Assurant 2005 Annual Report Download - page 40

Vote Required; Board Recommendation
According to our Bylaws, the affirmative vote by the holders of a plurality of the voting power present in person or represented by proxy
and entitled to vote on this matter at the Annual Meeting will be required to elect each of the director nominees.
The Board of Directors recommends that stockholders vote FOR each of the nominees presented above to serve until the 2008
Annual Meeting and until their successors are elected and have qualified. Proxies solicited by the Board of Directors will be so voted
unless the stockholder specifies otherwise.
Directors Continuing in Office
The following persons serve in Class II and their term as a director of Assurant will expire in 2006:
The following persons serve in Class III and their term as a director of Assurant will expire in 2007:
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board member of the Cradle Foundation and is on the board of trustees of the Goodman Theater in Chicago, Illinois. She is a former trustee
of the New School in New York City.
H. Carroll Mackin, Director. Mr. Mackin, age 64, is the former Executive Vice President and Treasurer of the Company, where he
served from 1980 until his retirement in 1997. Mr. Mackin has been a member of our Board of Directors since October 1996. Mr. Mackin
served as a consultant to the Company in 1979. He was the Company’s fourth employee and initiated many of the Company’s early
activities, including consolidating its investment departments and its first treasury function. Before joining the Company, he was Director
for Investments at Forstmann, Leff. He is currently principal owner of Great Northern Manufacturing, LLC, a Louisville, Kentucky-based
manufacturer of specialty nails.
Michele Coleman Mayes, Director. Ms. Mayes, age 55, was elected to our Board of Directors in October 2004. Ms. Mayes currently
serves as Senior Vice President, General Counsel for Pitney Bowes Inc. Prior to joining Pitney Bowes in 2003, Ms. Mayes held legal and
management positions at Colgate-Palmolive Company, including Vice President-Legal, Assistant Secretary, and Corporate Officer from
2001-2003. Prior to joining Colgate-Palmolive in 1992, Ms. Mayes worked at Unisys Corporation and was Staff Vice President and
Associate General Counsel from 1987-1992. Previously, Ms. Mayes served in the United States Department of Justice in the Eastern
District of Michigan and New York. Ms. Mayes served as the Chief of the Civil Division for the Eastern District of Michigan. Ms. Mayes
is a member of the boards of Legal Momentum and the Business Council of Southwestern Connecticut.
Michel Baise, Director. Mr. Baise, age 55, has been a member of our Board of Directors since October 2003. In January 2005,
Mr. Baise was nominated Member of the Board and Chief Financial Officer of Millenniumbcp Fortis Grupo Segurador, a company in
which Fortis International holds 51% of the share capital. He was previously General Manager, Finance of Fortis Group and had held this
position since 1994. From 1989 to 1994, Mr. Baise worked for Société Générale de Belgique, as Advisor in the Industrial Subsidiaries and
Strategy Division. Between 1982 and 1989, Mr. Baise served in various management positions and as a member of the Executive
Committee of the Belgian Bank in Hong Kong and Belgium. This was preceded by assignments at the European Asian Bank as Credit
Manager in Hamburg, Germany from 1981 to mid-1982, and Operations Manager in Singapore from 1977 to 1980. Mr. Baise began his
career in 1972 as a management trainee at Generale Bank, later named Fortis Bank, and held various positions there including Deputy
Manager of the Bills Department until 1977. Until March 2005, Mr. Baise was Director and Chairman of Fortis Finance, a subsidiary of
Fortis Insurance N.V. Mr. Baise is currently Director and Chairman of various financing vehicles including Fortfinlux SA, FGF Lux SA,
Fortinvestlux SA in Luxemburg and Fortis Capital Company, Ltd. in Jersey, Wales.
Howard L. Carver, Director.
Mr. Carver, age 60, has been a member of our Board of Directors since June 2002. Mr. Carver retired as
an Office Managing Partner of Ernst & Young in June of 2002. Mr. Carver’s career at Ernst & Young spanned five decades, beginning as
an auditor and a financial consultant. He later became the director of insurance operations in several Ernst & Young offices, and served as
Regional Director of insurance operations, Associate National Director of insurance operations,