Full Name
Simone Grimes
Job Title
Chief Financial Officer
Company
Acadia Insurance
Speaker Bio
Simone Grimes is a Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Qualified Audit Committee Financial Expert with deep expertise in financial strategy, operations & execution, board service and executive leadership for large and mid-cap, high-growth, and heavily regulated companies across multiple industry sectors including banking, insurance, real estate, housing finance, private equity, and public accounting.
Simone’s diverse strategy and execution experience has included serving as the strategic Chief Financial Officer for Acadia Insurance, a W.R. Berkley Company (NYSE: WRB), leading two companies through complex capital restructuring strategies, executing growth initiatives at Progressive Insurance (NYSE: PGR), advising companies on pre-IPO and M&A strategies, and leading transformative multi-year strategies for the nation’s two largest housing finance/real estate companies (Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac), in her capacity as Special Advisor for the Conservatorships and Special Advisor of Strategic Initiatives at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Additionally, Simone directed the development of a multi-year diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy and corresponding operating plans, that met organizational goals and complied with regulatory and statutory requirements.
Simone is an Audit Committee Financial Expert as defined by the SEC. She spent six years in public accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Grant Thornton, and Walker & Company LLP where she led audit engagements in the financial services practice for large banks, private equity firms, lending institutions, and insurance companies. She rounded out her time in public accounting as an advisory practice leader working with companies in high-growth sectors (real estate, consumer products and healthcare) through capital restructuring strategies including debt restructuring, initial public offerings (IPO), and mergers, acquisitions and dispositions.
Simone’s corporate board experience has included leading two boards through disposition/exit strategies, serving as a strategic advisor to the CEO and board through a capital restructuring initiative designed to optimize profitability, serving on her company’s board as assistant treasurer, working with the boards of two large cap public companies to implement cybersecurity governance programs and corresponding board charters, define board level ESG objectives and metrics, and to develop and execute comprehensive executive compensation programs to annually evaluate named executive officers (NEOs).
Simone is passionate about delivering value to investors, raising capital, and growing businesses. She believes in active shareholder engagement and taking a proactive approach to investor relations. In her capacity as chairman of the board for Green Growth Group, Inc., a privately held company with a portfolio of sustainable agricultural and technology assets and consumer product brands, she led the company through a multimillion-dollar exit strategy that delivered ROI of 18X to investors. Post disposition, she continued to serve on the board for the acquired entity to promote value realization. She advised on post-deal integration and ensured that ESG metrics were accurately quantified and recorded for public reporting.
Simone teaches classes nationally and internationally for the Institute of Internal Auditors, AICPA and other organizations on a variety of corporate topics including Enterprise Risk Management, Ethics & Compliance, Fraud & Corruption, ESG, Accounting Standard Updates, and Cyber Security.
She holds an MBA from Cornell University, a Certificate in ESG Investments from Columbia University, is a Certified Public Accountant (Virginia), a Certified Internal Auditor and holds a Certified Corporate Director designation from the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD).
In addition to her professional and academic accolades, Simone is active on multiple non-profit boards of directors, including serving on the audit, finance, and nomination & governance committees where she leverages her corporate governance expertise, philanthropic support, and financial acumen. Simone’s volunteer board service focuses on championing financial literacy for grades K-12, mentorship for at-risk youth, increasing affordable housing, and protecting systems that facilitate good governance, including the reporting of fraud, waste, and abuse within private and public organizations through the appropriate legal and regulatory channels.
Simone’s diverse strategy and execution experience has included serving as the strategic Chief Financial Officer for Acadia Insurance, a W.R. Berkley Company (NYSE: WRB), leading two companies through complex capital restructuring strategies, executing growth initiatives at Progressive Insurance (NYSE: PGR), advising companies on pre-IPO and M&A strategies, and leading transformative multi-year strategies for the nation’s two largest housing finance/real estate companies (Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac), in her capacity as Special Advisor for the Conservatorships and Special Advisor of Strategic Initiatives at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Additionally, Simone directed the development of a multi-year diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy and corresponding operating plans, that met organizational goals and complied with regulatory and statutory requirements.
Simone is an Audit Committee Financial Expert as defined by the SEC. She spent six years in public accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Grant Thornton, and Walker & Company LLP where she led audit engagements in the financial services practice for large banks, private equity firms, lending institutions, and insurance companies. She rounded out her time in public accounting as an advisory practice leader working with companies in high-growth sectors (real estate, consumer products and healthcare) through capital restructuring strategies including debt restructuring, initial public offerings (IPO), and mergers, acquisitions and dispositions.
Simone’s corporate board experience has included leading two boards through disposition/exit strategies, serving as a strategic advisor to the CEO and board through a capital restructuring initiative designed to optimize profitability, serving on her company’s board as assistant treasurer, working with the boards of two large cap public companies to implement cybersecurity governance programs and corresponding board charters, define board level ESG objectives and metrics, and to develop and execute comprehensive executive compensation programs to annually evaluate named executive officers (NEOs).
Simone is passionate about delivering value to investors, raising capital, and growing businesses. She believes in active shareholder engagement and taking a proactive approach to investor relations. In her capacity as chairman of the board for Green Growth Group, Inc., a privately held company with a portfolio of sustainable agricultural and technology assets and consumer product brands, she led the company through a multimillion-dollar exit strategy that delivered ROI of 18X to investors. Post disposition, she continued to serve on the board for the acquired entity to promote value realization. She advised on post-deal integration and ensured that ESG metrics were accurately quantified and recorded for public reporting.
Simone teaches classes nationally and internationally for the Institute of Internal Auditors, AICPA and other organizations on a variety of corporate topics including Enterprise Risk Management, Ethics & Compliance, Fraud & Corruption, ESG, Accounting Standard Updates, and Cyber Security.
She holds an MBA from Cornell University, a Certificate in ESG Investments from Columbia University, is a Certified Public Accountant (Virginia), a Certified Internal Auditor and holds a Certified Corporate Director designation from the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD).
In addition to her professional and academic accolades, Simone is active on multiple non-profit boards of directors, including serving on the audit, finance, and nomination & governance committees where she leverages her corporate governance expertise, philanthropic support, and financial acumen. Simone’s volunteer board service focuses on championing financial literacy for grades K-12, mentorship for at-risk youth, increasing affordable housing, and protecting systems that facilitate good governance, including the reporting of fraud, waste, and abuse within private and public organizations through the appropriate legal and regulatory channels.
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