UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
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Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
The registrant’s principal financial and accounting officer, Brian D. Bottjer, resigned from those positions, effective May 26, 2022.
Hassan R. Baqar, age 44, the registrant’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, was appointed principal financial and accounting officer, effective May 26, 2022.
Mr. Baqar has served as our Chief Financial Officer since August 2021 and Executive Vice President since December 2021, through Sequoia Financial LLC (“Sequoia”), an advisory firm for which Mr. Baqar is managing member.
Mr. Baqar has over 20 years of experience within financial services and other industries focused on corporate development, mergers & acquisitions, capital raising, investments and real estate transactions. Mr. Baqar has served as the founder and managing member of Sequoia Financial LLC, a financial services and advisory firm, since January 2019. Mr. Baqar has also served as Chief Financial Officer of FG New America Acquisition II Corp., a special purpose acquisition company in the process of going public and focused on merging with a company in the insure-tech, fin-tech, broader financial services and insurance sectors since February 2021; as a director of FG Merger Corp., a special purpose acquisition company focused on merging with a company in the financial services sector since December 2021; as chief financial officer, secretary and director of FG Acquisition Corp, a Canadian special purpose acquisition company focused on searching for a target company in the financial services sector since October 2021; as Chief Financial Officer of Insurance Income Strategies Ltd., a former Bermuda-based reinsurance company from October 2017 to December 2021; as a director of GreenFirst Forest Products Inc. (TSXV: GFP) (formerly Itasca Capital Ltd.), a public company focused on investments in the forest products industry, from August 2019 to December 2021 and as Chief Financial Officer of GreenFirst Forest Products Inc. from June 2016 to December 2020; as a director of Fundamental Global Reinsurance Ltd., a Cayman Islands reinsurance company since June 2020; and as a director and Chief Financial Officer of Unbounded Media Corporation since June 2019.
From January to December 2021, Mr. Baqar served as Chief Financial Officer of Aldel Financial Inc. (NYSE: ADF), a special purpose acquisition company, which merged with Hagerty, Inc. (NYSE: HGTY), a leading specialty insurance provider focused on the global automotive enthusiast market. From July 2020 to July 2021, Mr. Baqar served as Chief Financial Officer of FG New America Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: FGNA), a special purpose acquisition company, which merged with OppFi Inc. (NYSE: OPFI), a leading financial technology platform that powers banks to help everyday consumers gain access to credit. Previously, he served as Vice President of Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (NYSE: KFS) (“Kingsway”) from January 2014 to January 2019 and as a Vice President of Kingsway’s subsidiary Kingsway America Inc., from January 2010 to January 2019. Mr. Baqar also served as Chief Financial Officer and director of 1347 Capital Corp. from April 2014 to July 2016, a special purpose acquisition company, which merged with Limbach Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: LMB). Mr. Baqar served as a member of the board of directors of the registrant, from October 2012 to May 2015. He also served as the Chief Financial Officer of United Insurance Holdings Corp. (NYSE: UIHC), a publicly held property and casualty insurance holding company, from August 2011 to April 2012.
Mr. Baqar’s previous experience also includes director of finance at Itasca Financial, LLC from 2008 to 2009 and positions held at Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company (a Kemper Insurance company), a diversified mutual property casualty insurance provider, from June 2000 to April 2008, where he most recently served as a senior analyst. Mr. Baqar earned a master’s degree in business administration from Northeastern Illinois University in 2009 and a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business administration from Monmouth College in 2000. He also holds a Certified Public Accountant designation.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| FG FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. | ||
| Date: May 27, 2022 | By: | /s/ Hassan R. Baqar |
| Name: | Hassan R. Baqar | |
| Title: | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | |