Arun Gowda
About Arun Gowda
Arun Gowda (age 59) is an independent director of Oxbridge Re Holdings Ltd. (OXBR) since 2023. He is Managing Partner at Broadpeak Ventures (since 2018) with prior senior roles at UBS O’Connor (Managing Director, 2016–2017), Guggenheim Investments (Managing Director, 2012–2015), and earlier positions at Morgan Stanley, UBS Investment Bank, and Eventi Capital Partners (1993–2011). He holds an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School and a Bachelor’s with Distinction in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Math from Vanderbilt University .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadpeak Ventures | Managing Partner | Jan 2018–present | Early-stage investing in asset management, insurance, alternatives |
| UBS O’Connor (UBS Group AG) | Managing Director | Sep 2016–Dec 2017 | Raised capital for private credit/hedge funds |
| Guggenheim Investments | Managing Director | Feb 2012–Dec 2015 | Built alternative investment platform for institutions |
| Morgan Stanley; UBS Investment Bank; Eventi Capital Partners | VP; Executive Director; Partner | 1993–2011 | Investments across tech, medical device, alternatives |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generational Re (ISAC) Limited (Bermuda) | Director | Current | Life & annuity insurer board seat |
| Ide8 Re (Bermuda) | Director | Apr 2021–Jan 2024 | Captive reinsurer for Bamboo Insurance; through acquisition in Jan 2024 |
| Aquarian Holdings | Advisor | Since Jan 2019 | Advisory role |
| Osprey Funds | Advisor | Since May 2021 | Advisory role |
Board Governance
- Independence and roles
- Determined independent by the Board; qualifies as a “non-employee director” under Nasdaq/SEC rules .
- Audit Committee: Chair; designated “audit committee financial expert” (SEC definition) .
- Compensation Committee: Member .
- Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee: Member .
- Investment Committee: Chair (approves/reviews investment guidelines; monitors performance and risk) .
- Attendance and engagement
- Board held 6 meetings in 2024; each director attended at least 80% of Board meetings .
- Committee meetings held in 2024: Audit (4), Compensation (2), Nominating & Corporate Governance (1), Underwriting (3), Investment (4) .
| Committee | Membership | Chair? | Meetings in 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit | Member | Yes | 4 |
| Compensation | Member | No | 2 |
| Nominating & Corporate Governance | Member | No | 1 |
| Investment | Member | Yes | 4 |
| Underwriting | Not a member | — | 3 |
Voting support (re-election)
| Year | Votes For | Votes Against | Abstain | Broker Non-Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 AGM (to 2025 term) | 1,917,634 | 94,797 | 3 | 2,047,016 |
| 2025 AGM (to 2026 term) | 2,605,626 | 51,230 | 16 | 2,315,191 |
Implications: Gowda’s chair roles on Audit and Investment committees and “financial expert” designation support oversight of financial reporting and capital allocation; strong shareholder support in elections indicates investor confidence .
Fixed Compensation (Director)
| Year | Cash Retainer | Committee/Chair Fees | Total Cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $15,000 | Not separately disclosed | $15,000 |
Performance Compensation (Director)
| Grant Date | Instrument | Quantity | Fair Value | Vesting/Terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2, 2024 | Restricted ordinary shares (OXBR) | 23,809 | $25,000 (aggregate grant date fair value) | 50% vests on day 180; 50% vests on first anniversary, service-based |
| Mar 25, 2024 | Restricted shares (SP Holdings subsidiary) | 2,000 | Not specified in director table | Vests ratably over 1 year, service-based |
- Performance metrics tied to director equity: none disclosed; awards are service-based (no TSR/EBITDA targets for directors) .
- Company-wide policies enhancing alignment and controls:
- Anti-hedging policy prohibits directors from hedging company equity (e.g., swaps, collars, exchange funds) .
- Clawback policy adopted per SEC/Nasdaq to recover incentive-based compensation upon restatement (applies to executive officers; policy environment relevant to oversight) .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Relationship to OXBR | Potential Interlock/Conflict |
|---|---|---|
| Generational Re (ISAC) Limited | None disclosed | No OXBR related-party transactions disclosed involving Gowda |
| Ide8 Re (Bamboo Insurance captive) | None disclosed | Service ended Jan 2024; no OXBR related-party transactions disclosed involving Gowda |
| Aquarian Holdings; Osprey Funds | Advisory roles | No OXBR related-party transactions disclosed involving Gowda |
Note: OXBR disclosed related-party transactions for other executives (e.g., TypTap/HCI; Jet.AI bridge) but none naming Gowda .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Audit committee financial expert (SEC definition) .
- Domain expertise: investments, hedge funds, insurance/reinsurance products, fundraising, and scaling businesses .
- Education: MBA (Wharton); Bachelor’s with Distinction (Vanderbilt, EE/CS/Math) .
Equity Ownership
| Date (Record) | Beneficial Ownership | % Outstanding | Shares Outstanding (context) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 14, 2025 | 40,412 shares | <1% (listed as ***) | 7,442,922 |
| Jul 25, 2025 | 40,412 shares | <1% (listed as ***) | 7,535,922 |
- Outstanding director stock awards (as of Dec 31, 2024, excluding SP Holdings): 34,358 restricted shares (Arun Gowda) .
Insider transactions (Form 4)
| Transaction Date | Filing Date | Type | Shares Transacted | Post-Transaction Ownership | Price | SEC Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 9, 2023 | Jan 11, 2023 | Award | 10,549 | 10,549 | $0.00 | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1584831/000156761923000833/0001567619-23-000833-index.htm |
| Apr 15, 2024 | Apr 16, 2024 | Award | 23,809 | 34,358 | $0.00 | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1584831/000149315224014906/0001493152-24-014906-index.htm |
| Feb 14, 2025 | Feb 20, 2025 | Award | 6,054 | 40,312 | $0.00 | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1584831/000089706925000339/0000897069-25-000339-index.htm |
Source: Form 4 fetch (insider-trades skill; links above to SEC filings).
Governance Assessment
- Strengths
- Independent director with multi-decade capital markets and alternatives background; “audit committee financial expert” enhances audit oversight .
- Chairs both Audit and Investment Committees, central to financial reporting integrity and capital allocation risk oversight .
- Strong shareholder support in recent re-elections (For >97% of votes cast each year), signaling investor confidence .
- Anti-hedging and clawback regimes in place at the company-level support alignment and accountability .
- Alignment and incentives
- Director pay mix skews to equity (2024: $15k cash vs $25k equity), increasing at-risk exposure to stock performance .
- Accumulating restricted stock through annual awards; beneficial ownership <1%—meaningful but not concentrated .
- Conflicts and red flags
- No related-party transactions disclosed involving Gowda; no Section 16 filing delinquencies noted for him in 2024 .
- Board-level structural risk persists with CEO also serving as Chairman; mitigated by independent committee leadership (including Gowda as Audit Chair) but worth investor monitoring .
Overall, Gowda’s profile indicates high governance utility: independent, financially sophisticated oversight as Audit Chair and investment risk lead, with a balanced equity-oriented fee structure and no disclosed conflicts.