Evan Pickering
About Evan Pickering
Evan Pickering serves as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of AppFolio, with SEC filings showing him in this role by April 9, 2025 and August 7, 2025; he was listed as Associate General Counsel in October 2024 during an acquisition process . He holds a J.D. (2010, cum laude) from University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. from Michigan State University, with practice in M&A, venture capital, real estate, and corporate governance . Company performance metrics that drove executive PSUs in 2024 included Booked Residential Units, Revenue, and Adjusted GAAP Operating Margin, with a blended payout of 123%, of which one-third vested on February 10, 2025 and the remainder vesting quarterly through February 10, 2027 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| AppFolio, Inc. | Associate General Counsel | Oct 2024 | Legal lead on M&A (Project “Lilac” / Move EZ), served as named insured contact and notice recipient on R&W insurance and merger notices |
| AppFolio, Inc. | General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | By Apr 2025; confirmed Aug 2025 | Corporate governance and disclosure leadership; signatory on 8-Ks; board processes; shareholder communications; execution of filings |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private practice (Santa Barbara, CA) | M&A, VC, real estate attorney | Licensed since 2010 | Advised on equity offerings, reorganizations, financings, asset sales, governance, and regulatory compliance prior to in-house leadership |
Fixed Compensation
No individual base salary, target bonus, or cash compensation figures for Evan Pickering were disclosed in AppFolio’s 2025 or 2024 proxy statements; he was not a Named Executive Officer (NEO) in those periods, so compensation detail appears inapplicable . The company’s executive compensation framework includes an annual Corporate Bonus Plan and a long-term equity mix of PSUs and RSUs, but those tables pertain to NEOs and do not list the General Counsel .
Performance Compensation
AppFolio’s 2024 long-term incentive design for executives used a 60/40 PSU/RSU mix with one-year PSU performance measurement (ending December 31, 2024) and subsequent quarterly vesting over two years; PSU metrics and payout curve produced a 123% blended payout in 2024 for NEOs . The company has a clawback policy requiring recovery of erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation received in the three years preceding a restatement under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5608 .
| Metric | Weighting | Threshold | Target | Max | Actual Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Booked Residential Units | Part of PSU blend | 85% attainment = 50% payout | 100% = 100% payout | 120% = 200% payout | 102% | One-third on Feb 10, 2025; remaining in equal quarterly installments through Feb 10, 2027 |
| Revenue | Part of PSU blend | 97% attainment = 75% payout | 100% = 100% payout | 106% = 150% payout | 123% | Same as above |
| Adjusted GAAP Operating Margin | Part of PSU blend | 85% attainment = 50% payout | 100% = 100% payout | 115% = 150% payout | 150% | Same as above |
| Blended Payout | 60% PSUs / 40% RSUs | — | — | — | 123% | PSU vesting as above; RSUs vest quarterly over 4 years |
Note: The above reflects the company’s executive plan; individual figures for Evan Pickering are not disclosed .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Data Point | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Shares owned (post-sale) | 2,969 | |
| Recent sale | 334 shares at $243.67; total $81,385.78 | |
| 10b5-1 plan | Sale executed under Rule 10b5-1 plan adopted May 15, 2025 | |
| Hedging/pledging policy | Officers/directors prohibited from short sales, derivative trades, hedging, speculative trading, and, subject to limited exceptions, pledging/margin accounts | |
| Insider trading governance | Company Insider Trading Policy with pre-clearance, blackout periods, and Section 16 compliance support |
Employment Terms
- Role and authority: General Counsel & Corporate Secretary by April 2025; signatory on company 8-Ks (e.g., board changes and partnership announcements) .
- Indemnification: AppFolio maintains director/officer indemnification agreements supplementing D&O insurance; agreements provide for expense advances and indemnification procedures; successorship assumptions are required .
- Governance function: General Counsel is the listed addressee for stockholder proposals, communications to the Board, and proxy/Annual Report inquiries .
Investment Implications
- Alignment and selling pressure: Evan Pickering’s holdings are modest relative to NEOs, and his November 14, 2025 sale was under a pre-established Rule 10b5-1 plan, indicating planned diversification rather than event-driven selling; AppFolio prohibits hedging and generally pledging, reducing misalignment risk .
- Compensation visibility: As a non-NEO, compensation specifics are not publicly disclosed; however, company-wide incentive governance includes a clawback policy and a performance-weighted PSU framework, which supports pay-for-performance practices across the leadership team .
- Retention and execution: Pickering’s progression from Associate General Counsel in 2024 to General Counsel & Corporate Secretary in 2025, coupled with his named role in an acquisition (Move EZ/Project “Lilac”), signals active involvement in strategic execution; standard indemnification and insider trading controls support stability and governance integrity .
Overall, governance constraints (clawbacks, insider trading prohibitions), limited share count, and 10b5-1 activity suggest low incremental insider selling risk and appropriate alignment through role accountability rather than outsized equity incentives.