Dana Sheppard honoured at DC captive conference
Long-serving DC captive regulator Dana Sheppard (pictured) was honoured by the Captive Insurance Council of DC (CIC DC) at its annual conference yesterday, after retiring earlier this year.
Sheppard left DISB in May after 28 years with the department, having led its risk finance bureau for much of that period as associate commissioner. He was understood to have been one of the longest serving captive regulators up to that point.
During a ceremony at the conference, industry figures paid tribute to Sheppard’s role in developing DC into one of the leading US captive domiciles.
Joe Holahan, a partner at BakerHostetler, and president of CIC DC for the last 10 years, praised Sheppard for his involvement with DC’s captive programme from its beginnings, including helping draft its original captive legislation and subsequent updates.
“Dana was always a steady hand,” Holahan said. “It’s really because of his judgement and discretion that we were able to build a captive jurisdiction or domicile here that was sustainable over the long term.”
Sean O’Donnell, who succeeded Sheppard in his role as director of captives at DISB two years ago, also highlighted Sheppard’s influence on the regulatory department and its approach to captives, as well as his leadership of the department’s staff.
“He was always looking out for the staff, and that was critically important. And that’s why we have such a strong staff today,” O’Donnell said. “He didn’t micromanage us, he let us do our thing, and that was a good thing. He was extremely innovative, creative, and forward-thinking, and he was focused on how the DC captive programme could help companies make the most efficient and effective use of their captives.”
Skip Myers, a veteran captive lawyer who worked closely with Sheppard over the last three decades, also reiterated on stage how Sheppard’s leadership had been central to establishing DC’s reputation as a popular captive domicile.
“I really worked with Dana a lot and really enjoyed it. Dana worked on all the laws and regulations covered by DISB, which is an amazing amount,” Myers said. “DC has a great reputation, and I think Dana’s capability and knowledge has been great.”
Sheppard was presented with an award by Holahan on behalf of the CIC DC in recognition of his contribution to the domicile.
Accepting the honour, Sheppard credited industry figures and colleagues who helped build the DC captive programme, including, O’Donnell and Myers, retelling Myers’ pitch to two separate DC commissioners to have captive legislation green lighted, after first having it rejected.
Sheppard said his best decisions leading the captive division was hiring O’Donnell, as well as largely steering clear of 831(b) captives, saying the domicile had been determined to protect its reputation and avoid structures that could be viewed as abusive tax shelters.
And he ended by thanking the association, wider captive regulatory team and supportive commissioners he had worked with over the years.
“I want to thank those of you who are captive owners and service providers for entrusting us with your captive needs, and with your clients’ needs,” he said.
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