corporation | Chief Financial Officer | Feb 2007 – Jul 2013 | Oversight of state insurer’s finance, risk, and regulatory reporting |
| Cypress Property Insurance Company | Executive Vice President | Jul 2013 – Aug 2014 | Financial and operational leadership at a Florida property insurer |
| State of Florida | Deputy Insurance Commissioner | Prior to 2007 | Regulatory leadership; supervision of market conduct and solvency oversight |
| Deloitte & Touche | Various (audit) | Prior | Audit/assurance foundation supporting technical accounting rigor |
Fixed Compensation
| Year | Base salary ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 300,000 | Per employment agreement start, eligible for auto allowance and travel reimbursement |
| 2020 | 475,000 | Reported in NEO Summary Compensation Table |
| 2020 Compensation Breakdown | Amount ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | 475,000 | NEO SCT |
| Bonus (discretionary) | 50,000 | Per agreement, Board discretion up to $60,000; paid $50,000 in 2020 |
| All other compensation | 26,128 | Benefits and allowances (incl. auto) as disclosed |
| Total | 551,128 | 2020 total compensation |
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout ($) | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board discretionary annual incentive | N/A | Up to $60,000 under employment agreement | $50,000 (2020) | 50,000 | Cash; no vesting |
Notes:
- No individual PSU/RSU performance schedules disclosed for Ms. Binnun; 2020 tables show no stock vested or outstanding for her .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Beneficial ownership: Not listed separately among security ownership tables as of 2021; the 2021 proxy table shows “—” for Ms. Binnun (i.e., no reported beneficial shares at that time) .
- In the 2024 and 2025 security ownership tables, only directors and NEOs (CEO, CFO, NBIC President) are itemized; Ms. Binnun was not a named executive officer in those years and is not listed, so her current holdings are not disclosed in those tables .
- Hedging/pledging: Company policy prohibits pledging of company stock and short sales; hedging transactions require CFO pre-clearance .
- Section 16 compliance: Forms 4 for a 2023 transaction for Ms. Binnun were reported late due to administrative oversight .
Employment Terms
| Term | Details |
|---|---|
| Agreement start | Effective January 1, 2015 |
| Base salary | $300,000 at start (2015); thereafter as determined by the Board (was $475,000 in 2020 per SCT) |
| Annual incentive | Discretionary cash incentive up to $60,000 (or greater if approved) |
| Perquisites | Auto allowance; reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses |
| Severance / Change-of-control | If terminated by the Company for any reason within six months after a consolidation, merger, transfer of assets, or other acquisition, lump-sum severance equal to six months of base salary (e.g., $237,500 based on 2020 base salary) |
| Restrictive covenants | Non-solicit: 2 years post-termination; Non-compete: 1 year post-termination |
| Clawback policy | All awards under Omnibus Incentive Plan subject to company clawback policy adopted aligned with SEC/NYSE rules |
Company Performance Context
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($) | 649,042,000* | 722,941,000* | 804,491,000* |
| EBITDA ($) | -57,043,000* | 72,671,000* | 103,161,000* |
| Net Income ($) | -154,363,000* | 45,307,000 | 61,539,000 |
Values marked with an asterisk were retrieved from S&P Global.
TSR (value of $100 initial investment on 12/31/2021):
| Period | Value ($) |
|---|---|
| FY 2022 | 17.77 |
| FY 2023 | 110.88 |
| FY 2024 | 205.78 |
Say-on-Pay history:
- 2020: Approximately 74% “Against” (prompted compensation program changes) .
- 2023: ~83% “For” .
- 2024: ~76% “For” .
Compensation peer group (benchmarking reference, not percentile-pegged):
- Ambac (AMBC), AMERISAFE (AMSF), Argo (ARGO), Donegal (DGICA), Employers (EIG), Global Indemnity (GBLI), HCI (HCI), Kinsale (KNSL), MBIA (MBI), NI Holdings (NODK), ProAssurance (PRA), RLI (RLI), Safety (SAFT), Selective (SIGI), State Auto (STFC), Tiptree (TIPT), United Fire (UFCS), United Insurance (UIHC), Universal (UVE), White Mountains (WTM) .
- Committee noted pay not pegged to a specific percentile; GPW (gross premiums written) viewed as more useful than revenue for insurance benchmarking .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Ms. Binnun’s compensation is primarily fixed cash with modest discretionary bonus; absence of material equity grants (no RSUs/options outstanding in 2020 and no ownership line item disclosed subsequently) suggests lower direct stock alignment versus CEO/CFO, but strong governance (prohibition on pledging, clawback adoption) mitigates alignment risks .
- Retention risk: Contractual severance is limited (six months base on qualifying change-of-control termination) and restrictive covenants (2-year non-solicit, 1-year non-compete) support retention and orderly transition; overall severance economics are modest compared to top NEOs, implying limited “golden parachute” risk .
- Execution record: Company performance improved markedly in FY2023–FY2024 (net income, ROE, book value per share), and TSR rebounded significantly, supporting credibility of finance and accounting leadership; this provides a positive backdrop for risk management and reporting stability under Ms. Binnun .
- Governance/controls: Late Section 16 filings in 2023 were attributed to administrative oversight; continued adherence to insider trading policy (no pledging/short sales; hedging pre-clearance) and clawback policy reduces headline governance risk .