Robert I. Kauffman has served as an Independent Director of the Company since March 2024. Mr. Kauffman is currently a private investor and entrepreneur active in the financial, real estate, automotive and technology-oriented sectors. Mr. Kauffman is the owner of RK Motors, a restorer and reseller of classic cars. Currently, Mr. Kauffman serves as an Independent Board Member of Hagerty Inc. (NYSE: HGTY), a leading insurer of collector cars, a position he has held since December 2021. Mr. Kauffman is also an Advisory Board Member of McLaren Racing Ltd., a United Kingdom–based Formula 1 racing team, an investor and Advisory Board Member of Off The Chain Capital, a cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund and is Chairman of the Race Team Alliance, an association of NASCAR Cup Series racing teams. Mr. Kauffman was a Co-Founder of Fortress Investment Group LLC (“Fortress”), where he was a Principal and member of the Board of Directors from its founding in 1998 until 2012. During his tenure at Fortress, Mr. Kauffman served as a member of Fortress’s Management Committee and was responsible for the management of Fortress’s European private equity investment operations. While at Fortress, he was primarily focused on distressed debt restructurings, real estate and other asset-based financial services businesses. Prior to co-founding Fortress, Mr. Kauffman was a Managing Director at UBS from 1997 to 1998, a Principal at BlackRock Financial Management Inc. from 1993 to 1997 and at Lehman Brothers from 1986 to 1993, where he primarily focused on the mortgage and securitization markets in the United States and Europe. Over the course of his career, Mr. Kauffman has been involved in a wide variety of investment activities, including private fundraising, IPOs, primary and secondary public share offerings in multiple jurisdictions, take-private transactions as well as billions of dollars of bank and capital market debt financings and securitizations. Mr. Kauffman earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University.
Back to Board of Directors