Chairman of the Board
John L. Lumelleau
John Lumelleau served as the CEO of Lockton Companies, Inc. for 17 years. During that time, the company expanded dramatically around the globe and became the largest privately held independent insurance broker in the world. Now as the Orchid Insurance Chairman of the Board, he works closely with Orchid’s CEO, Steve Carlsen, along with our owner, TowerBrook Capital Partners, in leading the continued evolution of Orchid’s strategic vision.
Vice-Chairman of the Board and Co-founder
Bradford R. Emmons
Mr. Emmons was named Vice-Chairman of Orchid’s Board of Directors in April 2021 after serving as President since 2008 and CEO since 2017. Under his leadership, Orchid became one of the largest privately held insurance intermediaries specializing in underwriting property insurance that today manages over $70 billion of insured values. Highlights of company milestones during Mr. Emmons’ tenure include: (i) private equity transactions in 2014 to Gryphon Investors and a subsequent recapitalization sale to TowerBrook Capital Partners; (ii) transformative growth in the form of three acquisitions, formation of new business verticals; and (iii) product and geographic expansion.
Mr. Emmons also has retail insurance brokerage experience as a Chief Executive Officer and board member before leading the company through a sale to a strategic acquirer. Today, Mr. Emmons provides professional advisory services to industry entrepreneurs like himself.
CEO & Board Member
Steve Carlsen
Steve Carlsen was named Chief Executive Officer following his tenure as Chairman of the Board, which he served from 2017-2019 and as a Board member since 2014. He has a lifetime of insurance experience, having served as the Chief Underwriter, Vice President, COO, Director, and President of various underwriting and consulting companies. Steve began his 40-year career in the reinsurance business at Swiss Re and NAC Re. As Chief Underwriting Officer – North America for CAT Limited, he was part of the first wave, in 1994, of Bermuda-based catastrophe reinsurers. In 2001, Steve partnered with Ken LeStrange to co-found Endurance Specialty, where he served as Chief Underwriter and COO. He remained a director of Endurance until the company’s sale to Sompo in 2017. Steve reconnected with Ken when Orchid first transitioned to private equity ownership under Gryphon Investors, becoming a director in 2014. He assumed the Executive Chairman role in 2017 and worked with Brad Emmons on the sale to our current owners, TowerBrook Capital Partners. He remains Chair of the company’s Underwriting Committee.
Board Member
Bill Babcock
Bill Babcock joined Orchid’s Board in 2019 and serves as the Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee. He also serves on the Board and Audit Committee of Endurance U.S. Holdings Corp. Mr. Babcock spent the majority of his 30-year career in the insurance and reinsurance industry, most recently as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of PartnerRe, a leading global reinsurer listed on the NYSE. He also served in senior accounting and finance roles at Endurance Specialty Holdings, Ltd, and as a senior underwriter at Zurich Re. Bill began his career as an auditor at KPMG and worked in the firm’s capital markets advisory group. He holds a CPA license in NC.
Board Member
Jonathan Bilzin
In addition to being a board member at Orchid Insurance, Mr. Bilzin is Co-President, Managing Director, Co-Chair of Portfolio Committee, and a member of the Management Committee at TowerBrook Capital Partners. Mr. Bilzin was previously a Managing Director at Soros Private Equity. Prior to that, Mr. Bilzin was a member of the Principal Investment Area and Real Estate Principal Investment Area of Goldman Sachs in New York. Mr. Bilzin earned his B.B.A. from the University of Michigan and received his M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Board Member
Alex Earls
In addition to being a board member at Orchid Insurance, Mr. Earls serves as Head of the Business Services Group at Gryphon Investors and is responsible for sourcing, analyzing, executing, and monitoring investments. Mr. Earls earned his B.A., Government, from Harvard College.
Board Member
Anna Ewing
Anna Ewing joined Orchid’s Board in March 2019. She is also a Board member of Financeware LLC, a Non-Executive Director at RIMES, and previously was a Non-Executive Director with NEX Group plc. Prior to this, Anna was the CIO of Nasdaq and has established multiple industry-leading business units at CIBC and Merrill Lynch. In addition to her work in technology, Anna supports women entrepreneurs as a mentor and angel investor with Astia Angels; serves on the New York Hall of Science, Board of Trustees to support STEM education for K-12 students; and is a Board member of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center in San Francisco.
Board Member
Glenn Miller
In addition to being a board member at Orchid Insurance, Mr. Miller is a Managing Director and General Counsel North America at TowerBrook Capital Partners. Before joining TowerBrook Capital Partners in July 2006, Mr. Miller worked as an Associate in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. He earned his B.A. from Washington and Lee University and received his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law.
Board Member
David Winokur
In addition to being a board member at Orchid Insurance, Mr. Winokur is a Managing Director of TowerBrook Capital Partners. Previously, Mr. Winokur was an Investment Professional at Aquiline Capital Partners, a middle-market financial and business services focused private equity firm. Prior to that, he was an Analyst in the Financial Institutions Group at BlackRock. Mr. Winokur earned his B.B.A from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.
