HAMILTON, Bermuda, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Syncora Holdings Ltd.
('Syncora' or the 'Company') (NYSE: SCA) today announced the appointment of
Mssrs. Duncan P. Hennes, Edward J. Muhl, Thomas S. Norsworthy, and Robert J.
White to its Board of Directors in connection with the transfer on November
18, 2008 of 30,069,049 Syncora shares, previously owned by XL Capital Ltd, to
a Trust pursuant to the Master Commutation Release and Restructuring
Agreement, dated July 28, 2008. The shares are being held in the Trust for
the benefit of Syncora Guarantee Inc. ('Syncora Guarantee') until such time as
an agreement between Syncora Guarantee and a consortium of Syncora Guarantee's
credit default swap and financial guarantee counterparties (the 'Financial
Counterparties') is reached and thereafter the shares will be held for the
benefit of the Financial Counterparties, or as otherwise provided in the Deed
of Trust.
'The new appointees bring a wealth of restructuring, insurance regulatory
and reinsurance expertise to our Board of Directors. Their collective
expertise and insights will be extremely valuable as we continue our
negotiations with the financial counterparties and execute the next phase of
our restructuring,' said Susan Comparato, Acting Chief Executive Officer and
General Counsel of Syncora.
The Director appointments were agreed upon by Syncora and the bank
consortium and all four are independent Directors. Mssrs. Hennes and Muhl are
Class I Directors and members of the Finance and Risk Oversight Committee.
Mr. Norsworthy is a Class II Director and member of the Compensation
Committee. Mr. White is a Class III Director and a member of the Audit
Committee. With these appointments, Syncora's Board of Directors will have
nine members.
Duncan P. Hennes, 52, has nearly 30 years of financial services management
experience. He is currently a co-founder and partner of Atrevida Partners, an
alternative asset manager. Prior to founding Atrevida Partners, Hennes was a
co-founder and partner of Promontory Financial Group. He is the former Chief
Executive Officer of Soros Fund Management. Earlier in his career, Hennes
spent 12 years at Bankers Trust Company. While at Bankers Trust, he was
Chairman of the Board of Oversight Partners I, the consortium that took
control of Long Term Capital Management. Hennes has a B.S., summa cum laude,
and M.B.A. with Distinction from the Wharton School at the University of
Pennsylvania.
Edward J. Muhl, 63, is currently the owner and chief executive of an
insurance, reinsurance and legislative consulting firm. He has over 40 years
of experience in the insurance industry in both the private and public sector.
He has served in a regulatory capacity in two states, as Commissioner of
Insurance for the State of Maryland and as Superintendent of Insurance for the
State of New York, and has also held the position of President of the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners. Mr.