Steven J. Gilbert, our Lead Independent Director, has extensive experience in corporate governance and has served on the boards of 8 public companies. Mr. Gilbert has experience in activism, defense, bankruptcy and restructuring, including from his tenure as founder, CEO and CIO of Soros Capital and as the Investment Advisor to the Quantum Industrial Funds, Ltd. He is also the founder of Chemical Venture Partners and Gilbert Global Equity Partners, and has acquired, merged and sold in excess of 135 companies. Mr. Gilbert additionally has been part of the transformation of many boards to current DEI and ESG standards and has served on the boards of companies focused on sustainable development (SDCL EDGE) and electric vehicles (SUN Mobility).
Mr. Gilbert brings a unique vantage point to our board with his background in legal, writing and film production and international relations. Mr. Gilbert began his career as a lawyer and practiced at Goodwin Proctor and also served as a Senior Tutor at Winthrop House and a teaching assistant for Constitutional Law at Harvard. Thereafter, he attended Harvard Business School and transitioned his career to Morgan Stanley & Co. in corporate finance. In addition to growing his finance career, Mr. Gilbert was the principal owner, Chairman and CEO of Lions Gate Films, Inc., a producer and post-production creator of motion picture and television content, and is a writer and member of The Writer’s Guild of America, East. Steve is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Board of Governors of the Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies at the Wharton School, where he was formerly a Trustee. Steve additionally served on the Board of Trustees of NYU-Langone Hospital for over 20 years and was instrumental in the expansion of the Neo-Natal Intensive Care unit and the passage of the Abandoned Infant Protection Act in New York.
Steve currently is Chairman of the Board of TriPointe Homes, Inc. (NYSE: TPH), a single-family home builder, Chairman of the Board of MBIA, Inc. (NYSE: MBI), a provider of specialized financial services, Lead Independent Director of Oaktree Capital Group (NYSE: OAK), a global alternative investment manager, and is a director of The Fairholme Funds (Nasdaq: FAIRX), a mutual fund. Within the past five years, Mr. Gilbert has also served as a director of SDCL EDGE Acquisition Corp., a sustainable development acquisition corporation, as a director of Waterpik, Inc., a manufacturer of personal and oral healthcare products, and as a director of CPM Holdings, Inc., an equipment and animal feed manufacturer, as well as a director of several privately held companies.
Mr. Gilbert received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a law degree from the Harvard Law School, and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.
Mr. Gilbert was selected to serve as a member of our Board of Directors based on his extensive experience as a director of public, NYSE-listed companies.