Jeff Lautenbach
About Jeff Lautenbach
Jeff Lautenbach was appointed Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Powerfleet (Nasdaq: AIOT) effective October 7, 2025, to lead the company’s global revenue engine and scale ARR-focused go-to-market execution . He previously served as CRO at Conga and held senior leadership roles at Cornerstone OnDemand, Salesforce, SAP, and IBM, leading global SaaS sales organizations and overseeing revenue operations generating approximately $500 million in ARR . Company performance context around his appointment: Powerfleet reported Q2 FY26 revenue of $111.7 million (+45% YoY; +7.3% QoQ) and raised FY26 revenue guidance to $435–$445 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $24.8 million (+71% YoY) and 22% margin . Longer-run pay-versus-performance disclosures show the value of a $100 TSR investment at $115.82 for FY25, alongside a GAAP net loss of $50.987 million, framing the compensation-performance alignment backdrop .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conga | Chief Revenue Officer | — | Led global ARR-focused sales organization; prior org generated ~$500M ARR |
| Cornerstone OnDemand | Senior leadership (global SaaS sales) | — | Led global SaaS sales teams; delivered growth and customer outcomes |
| Salesforce | Senior leadership (global SaaS sales) | — | Led enterprise SaaS sales; scaled adoption and ARR |
| SAP | Senior leadership (global SaaS sales) | — | Led global software sales; operational execution across enterprise segments |
| IBM | Senior leadership (global SaaS sales) | — | Led global sales teams; drove measurable customer outcomes |
External Roles
(no disclosures in reviewed filings)
Fixed Compensation
- Compensation specifics for Jeff Lautenbach were not disclosed in the latest proxy; his appointment occurred after the July 25, 2025 record date for the DEF 14A and on October 7, 2025 .
Performance Compensation
Company executive incentive design and FY25 outcomes (program applies to NEOs; CRO-specific targets/payouts not disclosed yet):
| Metric | Weighting | FY25 Target | FY25 Actual | Payout vs Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global Adjusted EBITDA | 50% | $69.0M | $71.1M | 100% of target earned for executives |
| Global Revenue | 30% | $362.9M | $362.5M | 100% of target earned for executives |
| Cash from Organic Operations | 20% | $40.1M | $41.9M | 100% of target earned for executives |
| Design Notes | — | GBP weights (50/30/20) | — | Executives (NEOs) earned 100% of target |
Program structure highlights:
- Annual cash bonus plan (GBP): 50% adjusted EBITDA; 30% revenue; 20% cash from organic operations; payouts from 0–150% via linear interpolation .
- LTIP design: 66.7% performance-based restricted stock tied to adjusted EBITDA less stock-based comp, organic revenue growth, and adjusted EBITDA margin over FY26–FY27; 33.3% time-based restricted stock vesting over three years .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Beneficial ownership snapshots as of July 25, 2025 in the DEF 14A do not include Jeff Lautenbach (he was appointed October 7, 2025); NEOs and directors are disclosed in detail separately .
- Company executive equity grant structure (FY2025):
| Award Type | Grant Date | Vesting | Performance Linkage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time-based restricted stock (senior mgmt) | April 23, 2025 | Equal installments over 3 years, continued employment required | None (time-based) |
| Performance-based restricted stock (execs/senior mgmt) | April 23, 2025 | Vests in full if specified performance targets achieved; employment required | Company-level targets; performance measured over FY26/FY27 |
Related plan features and instruments:
- Stock appreciation rights and options outstanding at company level with market/price-based vesting; significant unrecognized compensation costs remain under SARs/options, reflecting multi-year recognition and retention mechanics .
Clawback and trading policy:
- Dodd-Frank-compliant clawback policy adopted Nov 30, 2023, covers erroneously awarded incentive comp over three completed fiscal years on a no-fault basis .
- Insider trading policy filed with the SEC; applies to directors, officers, employees, and covered persons .
Employment Terms
- The company disclosed it had not entered into employment agreements with its executive officers as of the latest proxy; severance/change-in-control arrangements are disclosed for the CEO (Towe) and severance for the CFO (Wilson). No CRO-specific agreement was disclosed in the proxy cycle preceding Jeff’s appointment .
- CEO severance (illustrative company practice): 2x base salary paid over 12 months; COBRA contribution waiver for 12 months; pro-rata accelerated vesting of equity; 2x annual bonus; restrictive covenants (confidentiality, non-compete, non-solicit) .
- CFO severance: 6 months base salary; pro rata target bonus; partial accelerated vesting for awards scheduled in year of termination; restrictive covenants .
Governance and compensation context:
- 2024 say-on-pay approval was 77.5% .
- Compensation peer group was refreshed for FY26 (examples include Arlo Technologies, BlackBerry, Digi International, E2open Parent, Iridium Communications, Kinaxis, Lantronix, Mitek Systems, OneSpan), reflecting size and business alignment evolution .
Risk indicators:
- Management concluded disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of September 30, 2025 due to material weaknesses in ICFR; management believes financial statements fairly present results despite these weaknesses .
Investment Implications
- Alignment and incentives: Company-wide executive compensation emphasizes adjusted EBITDA, organic revenue growth, and cash generation, with a majority of equity at risk via performance-based restricted stock—consistent with pay-for-performance and ARR/margin scaling priorities that fit a CRO remit .
- Retention and vesting pressure: With time-based RS vesting over three years and performance-based awards measured over FY26–FY27, the equity structure is retention-heavy; Jeff’s specific grants/vesting are not yet disclosed (appointment post-proxy), but monitoring upcoming filings for Form 3/4 and the next proxy will be critical for assessing potential insider selling pressure and ownership alignment .
- Governance safeguards: The Dodd-Frank clawback and insider trading policy reduce adverse incentive risk; continued remediation of ICFR weaknesses should be watched as a governance risk indicator that can affect incentive outcomes and disclosure reliability .
- Execution signal: Jeff’s background scaling ARR at enterprise SaaS leaders (Conga, Salesforce, SAP, IBM) supports Powerfleet’s Unity-led go-to-market strategy; near-term trading signals may emerge from his initial equity disclosures and any incentive-linked performance milestones disclosed in subsequent filings .