Gregg Landes
ASPEN AEROGELSAbout Gregg Landes
Gregg R. Landes, age 55, is Senior Vice President, Operations and Strategic Development at Aspen Aerogels (ASPN). He joined Aspen in September 2016 and has served in his current role since October 2019. He holds a BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida and an MBA from Babson College (F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business) . Company performance in 2024 included revenue of $452.7 million (+90% YoY), adjusted EBITDA of $89.9 million, net income of $13.4 million, and gross margin expansion to 40%, underpinning a strong pay-for-performance environment for senior leaders . The company’s compensation program emphasizes adjusted EBITDA and revenue, with 2025 long-term incentives adding PSUs tied to relative TSR versus the Russell 2000, further aligning leadership rewards with shareholder outcomes .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aspen Aerogels | SVP, Operations & Strategic Development | Oct 2019–Present | Leads operations and strategic development during scale-up of PyroThin and Energy Industrial businesses . |
| Aspen Aerogels | VP roles (Strategic Development & Operational Excellence; Innovation & Strategic Development; Operational Excellence; Finance & Corporate Development) | Sep 2016–Oct 2019 | Advanced operational excellence, innovation, and corporate development initiatives . |
| Tetra Tech, Inc. | Principal (Consulting) | Jul 2013–Aug 2016 | Focused on LNG and Environmental Bankruptcy trusts . |
| Hess Corporation | VP, Business Development (Hess LNG) | Jun 2007–Jul 2013 | Led LNG business development . |
| Cabot Corporation | Senior financial and business leadership roles | Prior to 2007 | Broad senior leadership experience in specialty chemicals . |
External Roles
No external directorships or outside public-company roles for Landes were disclosed in the proxy .
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | $400,000 | $400,000 | $400,000 |
| Target Bonus (% of Salary) | 55% | 55% | 60% |
| Actual Annual Cash Bonus ($) | $313,338 | $517,000 | $540,000 |
Performance Compensation
Annual Cash Bonus Mechanics and 2024 Outcomes
| Metric | Weighting | Threshold ($000) | Target ($000) | Max ($000) | Actual ($000) | Payout (% of target) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 25% | 360,000 | 400,000 | 480,000 | 452,699 | 182% |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 75% | — | 34,000 | 78,000 | 97,596 | 225% |
| Weighted Payout | — | — | — | — | — | 214.3% (company funding) |
- Individual bonus modifiers ranged from 0% to 125%; overall payouts were capped at 225% of target, with Landes receiving 225% for 2024 ($540,000) .
Long-Term Incentives
| Component | FY 2024 Design | Vesting | Key Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock Options | 75% of LTI value | Three equal annual tranches on Mar 5, 2025/2026/2027 | Exercise price equal to closing price on grant date; 10-year term . |
| RSUs | 25% of LTI value | Three equal annual tranches on Mar 5, 2025/2026/2027 | Time-based vesting . |
| PSUs (introduced FY 2025) | 50% of LTI; rTSR vs Russell 2000 | 3-year cliff vest (performance period) | Payout 0–200%; options 25%, RSUs 25% in 2025 mix . |
- 2024 grant detail for Landes: stock options granted on Mar 5, 2024 (35,249 options; exercise price $16.34; grant-date fair value $393,743) .
- 2023 grants: 75,979 options at $6.81; 16,519 RSUs; plus a special retention option grant of 85,000 options on Sep 7, 2023 (cliff-vest at 3 years) .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total Beneficial Ownership | 306,164 shares (<1%) . |
| Direct/Common Shares Held | 15,633 shares (includes unvested restricted stock) . |
| Options Exercisable within 60 Days | 290,531 shares . |
| 2024 Option Exercises | None; 0 shares exercised . |
| 2024 Stock Awards Vested | 7,833 shares; $134,026 value realized . |
| SEIG Award Cancellation | 53,590 unearned performance-based restricted shares canceled Mar 6, 2024 . |
| Pledging/Hedging | Prohibited for directors and officers under Insider Trading Policy . |
| Ownership Guidelines | Executives must hold 2x base salary; compliance assessed annually . |
| Compliance Status | All NEOs met or are expected to meet within the transition period (as of Dec 31, 2024) . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Employment Start | September 2016 . |
| Current Role Since | October 2019 . |
| Employment Agreement | Executives, including Landes, have employment agreements; clawback and equity governance in place . |
| Severance (No CoC) | Cash $1,180,000; equity acceleration $242,575; benefits/outplacement $45,575; total $1,468,150 (based on Dec 31, 2024 valuations) . |
| Severance (Double-Trigger CoC) | Cash $1,820,000; equity acceleration $956,456; benefits/outplacement $71,149; total $2,847,605 (based on Dec 31, 2024 valuations) . |
| Trigger Structure | No single-trigger; severance and equity acceleration require qualifying termination post-transaction . |
| Clawback | Amended and restated policy (June 1, 2023) compliant with SEC/NYSE rules; discretionary recovery for misconduct . |
| Tax gross-ups | Not provided to NEOs . |
Compensation Structure Analysis
- Emphasis on at-risk pay: NEO payouts primarily tied to adjusted EBITDA and revenue; 2024 funding achieved 214.3% due to strong performance .
- Shift to market-linked PSUs in 2025: 50% PSU weighting adds rTSR-based measurement, aligning long-term incentives with shareholder returns; overall LTI mix becomes 50% PSUs / 25% options / 25% RSUs .
- Governance tightening: Ownership guidelines increased (CEO 5x, other execs 2x salary); formal equity grant policy adopted; bonus cap tightened to 200% from 225% starting 2025 .
- Removal of legacy performance grants: Cancellation of unearned SEIG shares reduces ineffective incentives and returns shares to the equity pool .
Performance & Track Record
| Company Metric (FY 2024) | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($mm) | $452.7 | +90% YoY; record company revenue . |
| PyroThin Revenue ($mm) | $306.8 | +179% YoY; expanded OEM customer base . |
| Energy Industrial Revenue ($mm) | $145.9 | +13% YoY; margins above 35% long-term target . |
| Adjusted EBITDA ($mm) | $89.9 | Record; supported positive net income . |
| Net Income ($mm) | $13.4 | Positive full-year net income . |
| Gross Margin (%) | 40% | Improved from 24% in 2023 . |
- Pay-versus-performance disclosure shows directional alignment of compensation actually paid with TSR, net income, and adjusted EBITDA over 2020–2024; 2024 TSR value-of-$100 was $53 alongside positive earnings and EBITDA .
Compensation Peer Group (Benchmarking)
- Updated Aug 13, 2024 to emphasize higher-technology, higher-growth, profitable manufacturing and energy names (e.g., Array Technologies, Enphase Energy, Wolfspeed) .
- Target positioning: competitive range around peer/market median; incentives principally formulaic with limited discretion .
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback
- Say-on-Pay approval: ~93% (2022), ~78% (2023), ~72% (2024) .
- Actions taken: added PSUs with rTSR for 2025, enhanced disclosure, and reduced maximum annual bonus cap beginning 2025 .
Investment Implications
- High variable pay creates performance alignment: Landes’ 2024 bonus at 225% of target reflects strong execution on revenue and adjusted EBITDA, consistent with Aspen’s profitable growth year .
- Vesting calendar indicates potential selling windows: 2023 RSUs/options vest annually in March 2024–2026 and special Sep 2023 options cliff-vest in Sep 2026; 2024 awards vest in March 2025–2027, which may inform insider selling pressure assessments; Landes exercised no options in 2024 and had 7,833 shares vest, suggesting limited near-term selling activity .
- Governance reduces misalignment risk: prohibition on pledging/hedging, clawback policy, no single-trigger change-of-control, and tightened bonus caps mitigate risk of shareholder-unfriendly practices .
- Change-of-control economics: Double-trigger severance totaling ~$2.85 million for Landes as of Dec 31, 2024 balances retention with market norms; equity acceleration valuations indicate meaningful sensitivity to share price at transaction time .
- Strategic execution backdrop: Rapid PyroThin growth, margin expansion, and diversified OEM wins provide a favorable context for operational and strategic development leadership roles .