Juan A. Benitez
ACI WORLDWIDEAbout Juan A. Benitez
Juan A. Benitez (age 51) is an independent director of ACI Worldwide, serving since 2024. He sits on the Audit Committee and the Compensation & Leadership Development Committee, bringing executive leadership in payments and fintech from GoFundMe (former President), PayPal/Braintree (former GM and CTO), and Yahoo (engineering leadership). He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He is independent (not an “audit committee financial expert”) and has one full year of tenure as of the 2025 annual meeting .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| GoFundMe | President | Appointed Dec 2020; former President | Scaled payments, engineering, product and partnerships |
| Braintree (PayPal) | GM and CTO | 2015–2019 (Braintree within PayPal after 2013) | Grew Braintree as a global payments platform |
| Yahoo! | VP Engineering; VP Search Advertising | 2003–2012 | Leadership in advertising products |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Public/Private | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NomuPay | Board observer (payments in SE Asia, Europe, Turkey) | Private | Industry adjacency; oversight role |
| Galileo Financial Technologies | Former board member | Private | Fintech infrastructure; historical role |
Board Governance
- Independence: Independent director; not designated an Audit Committee financial expert (others on Audit are designated) .
- Committee assignments: Audit Committee member; Compensation & Leadership Development Committee member .
- Attendance: All directors attended at least 75% of Board and applicable committee meetings in 2024; full Board met 6 times; committees held meetings during 2024 (Audit, Compensation, Corporate Governance) .
- Years of service: Director since 2024; tenure at 1 full year as of the 2025 meeting .
- Executive sessions: Independent directors meet in regular executive sessions .
Fixed Compensation
| Component (Director) | Details | FY 2024 Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Cash retainer | Base annual retainer $68,000 (paid quarterly). Chair premia (N/A for Benitez) are: Board Chair $100,000; Audit Chair $30,000; Compensation Chair $20,000; Corporate Governance Chair $15,000 . | $56,667 (pro‑rated, 2024) |
| Meeting/committee fees | None disclosed beyond chair premia . | — |
Performance Compensation
Directors receive time-based RSUs (no performance metrics). Vesting generally on the earlier of one year after grant, immediately prior to the next annual meeting, or upon change in control; accelerated vesting on death/disability .
| Grant | Grant date | Instruments | Quantity | Grant-date fair value | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New director pro‑ration | Mar 20, 2024 | RSUs | 1,944 | $32.15 per share; total $62,521 | Vested Jun 3, 2024 |
| Annual director grant | Jun 4, 2024 | RSUs | 7,194 | $34.75 per share; total $249,992 | Vests at earliest of 1 yr, pre‑2025 meeting, or CIC |
2024 total director compensation for Benitez: Cash $56,667; Stock awards $312,491; Total $369,158 .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Benitez Status |
|---|---|
| Current public company directorships | None |
| Compensation Committee interlocks | None disclosed for ACI’s Compensation Committee members in 2024 |
| Potential network interlocks | Private payments boards/observer roles (NomuPay) |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Skills cited by ACI: Payments industry knowledge; financial services experience; financial management; executive leadership; technology/innovation; risk & regulatory; international experience .
- Not an audit committee financial expert; other audit members (except Estep) hold that designation .
- Education: B.S. and M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (3/31/2025) | 1,944 shares | Less than 1% of outstanding shares |
| Unvested RSUs (12/31/2024) | 7,194 | Annual 2024 director grant outstanding at year‑end |
| Pledged/hedged shares | Prohibited by policy for directors | |
| Director ownership guideline | 5x base retainer ($68k) within 5 years; new directors have grace period; compliance required thereafter | |
| Compliance status | Directors are in compliance except those who joined in last five years (Benitez joined 2024) |
Governance Assessment
- Strengths:
- Independent director with deep payments, engineering, and risk/regulatory exposure; serves on both Audit and Compensation, supporting board oversight where industry context matters .
- Attendance standards met board‑wide (≥75%); independent executive sessions enhance oversight .
- No compensation committee interlocks reported; hedging/pledging prohibited; robust clawback and recoupment framework at ACI supports alignment (board-level policies and enterprise practice) .
- Say‑on‑Pay support in 2024 was 91.9%, indicating broad shareholder approval of compensation governance overall .
- Watch items:
- Low current beneficial ownership (1,944 shares) with reliance on unvested RSUs; within five‑year guideline period but remains a typical early‑tenure alignment gap to monitor .
- Not designated an audit financial expert; balanced by committee composition including multiple designated experts .
- Conflicts/related parties:
- The proxy describes the related‑party review policy and does not disclose any related‑person transactions involving Benitez in 2024 .
- Private payments affiliations (e.g., NomuPay) present potential ecosystem overlaps; no ACI‑related transactions disclosed but should be monitored for counterparty relationships .
Overall signal: Independent, industry‑savvy addition aligned with ACI’s payments focus; compensation/ownership policies mitigate risk, though early‑tenure ownership is modest. No disclosed conflicts or pledging; shareholder support for pay remains strong .