Ian K. Snow
LAUREATE EDUCATIONAbout Ian K. Snow
Ian K. Snow (age 55) is an independent director of Laureate Education, Inc., serving on the Board since 2007. He is CEO and Co‑Founding Partner of Snow Phipps Group, LLC (private equity) and previously was a Managing Director at Ripplewood Holdings. He holds a B.A. from Georgetown University . The Board has affirmatively determined he is independent under Nasdaq rules .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ripplewood Holdings L.L.C. | Managing Director | 1995–2005 | Private equity investing and portfolio oversight |
| Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. | Director; Audit Committee member | Director 1996–2007; Audit Committee 2006–2007 | Public company board/audit experience |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snow Phipps Group, LLC | CEO & Co‑Founding Partner | 2005–present | Private equity sponsor |
| Blackhawk Industrial Distribution, Inc. | Director | Current | Private company; Snow Phipps portfolio |
| ECRM, LLC | Director | Current | Private company; Snow Phipps portfolio |
| Teasdale Foods, Inc. | Director | Current | Private company; Snow Phipps portfolio |
| U.S. public company boards | None | — | No current or prior U.S. public boards in past five years |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Chair, Compensation Committee; Member, Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee .
- Committee activity: 2024 meetings – Compensation (6), Nominating & Corporate Governance (5); Board met 7 times; all directors attended ≥75% of Board/committee meetings and the 2024 annual meeting .
- Independence: Board determined all nominees except the CEO are independent under Nasdaq rules .
- Compensation Committee oversight: Reviews CEO/NEO pay, incentive and equity plans, severance/CIC arrangements, compensation risk, and director pay; Snow signed the Compensation Committee Report as Chair .
- Consultant: Meridian Compensation Partners retained as the independent compensation consultant; Committee determined no conflicts of interest .
- ESG/public benefit oversight (relevant to Snow’s Nominating role): Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee oversees ESG strategy and public benefit obligations .
Fixed Compensation (Director)
| Component | Structure/Amount | 2024 Amount for Snow |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Board Retainer | $200,000 total; $75,000 cash + $125,000 RSUs | Included in amounts at right |
| Committee Fees | Compensation Committee: Chair $15,000; Member $10,000. Nominating & Corporate Governance: Chair $15,000; Member $7,500. Audit: Member $15,000; Chair $25,000. Education: Member $10,000; Chair $15,000. 100% cash | Included in amounts at right |
| Independent Chairman Retainer | $125,000 ($75,000 cash / $50,000 RSUs); not applicable to Snow | — |
| 2024 Fees Earned (Cash) | Paid quarterly in arrears | $94,035 |
| 2024 Stock Awards (RSUs/Common Stock) | RSUs vest quarterly in arrears; grant 5/30/2024 | $125,004 |
| 2024 Total | — | $219,039 |
- Note: By prior agreement, Snow directed cash and equity portions of director compensation to Snow Phipps Group, LLC .
Performance Compensation (Director)
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Performance-linked pay | None disclosed for directors; equity grants are time-based RSUs vesting quarterly in arrears . |
| Hedging/Pledging | Prohibited for employees and directors . |
| Clawback | Company maintains a Dodd‑Frank compliant clawback policy (primarily applies to incentive-based comp of executives) . |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Current U.S. public boards | None |
| Private company boards | Blackhawk Industrial Distribution; ECRM; Teasdale Foods (Snow Phipps portfolio) |
| Sponsor ties and designation rights | CPV and Snow Phipps were Wengen investors; CPV designated Andrew B. Cohen and designated Snow as an additional director under the Wengen Securityholders Agreement; CPV designation rights expired Dec 31, 2024 . |
| Related-party share repurchases | Company repurchased shares from Snow Phipps entities: 2,114,928 shares at $14.64 on 5/6/2024 ($30,958,422) and 520,831 shares at $17.47 on 3/13/2025 ($9,100,506); Audit & Risk Committee approved as related-party transactions . |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Private equity CEO and co‑founder with deep M&A and portfolio governance experience .
- Prior public company board and audit committee experience (Asbury Automotive) .
- Education: B.A., Georgetown University .
Equity Ownership
| Holder/Instrument | Shares/Status | % of Class | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ian K. Snow (beneficial owner) | 7,957 shares | <1% | As reported; Snow disclaims beneficial ownership of Snow Phipps‑held shares . |
| Wengen Alberta, L.P. | 12,485,166 shares | 8.4% | Wengen holder group includes investors affiliated with CPV and Snow Phipps . |
| Snow Phipps funds’ LP interests in Wengen | ~2,167,553 underlying shares (aggregate across SPG entities) | — | SPG GP, LLC (Snow sole managing member) is GP of SPG funds; may be deemed to share voting/investment power; Snow disclaims beneficial ownership; address listed in proxy . |
| Stock ownership guidelines (directors) | Expected to own shares equal to ≥5x cash portion of board retainer; retain 75% of net profit shares until compliant; no specific time requirement disclosed . | ||
| Anti-hedging/anti-pledging | Directors prohibited from hedging, margining, or pledging Laureate stock . |
Governance Assessment
- Positives
- Independent director with deep compensation oversight; serves as Compensation Committee Chair with an independent consultant (Meridian) and no consultant conflicts identified .
- Strong shareholder support for executive compensation (Say‑on‑Pay 96.5% in 2024), a positive signal for the committee’s effectiveness under Snow’s chairmanship .
- Robust policies: anti‑hedging/pledging, clawback, and structured committee charters; all directors met attendance expectations in 2024 .
- Risks/Red Flags
- Related‑party exposure: multiple issuer share repurchases from Snow Phipps entities in 2024–2025; although reviewed/approved by the Audit & Risk Committee, continued transactions warrant monitoring for perceived conflicts .
- Director compensation directed to Snow Phipps Group, LLC (by prior agreement), which can dilute personal “skin‑in‑the‑game” alignment optics even though equity is granted .
- Long tenure (since 2007) can raise independence perception concerns for some investors, though the Board affirms independence and CPV’s designation rights expired at year‑end 2024, reducing sponsor influence .
Overall implication: Snow brings seasoned sponsor and compensation governance expertise with strong process signals (high Say‑on‑Pay support, independent consultant, attendance). Investors should monitor ongoing related‑party transactions with Snow Phipps and evaluate personal ownership alignment given compensation routed to Snow Phipps, within the context of Laureate’s anti‑hedging policy and director ownership guidelines .