Laura Laltrello
About Laura Laltrello
Laura Laltrello, 52, is Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Applied Digital (APLD) and has served since January 6, 2025 . She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Mathematics: Operations Research and Economics from Clemson University and completed the Executive Leadership Program at IMD . Prior roles include VP/GM for Building Automation Services at Honeywell (2020–2024) and VP/GM Global Data Center Services at Lenovo (2016–2020), bringing deep operations and data center services expertise . During her tenure, APLD delivered strong top-line momentum in Q1 FY26: revenue of $64.2 million (+84% YoY) and adjusted EBITDA of $0.5 million, driven by HPC tenant fit-out and hosting operations . Pay-versus-performance disclosures show cumulative TSR improvements and continued net losses at the company level over recent years; a $100 initial investment tracked to $417 in FY2025, with net loss of $233.7 million, illustrating significant value creation potential coupled with execution and financing risks typical of rapid-scale infrastructure buildouts .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honeywell International Inc. | Vice President and General Manager, Building Automation Services | Dec 2020 – Dec 2024 | Led building automation services, aligning operational execution and scaled service delivery in industrial/enterprise environments . |
| Lenovo Group Limited | Vice President, General Manager Global DataCenter Services | May 2016 – Dec 2020 | Ran global data center services, overseeing service operations and growth in enterprise compute services . |
| Lenovo Group Limited | Various roles | May 2005 – Dec 2020 | Progressive leadership roles culminating in global DC services oversight . |
External Roles
No public company directorships or external board roles disclosed for Ms. Laltrello .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | FY2025 Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | $222,917 | Partial-year accrual post start date (annual base salary set at $550,000) . |
| Target Bonus % | 80% of base salary | Based on individual and company performance . |
| Actual Cash Bonus Paid | $176,000 | FY2025 payout . |
| Sign-on Bonus | $300,000 | Subject to repayment if employment ends within 1 year, with specified exceptions . |
| All Other Compensation | $13,493 | Health care premiums paid by the Company . |
Key governance policies:
- No pension/SERP; no excise tax gross-ups upon change of control; hedging/pledging prohibited .
- Company-wide clawback policy adopted to recoup incentive compensation in the event of a financial restatement per SEC/Nasdaq rules .
Performance Compensation
| Instrument | Grant Date | Size | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout Mechanics | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSUs (2024 Incentive Plan) | Mar 27, 2025 | 600,000 PSUs | Performance conditions per 8-K filings (specific metrics described in 8-Ks filed Jan 8, 2025 and Apr 17, 2025) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Full vest upon Change of Control by Dec 31, 2027, subject to continued employment; pro-rata/continued eligibility on Qualifying Termination if conditions achieved; special relief on individual performance condition if termination occurs before Mar 27, 2026 and before that condition achievement . | Earned over FY2026–FY2028 contingent on meeting vesting conditions . |
| Inducement RSUs (outside plan, Nasdaq 5635(c)(4)) | Jan 6, 2025 | 600,000 RSUs | Time-based | N/A | N/A | N/A | 50% acceleration if terminated without Cause within 1 year post Change of Control . | Time-based schedule below . |
Note: The company’s compensation philosophy emphasizes variable pay and equity alignment; PSUs/RSUs are used to correlate executive outcomes with shareholder value creation within a strong governance environment and independent consultant support .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total Beneficial Ownership | 600,000 shares; less than 1% of outstanding common stock (269,315,269 shares outstanding as of Sept 8, 2025) . |
| Vested vs Unvested | As of May 31, 2025: Inducement RSUs unvested (600,000); 2024 PSUs unvested (600,000) . |
| Options | None disclosed; no options outstanding . |
| Pledging/Hedging | Prohibited by policy (no hedging or pledging) ; anti-hedging restrictions detailed in insider trading policy . |
| Ownership Guidelines | Not disclosed . |
Upcoming vesting schedule (potential supply overhang monitoring):
| Award | Vest Date | Shares |
|---|---|---|
| Inducement RSUs | Jan 6, 2026 | 200,000 |
| Inducement RSUs | Jul 6, 2026 | 100,000 |
| Inducement RSUs | Jan 6, 2027 | 100,000 |
| Inducement RSUs | Jul 6, 2027 | 100,000 |
| Inducement RSUs | Jan 6, 2028 | 100,000 |
| 2024 PSUs | FY2026–FY2028 | May be earned if performance conditions met; full vest upon Change of Control by Dec 31, 2027 subject to employment . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Start Date | January 6, 2025 . |
| Employment Type | At-will; no separate severance benefits . |
| Base Salary | $550,000 . |
| Target Bonus | 80% of base salary . |
| Inducement Equity | 600,000 RSUs outside 2024 plan per Nasdaq Rule 5635(c)(4) . |
| Non-Compete | During employment and 12 months post-termination . |
| Non-Solicit | During employment and 12 months post-termination . |
| Confidentiality/Non-Disparagement | Perpetual obligations; invention assignment covenants . |
| Change-of-Control Tax Treatment | 280G cutback (reduce payments to avoid excise tax if beneficial post-tax), not gross-up . |
| Clawback | Subject to company clawback policy tied to restatements under SEC/Nasdaq rules . |
Performance & Track Record
- Q1 FY26 results (within her tenure): Revenues $64.2 million (+84% YoY), adjusted EBITDA $0.5 million; net loss attributable to common stockholders from continuing operations of $27.8 million; driven by HPC tenant fit-out, hosting operations growth, and stock-based comp increase tied to accelerated vesting .
- Strategic execution context: APLD signed an additional 150 MW lease with CoreWeave, fully leasing Polaris Forge 1 and disclosed ~$11 billion anticipated aggregate lease revenue over ~15 years across three CoreWeave leases; project financing and campus expansion underway (company-level, indicative of operational execution in her function) .
Compensation Committee Analysis
- Compensation Committee: Richard Nottenburg (Chair), Rachel Lee, Douglas Miller—all independent per Nasdaq rules .
- Independent consultant (Compensia) engaged; peer group constructed across U.S. tech companies for FY2025 decisions .
- Governance practices include variable-heavy pay mix and prohibitions on hedging/pledging and excise tax gross-ups; annual risk assessment of compensation programs .
Peer group used for benchmarking (FY2025): Alkami Technology; Backblaze; Bit Digital; Box; Cantaloupe; Cipher Mining; CleanSpark; Couchbase; DigitalOcean Holdings; Fastly; Marathon Digital Holdings; Marqeta; Payoneer Global; Red Violet; Rekor Systems; Riot Platforms; TeraWulf; Verint Systems .
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback
- Say-on-Pay approval: 97% of votes cast in favor at the 2024 annual meeting, supporting the NEO compensation framework .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Significant at-risk equity via PSUs and multi-year RSU vesting aligns incentives with long-term value creation; anti-hedging/anti-pledging plus clawback strengthen governance .
- Near-term supply dynamics: Inducement RSU tranches vest on specific dates from Jan 2026 to Jan 2028; monitor Form 4s for potential selling around vest events; PSUs provide leverage to performance milestones, with single-trigger full vesting upon Change of Control by Dec 31, 2027 (while employed) and double-trigger relief on inducement RSUs .
- Retention risk: No contractual severance increases mobility; restrictive covenants (12-month non-compete/non-solicit) offer company protection, but lack of severance may reduce retention “glue” versus market practices .
- Performance linkage: Company is scaling AI infrastructure with sizable lease commitments and financing activity; equity-heavy pay should incentivize execution toward NOI targets, though company-level net losses and capital intensity underscore execution/financing risks that influence PSU realizations and long-term payouts .