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Companies Octave Specialty Group

Octave Specialty (AMBC): executive pay, fiscal 2025

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CEO total pay$10,356,228CEO Claude LeBlanc · source
Say-on-pay support70.02%Latest vote · source
CEO vs. named peers99th pct.Of 15 peer CEOs

CEO pay, last three years

  • $6,917,719FY2023
  • $6,340,720FY2024
  • $10,356,228FY2025

CEO total pay was $10,356,228 in fiscal 2025, up from $6,340,720 in fiscal 2024.

FY2025: salary $900,000 · bonus $900,000 · stock awards $6,108,742 · option awards $1,467,000

Executives and directors

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at Octave Specialty Group in fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Claude LeBlanc (President and Chief Executive Officer) was the highest-paid executive at Octave Specialty Group in fiscal 2025, with total compensation of $10,356,228.
How does Octave Specialty Group's chief executive pay compare to its disclosed peer group?
As disclosed, Claude LeBlanc's total compensation ranked at the 99th percentile of Octave Specialty Group's disclosed peer group.
How did shareholders vote on Octave Specialty Group's executive compensation?
As disclosed, 70.02% of shareholders supported Octave Specialty Group's executive compensation in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does Octave Specialty Group spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Octave Specialty Group reported total board compensation of $1,898,732 for fiscal 2025.

Answers are drawn only from the figures disclosed in this brief and cited to their location in the source filing. Where a figure required for an answer is not disclosed, that is stated rather than estimated.

Full detail

Every table from the filing. Open any section.

Summary compensation table
Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Claude LeBlanc$900,000$900,000$6,108,742$1,467,000$945,000$0$35,486$10,356,228
President and Chief Executive Officer
David Trick712,500600,0001,550,0501,028,000357,000015,1844,262,734
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Stephen Ksenak550,0000773,0100002,381,7523,704,762
Former Senior Managing Director and Chief Legal Officer
R. Sharon Smith500,000500,0001,347,544833,623357,000021,1843,559,351
Executive Vice President and Group Chief Operating Officer
Daniel McGinnis389,5830438,0370001,484,8772,312,497
Former Senior Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer
Lawrence Metz167,30700099,22507,105273,637
Senior Managing Director and General Counsel

A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed in the filing, without adjustment.

Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive

Named executive officerFY2025 totalFY2024 totalFY2023 totalΔ FY2024→2025
Claude LeBlanc$10,356,228$6,340,720$6,917,719↑ +4,015,508
David Trick4,262,7342,302,3442,458,764↑ +1,960,390
Stephen Ksenak3,704,7621,935,2382,088,187↑ +1,769,524
R. Sharon Smith3,559,3511,963,8302,117,129↑ +1,595,521
Daniel McGinnis2,312,4971,165,3801,244,940↑ +1,147,117
Lawrence Metz273,637———

Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

The executive compensation program is designed to support the achievement of key business objectives and reflect the Company's current strategic direction and business profile. It aims to attract, retain, and motivate high-quality executives by providing competitive compensation, aligning pay with performance through a substantial portion of at-risk, performance-based incentives, and aligning long-term interests with stockholders through equity-based compensation.

CEO STI target (% of salary)NaN%
CEO LTI target (% of salary)—
Independent consultantMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC
Clawback policyEffective October 2, 2023, the Board adopted a Recoupment Policy requiring covered employees to forfeit and/or reimburse recoverable compensation in the event of an accounting restatement.
Anti-hedgingExecutive officers, employees, and directors are prohibited from engaging in transactions (such as trading in options) designed to hedge against the value of the Octave common stock.
Anti-pledgingExecutive officers, employees, and directors are prohibited from pledging Octave common stock or using Octave common stock as collateral for any margin loan.
Equity grants and outstanding awards

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Claude LeBlancPSU2025-10-03——232,816—$2,088,360
Daniel McGinnisPSU2025-07-09——18,188—132,045
Claude LeBlancPSU2025-07-09190,978381,955—763,9102,753,896
R. Sharon SmithPSU2025-07-0941,19282,383—164,766593,981
Stephen KsenakPSU2025-07-0937,44774,894—149,788539,986
Daniel McGinnisPSU2025-07-0921,22042,440—84,880305,992
David TrickPSU2025-07-09————665,980
Claude LeBlancPSU2025-10-03——45,650—409,481
Claude LeBlancPSU2025-10-03——500,000—1,467,000
R. Sharon SmithPSU2025-10-03——284,125—833,623
Stephen KsenakPSU2025-07-09——32,097—233,024
Claude LeBlancPSU2025-07-09——118,045—857,007
David TrickPSU2025-10-03——66,519—596,675
David TrickPSU2025-10-03——350,375—1,028,000
R. Sharon SmithPSU2025-10-03——55,433—497,234
R. Sharon SmithPSU2025-07-09——35,307—256,329
David TrickPSU2025-07-09——39,586—287,394

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Claude LeBlanc$0$7,575,744$0100.0%
Daniel McGinnis0438,0370100.0%
R. Sharon Smith02,181,1670100.0%
Stephen Ksenak0773,0100100.0%
David Trick02,578,0490100.0%

% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
R. Sharon SmithOption284,1258.97$106,200
David TrickOption350,3758.97123,439
Claude LeBlancOption500,0008.97467,967
R. Sharon SmithPSU826,236—308,830
David TrickPSU960,355—338,338
Claude LeBlancPSU3,640,783—3,407,533
Director compensation
DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Jeffrey S. SteinIndependent · Board Chair · Governance and Nominating$225,000$180,622——$0$405,622
Ian D. HaftIndependent · Strategy135,000180,622——0315,622
Kristi A. MatusIndependent · Audit · Compensation (Chair)125,000180,622——0305,622
Lisa G. IglesiasIndependent · Audit · Governance and Nominating (Chair)115,000180,622——0295,622
Joan Lamm-TennantIndependent · Compensation · Governance and Nominating115,000180,622——0295,622
Michael D. PriceIndependent · Compensation · Strategy100,000180,622——0280,622
Claude LeBlancEmployee director—————0

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$100,000
Annual equity retainer$150,000
Per board meeting fee—
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)35,000 / 25,000 / 15,000
Stock ownership guideline$5

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$815,000
Equity awards (grant-date value)$1,083,732
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$1,898,732

Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.

Peer group, and who names Octave Specialty as a peer

Companies that benchmark against AMBC

2 companies name AMBC as a compensation peer

The list of companies that name AMBC as a peer is temporarily unavailable — recheck shortly.

Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2025

The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.

Chief executive pay against the peer group

Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company’s own proxy statement.

RankCompanyFYChief executiveSalaryStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveTotal
1Octave Specialty Group2025Claude LeBlanc$900,000$6,108,742$1,467,000$945,000$10,356,228
2SiriusPoint Ltd.2025Scott Egan1,169,7404,134,12301,600,1599,824,137
3Palomar Holdings, Inc.2025Mac Armstrong1,243,2693,862,33003,843,2988,961,148
4Horace Mann Educators Corporation2025Marita Zuraitis1,040,0003,328,000832,0003,139,5008,453,113
5HCI Group, Inc.2025Paresh Patel950,0000008,236,000
6Tiptree Inc.2025Michael Barnes1,200,0001,317,81805,651,6208,215,284
7White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd.2025G. Manning Rountree600,0005,954,61801,200,0008,064,309
8Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc.2025Ernie Garateix875,5002,757,82401,663,4505,341,897
9ProAssurance Corporation2025Edward Rand1,040,0002,300,00001,842,5475,296,166
10The Baldwin Insurance Group, Inc.2025Trevor Baldwin400,0003,068,03201,785,0005,253,032
11Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc.2025Stephen Donaghy1,000,0001,750,01402,406,8445,240,829
12Goosehead Insurance, Inc.2025Mark K. Miller750,00003,682,40004,850,272
13Hagerty, Inc.2025McKeel Hagerty1,185,417200,88603,319,1694,732,132
14Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc.2025Stephen Sills675,0003,120,966004,309,280
15James River Group Holdings, Ltd.2025Frank D'Orazio990,791966,6180934,8912,930,288
—Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc.——————not in coverage universe

Each peer’s compensation is from its most recently filed proxy; fiscal years differ by company. Each peer’s figures come from its own filings; the subject company is highlighted. Peers whose chief executive compensation is outside our coverage universe are stated as such, never left blank.

Incentive design against the same peers

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
Octave Specialty Group84.0%%PSUs 70 · RSUs 30NoMeridian Compensation Partners, LLC
Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc.not disclosednot disclosedNonot disclosed
Goosehead Insurance, Inc.not disclosedOption 100not disclosedSemler
Hagerty, Inc.140%PSU 100NoMercer
HCI Group, Inc.not disclosedRSU 100not disclosednot disclosed
Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc.158%PSU 62 · RSU 38Nonot disclosed
Horace Mann Educators Corporationnot disclosedPSU 60 · Options 20 · RSU 20Yes — TSRCompensation Advisory Partners LLC (CAP)
James River Group Holdings, Ltd.not disclosedPSU 50 · RSU 50NoAon
Palomar Holdings, Inc.176%PSU 50 · RSU 50NoPay Governance
ProAssurance Corporationnot disclosedRSU 50 · PSU 50not disclosedF.W. Cook
SiriusPoint Ltd.151.3%PSU 75 · RSU 25NoMercer
Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc.150%PSU 67 · RSU 33NoFrederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.
The Baldwin Insurance Group, Inc.111.6%PSU 100Yes — Relative TSR v. Compensation Peer GroupFrederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.
Tiptree Inc.not disclosednot disclosedNoCAP
Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc.160.5%RSU 50 · PSU 50Nonot disclosed
White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd.200%PSU 50 · RSU 50Nonot disclosed

Read from each company’s Compensation Discussion and Analysis: annual incentive payout as a percentage of target, the disclosed long-term vehicle mix, whether performance-share measures include a total shareholder return component, and the retained compensation consultant. “Not disclosed” appears only where the company’s filing does not state the item.

Say-on-pay history and pay ratio
Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-05-2819,180,3548,212,1271,798,84470.02%Passed
20252025-05-2823,107,4726,234,365753,05878.75%Passed
20232023-06-2225,414,6878,253,729269,70175.49%Passed
20222022-05-2615,479,04714,984,903280,58650.81%Passed
20212021-05-2522,661,9497,420,674345,23675.33%Passed
20202020-06-0228,086,2951,473,345261,44295.02%Passed

Rows are labeled by annual-meeting year, with the meeting date beside each; the vote held in a given year acts on the prior fiscal year’s compensation.

Say-on-pay — history, company’s computation

Meeting yearMeeting dateApproval — company’s computation
20262026-05-2870.02%a
20252025-05-2878.75%b
20232023-06-2275.49%c

a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “In order to pass, the number of votes cast FOR this proposal must exceed the number votes cast AGAINST this proposal by holders of our common stock who are present in person or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote on this matter. || Abstentions: Abstentions are not counted as either votes cast "FOR" or "AGAINST" this proposal.”.

b. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “In order to pass, the number of votes cast FOR this proposal must exceed the number votes cast AGAINST this proposal by holders of our common stock who are present in person, or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote on this matter. || Abstentions: Abstentions are not counted as either votes cast "FOR" or "AGAINST" this proposal.”.

c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “In order to pass, the number of votes cast FOR this proposal must exceed the number votes cast AGAINST this proposal by holders of our common stock who are present in person, or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote on this matter. || Abstentions: Abstentions are not counted as either votes cast "FOR" or "AGAINST" this proposal.”.

Approval percentages are the company’s own reported computations under its own stated standard, not recomputed by Velarion. Where a company does not state a standard, none is assumed.

Insider trades since the proxy

No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.

Sources (51 citations)

Each figure is listed with the filing it comes from, where it appears in that filing, and the value as printed. Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.

  • Section 01, Claude LeBlanc. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 10,356,228. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, David Trick. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 4,262,734. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Stephen Ksenak. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 3,704,762. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, R. Sharon Smith. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 3,559,351. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Daniel McGinnis. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 2,312,497. View filing ↗
  • Section 01, Lawrence Metz. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 273,637. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Claude LeBlanc PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Daniel McGinnis PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Claude LeBlanc PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, R. Sharon Smith PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Stephen Ksenak PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Daniel McGinnis PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, David Trick PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Claude LeBlanc PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Claude LeBlanc PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, R. Sharon Smith PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Stephen Ksenak PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, Claude LeBlanc PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, David Trick PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, David Trick PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, R. Sharon Smith PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, R. Sharon Smith PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 03, David Trick PSU. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Executive Compensation” · grants of plan-based awards table. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Jeffrey S. Stein. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 405,622. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Ian D. Haft. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 315,622. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Kristi A. Matus. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 305,622. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Lisa G. Iglesias. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 295,622. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Joan Lamm-Tennant. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 295,622. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Michael D. Price. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 280,622. View filing ↗
  • Section 08, Claude LeBlanc. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2026 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2026-05-29. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 70.02% (votes for as printed: 19,180,354). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2025 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2025-05-30. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 78.75% (votes for as printed: 23,107,472). View filing ↗
  • Section 06, 2023 vote. Form 8-K, filed 2023-06-22. Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 75.49% (votes for as printed: 25,414,687). View filing ↗
  • Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed). Computed. Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.
  • Section 03b vehicle mix (computed). Computed. RSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).
  • Section 09b board cost (computed). Computed. Cash 815,000 + equity 1,083,732 + all other 0 = 1,898,732, summed across the director compensation table rows.
  • Octave Specialty Group (subject), Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. CEO total compensation as printed in Octave Specialty Group's own proxy. As printed: 10,356,228. View filing ↗
  • SiriusPoint Ltd., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. CEO total compensation as printed in SiriusPoint Ltd.'s own proxy. As printed: 9,824,137. View filing ↗
  • Palomar Holdings, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-10. CEO total compensation as printed in Palomar Holdings, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,961,148. View filing ↗
  • Horace Mann Educators Corporation, Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-06. CEO total compensation as printed in Horace Mann Educators Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 8,453,113. View filing ↗
  • HCI Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-29. CEO total compensation as printed in HCI Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,236,000. View filing ↗
  • Tiptree Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-16. CEO total compensation as printed in Tiptree Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,215,284. View filing ↗
  • White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-01. CEO total compensation as printed in White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd.'s own proxy. As printed: 8,064,309. View filing ↗
  • Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. CEO total compensation as printed in Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,341,897. View filing ↗
  • ProAssurance Corporation, Section 10b CEO total. 10-K/A, filed 2026-04-08. CEO total compensation as printed in ProAssurance Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 5,296,166. View filing ↗
  • The Baldwin Insurance Group, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-22. CEO total compensation as printed in The Baldwin Insurance Group, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,253,032. View filing ↗
  • Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-24. CEO total compensation as printed in Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,240,829. View filing ↗
  • Goosehead Insurance, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-25. CEO total compensation as printed in Goosehead Insurance, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 4,850,272. View filing ↗
  • Hagerty, Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-04-30. CEO total compensation as printed in Hagerty, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 4,732,132. View filing ↗
  • Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-03-16. CEO total compensation as printed in Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 4,309,280. View filing ↗
  • James River Group Holdings, Ltd., Section 10b CEO total. DEF 14A, filed 2026-09-16. CEO total compensation as printed in James River Group Holdings, Ltd.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,930,288. View filing ↗
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