Ambac Financial Group, Inc., said it appointed Claude LeBlanc as president and chief executive officer, replacing Nader Tavakoli, who resigned, effective immediately.
"On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Nader for his many contributions to Ambac," said Jeffrey S. Stein, chairman of the Ambac board. "Under Nader's leadership, and with the support of the strong management team in place, the company has accomplished a number of key objectives in recent years. With this strong foundation and as we look to build on our significant progress, Ambac is well positioned to transition the company's leadership."
LeBlanc has more than 25 years of experience in structured finance, debt and equity capital markets, business restructuring and capital management. He will also join the Ambac board of directors. LeBlanc will depart as chief financial officer and chief restructuring officer of Syncora Holdings Ltd., effective Dec. 31, consistent with Syncora's announced succession plan. In this role, which he has held since 2010, he actively led global remediation and asset recovery initiatives, evaluated strategic alternatives for the company and oversaw the finance and risk functions
"I look forward to working with Ambac's board, talented management team, dedicated employees and primary regulator to continue executing the company's strategies to optimize assets and reduce liabilities, while maintaining a clear focus on risk and regulatory matters," LeBlanc said.
Ambac, originally the American Municipal Bond Assurance Corp., is a holding company. Its subsidiaries provide financial guarantee products such as bond insurance and other financial services to clients in both the public and private sectors around the world. Ambac was among bond guarantors that were hit hard by the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis and no longer write any new business.
The company has entered into a separation agreement with Tavakoli, pursuant to which the term of his employment will end on Dec. 31, 2016. Additional details are included in a Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Stein will oversee the business and affairs of the company, at the direction of the board, through the end of 2016.
"I am delighted to have served Ambac as CEO during an extremely active and exciting time when we made tremendous progress for the company's stakeholders," Tavakoli said. "I would like to thank the many dedicated and talented employees of the company for having helped achieve our many advances, positioning the company so well for future success, and contributing to the significant improvements in book value and adjusted book value, as well as other metrics, since AFG's emergence from bankruptcy in 2013. I wish Claude LeBlanc and the company every success in the future."
