Fairfax Financial Holdings Management
Management criteria checks 3/4
Fairfax Financial Holdings' CEO is V. Watsa, appointed in Jan 1985, has a tenure of 40.25 years. total yearly compensation is $438.21K, comprised of 95.2% salary and 4.8% bonuses, including company stock and options. directly owns 9.59% of the company’s shares, worth CA$4.32B. The average tenure of the management team and the board of directors is 1.3 years and 8 years respectively.
Key information
V. Watsa
Chief executive officer
US$438.2k
Total compensation
| CEO salary percentage | 95.2% |
| CEO tenure | 40.3yrs |
| CEO ownership | 9.6% |
| Management average tenure | 1.3yrs |
| Board average tenure | 8yrs |
Recent management updates
Recent updates
Bob Sampson's Leadership At RiverStone Will Stabilize Operations Amid Earnings Volatility
Feb 09 Strategic global expansion, especially in emerging markets, aims to significantly boost future revenue and growth in the insurance sector.The Market Doesn't Like What It Sees From Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited's (TSE:FFH) Earnings Yet
Jan 06
Earnings Working Against Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited's (TSE:FFH) Share Price
Sep 09CEO Compensation Analysis
| Date | Total Compensation | Salary | Company Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 31 2024 | US$438k | US$417k | US$4b |
| Sep 30 2024 | n/a | n/a | US$4b |
| Jun 30 2024 | n/a | n/a | US$4b |
| Mar 31 2024 | n/a | n/a | US$4b |
| Dec 31 2023 | US$453k | US$453k | US$4b |
| Sep 30 2023 | n/a | n/a | US$5b |
| Jun 30 2023 | n/a | n/a | US$5b |
| Mar 31 2023 | n/a | n/a | US$4b |
| Dec 31 2022 | US$487k | US$443k | US$3b |
| Sep 30 2022 | n/a | n/a | US$2b |
| Jun 30 2022 | n/a | n/a | US$2b |
| Mar 31 2022 | n/a | n/a | US$3b |
| Dec 31 2021 | US$511k | US$474k | US$3b |
| Sep 30 2021 | n/a | n/a | US$3b |
| Jun 30 2021 | n/a | n/a | US$3b |
| Mar 31 2021 | n/a | n/a | US$2b |
| Dec 31 2020 | US$519k | US$472k | US$174m |
| Sep 30 2020 | n/a | n/a | -US$63m |
| Jun 30 2020 | n/a | n/a | -US$129m |
| Mar 31 2020 | n/a | n/a | -US$70m |
| Dec 31 2019 | US$605k | US$462k | US$2b |
| Sep 30 2019 | n/a | n/a | US$809m |
| Jun 30 2019 | n/a | n/a | US$847m |
| Mar 31 2019 | n/a | n/a | US$416m |
| Dec 31 2018 | US$966k | US$440k | US$331m |
Compensation vs Market: V.'s total compensation ($USD438.21K) is below average for companies of similar size in the Canadian market ($USD7.78M).
Compensation vs Earnings: V.'s compensation has been consistent with company performance over the past year.
CEO
V. Watsa (74 yo)
40.3yrs
Tenure
US$438,206
Compensation
Mr. V. Prem Watsa founded Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited in 1985 and has been its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since 1985. Mr. Watsa serves as the President of 1109519 Ontario Limited, 810679 O...
Leadership Team
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founder | 40.3yrs | US$438.21k | 9.59% CA$ 4.3b | |
| President & COO | 6.2yrs | US$3.12m | 0.0060% CA$ 2.7m | |
| VP & Chairman of International | 26.1yrs | US$1.89m | 0.0067% CA$ 3.0m | |
| VP & Chief Business Officer | less than a year | US$2.38m | 0.011% CA$ 5.0m | |
| Vice President of Corporate Affairs | no data | US$2.12m | 0.0029% CA$ 1.3m | |
| VP & Chief Financial Officer | less than a year | no data | 0.0017% CA$ 762.0k | |
| VP, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | 1.3yrs | no data | 0.0019% CA$ 879.2k | |
| Vice President of Corporate Development | 12.7yrs | US$819.61k | 0.014% CA$ 6.1m | |
| Senior Managing Director of Fixed Income | no data | no data | 0.14% CA$ 63.1m | |
| Managing Director of Bond Trading | no data | no data | 0.000040% CA$ 18.0k | |
| Chief Executive Officer of GIG Gulf | 1.1yrs | no data | no data | |
| Group Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Insurance | 1.1yrs | no data | no data |
1.3yrs
Average Tenure
58yo
Average Age
Experienced Management: FFH's management team is not considered experienced ( 1.3 years average tenure), which suggests a new team.
Board Members
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founder | 40.3yrs | US$438.21k | 9.59% CA$ 4.3b | |
| CEO & Chairman of Fairfax Asia and Chairman of Singapore Re and COO | less than a year | no data | no data | |
| Chairman & President of Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd | no data | no data | 0.31% CA$ 140.9m | |
| Independent Director | 5yrs | US$55.64k | 0.0054% CA$ 2.4m | |
| Corporate Director | 4.5yrs | US$164.89k | 0.0075% CA$ 3.4m | |
| Independent Director | 15yrs | US$70.55k | 0.0032% CA$ 1.5m | |
| Independent Director | 18yrs | US$491.70k | 0.011% CA$ 5.0m | |
| Lead Independent Director | 5.8yrs | US$524.64k | 0.0058% CA$ 2.6m | |
| Corporate Director | 7yrs | US$62.11k | 0.0097% CA$ 4.4m | |
| Independent Director | 8yrs | US$80.84k | 0.086% CA$ 38.6m | |
| Director | 10yrs | US$156.69k | 0.0029% CA$ 1.3m | |
| Independent Director | 8yrs | US$63.52k | 0.00031% CA$ 139.8k |
8.0yrs
Average Tenure
73yo
Average Age
Experienced Board: FFH's board of directors are considered experienced (8 years average tenure).
Company Analysis and Financial Data Status
| Data | Last Updated (UTC time) |
|---|---|
| Company Analysis | 2025/04/25 11:34 |
| End of Day Share Price | 2025/04/25 00:00 |
| Earnings | 2024/12/31 |
| Annual Earnings | 2024/12/31 |
Data Sources
The data used in our company analysis is from S&P Global Market Intelligence LLC. The following data is used in our analysis model to generate this report. Data is normalised which can introduce a delay from the source being available.
| Package | Data | Timeframe | Example US Source * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company Financials | 10 years |
| |
| Analyst Consensus Estimates | +3 years |
|
|
| Market Prices | 30 years |
| |
| Ownership | 10 years |
| |
| Management | 10 years |
| |
| Key Developments | 10 years |
|
* Example for US securities, for non-US equivalent regulatory forms and sources are used.
Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more.
Analysis Model and Snowflake
Details of the analysis model used to generate this report is available on our Github page, we also have guides on how to use our reports and tutorials on Youtube.
Learn about the world class team who designed and built the Simply Wall St analysis model.
Industry and Sector Metrics
Our industry and section metrics are calculated every 6 hours by Simply Wall St, details of our process are available on Github.
Analyst Sources
Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited is covered by 10 analysts. 6 of those analysts submitted the estimates of revenue or earnings used as inputs to our report. Analysts submissions are updated throughout the day.
| Analyst | Institution |
|---|---|
| Tom MacKinnon | BMO Capital Markets Equity Research |
| Nikolaus Priebe | CIBC Capital Markets |
| Jeffrey Fenwick | Cormark Securities Inc. |