Christopher L. Augostini

About Christopher L. Augostini

Independent director at W. R. Berkley Corporation since 2012; age 60; current term expires in 2027 . He serves as Executive Vice President for Business and Administration and Chief Financial Officer of Emory University, and CFO of Emory Healthcare and Vice Chair of the Emory Healthcare Board of Directors . Designated Audit Committee Financial Expert and Chair of the Audit Committee; member of the Business Ethics and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committees . Classified by WRB as independent under NYSE rules .

Past Roles

Organization	Role	Tenure	Committees/Impact
Emory University	EVP for Business & Administration (since Jul 2017); CFO (since Feb 2020)	2017–present (EVP); 2020–present (CFO)	Senior leadership, finance and operations oversight
Emory Healthcare	CFO; Vice Chair, Emory Healthcare Board of Directors	n/a (current)	Health system finance oversight and board leadership
Georgetown University	Senior VP & COO; previously CFO and other roles	2000–2017	University operations and finance leadership
City of New York (Mayor Giuliani administration)	Chief of staff to Deputy Mayor for Operations; Director of Intergovernmental Affairs; Deputy Budget Director	1995–2000	City operations, budget and intergovernmental strategy
NY State General Assembly	Analyst, Higher Education Committee and Ways & Means Committee	Late 1980s–early 1990s	Legislative analysis and budgeting
Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government	Workforce/economic development researcher	Early career	Policy research foundation

External Roles

Organization	Role	Tenure	Notes
Emory Innovations Inc.	Director	Current	University-related innovation entity
Clifton Casualty Insurance Company LTD	Director	Current	Insurance-related board service
Georgia Chamber of Commerce	Director	Current	State business advocacy
EMTECH, Inc.	Director	Current	Corporate board role
Joint Advisory Board of Georgetown University, Qatar Foundation	Former member	Former	International academic oversight
Atlanta Midtown Alliance	Former director	Former	Civic development
Other public company boards	—	—	None

Board Governance

Committee assignments: Audit Committee Chair and Audit Committee Financial Expert; member of the Business Ethics Committee; member of Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee .
Independence: WRB board is majority independent (8 of 10); Augostini listed as independent .
Attendance: Board met 4 times in 2024; all directors attended 100% of Board meetings; 8 directors attended 100% of their committee meetings (one at 92%, one at 88%) .
Engagement structure: Separate Chair/CEO; executive sessions of independent directors with a rotating presiding director; classified (staggered) board .
Audit Committee activity: 11 meetings in 2024; scope includes financial reporting integrity, auditor oversight, internal audit, and compliance .

Fixed Compensation (Director)

Policy framework (2024):

Annual cash stipend: $96,000 (paid quarterly) .
Annual equity grant: $200,000 in common stock (shares required to be held until board service ends) .
Committee member stipends: $5,500 for Audit and Compensation Committees .
Committee chair fees: $38,500 each for Audit and Compensation Chairs .
Meeting fees: $2,000 per Board meeting; $1,500 per substantive Audit/Compensation meeting .
Stock ownership guideline: 5x annual stipend ($480,000) within 4 years; company states all non-management directors with 4+ years exceed (range 4x–31x) .
Deferred Compensation Plan available for directors’ retainers/fees .

2024 actuals for Augostini:

Component	2024 Amount
Fees earned/paid in cash	$164,500
Stock awards (grant-date FV)	$200,067
Total	$364,567

2024 annual equity grant detail:

Grant date	Shares	Price/share	Grant-date value
Jun 11, 2024	3,801	$52.635	$200,067

Performance Compensation (Director)

Directors do not receive performance-conditioned pay; equity is granted as common shares with hold-until-departure requirement, aligning directors with shareholders via ownership rather than formulaic performance metrics .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Current public company boards: None .
Compensation Committee interlocks: Company discloses none for 2024; Augostini is not on the Compensation Committee .
Potential interlocks/conflicts with competitors/customers: None disclosed regarding Augostini .

Expertise & Qualifications

Finance and reporting; designated Audit Committee Financial Expert .
Risk assessment and governance experience; senior leadership roles across higher education and government .
Operational and management expertise; understanding of accounting, financial statements, and corporate finance .

Equity Ownership

Holder	Beneficial Ownership	% of Class	Notes
Christopher L. Augostini	103,993 shares	<1%	As of Apr 17, 2025
Pledging/Hedging	—	—	No pledging disclosed for Augostini; company prohibits hedging by directors .
Director equity policy	—	—	Must hold annual equity grant shares until no longer on Board; 5x stipend ownership guideline; company reports all eligible non-management directors exceed guideline .

Governance Assessment

Strengths:
- Independent, financially sophisticated Audit Chair with Audit Committee Financial Expert designation – supportive of oversight quality .
- Board structure includes majority independence, separated Chair/CEO, strong meeting attendance, and robust stock ownership/retention rules for directors enhancing alignment .
- No related-party transactions or interlocks disclosed for Augostini; Business Ethics Committee oversees conflicts process .
Watch items:
- Classified board reduces annual shareholder ability to change board composition; company argues long-cycle rationale in P&C insurance .
- Rotating presiding director model (no fixed lead independent director); company frames as shared leadership, but some investors prefer a single lead independent director .
Shareholder sentiment: Say‑on‑pay supported by 96.1% in 2024, indicating broad investor confidence in governance and pay design (contextual to management pay) .