Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings Limited yesterday announced that founder Nicholas Mark Cooke has resigned from its board of directors.

The company reported that Mr. Cooke has left the board in order to pursue certain business ventures that might interfere in the future with his role as a director of the company. Mr. Cooke will continue as a consultant to the company.

Stephen A. Crane, chairman, president, & CEO of the company, said: "Mark Cooke is a creative entrepreneur, and we understand his need to be free to apply his talents to other business situations. We are grateful for the dedication with which Mark has served our company since its founding, and especially for his service on the Board since he relinquished his management role in 1999. We are pleased that we will continue to benefit from his involvement as a consultant to the Company."

With Mr. Cooke's resignation, the Stirling Cooke Board now has eight members, with five non-executive and three executive directors.

Yesterday, Stirling Cooke Brown's shares closed down ten cents to 95 cents.