Eric Stober
ASTROTECHAbout Eric Stober
Eric Stober, 47, is an independent director at Astrotech Corporation (ASTC) since 2024. He is currently CFO of Capital Factory (since April 2022) and previously served as ASTC’s CFO from 2013–April 2022, after joining the company in 2008; his resignation was not due to any disagreement with the company . Education: MBA, UT McCombs; BS in Finance, University of Illinois (with honors) . The Board affirms his independence under Nasdaq rules .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astrotech Corporation | Chief Financial Officer | 2013–Apr 2022 | Led restructuring; managed $61M sale of satellite operations to Lockheed Martin; spearheaded ~$110M in equity, debt, and grant financing . |
| Virtus Capital Partners | Private Equity professional | Not disclosed | M&A, investment strategy experience . |
| Black Diamond Capital Management | Private Equity professional | Not disclosed | Financial management, M&A, investment strategy . |
| Lehman Brothers; The Ayco Company (sold to Goldman Sachs) | Private wealth management | Early career | Wealth management foundation . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Factory | Chief Financial Officer | Apr 2022–present | Leads financial strategy at a venture platform in Texas . |
Board Governance
- Independence: Determined independent by the Board for FY2025; meets Nasdaq Rule 5605(a)(2) criteria .
- Committees: As of FY2025, the Audit Committee (Wilkinson–Chair, McFarland, Winn), Compensation Committee (Wilkinson–Chair, Halinski, Winn), and Corporate Governance & Nominating (Wilkinson–Chair, Halinski, McFarland, Winn) did not list Stober as a member .
- Lead Independent Director: Tom Wilkinson (chairs executive sessions; agenda setting liaison) .
- Attendance: Board held 1 meeting and acted 14 times by unanimous written consent in FY2025; all directors but one attended 100% of aggregate Board and committee meetings during their service periods .
- Policies signaling governance quality: Codes of Ethics; formal committee charters; shareholder communication and complaint procedures; insider trading policy (prohibits hedging/shorting; pledging requires pre-approval) .
Fixed Compensation
| Item | FY 2025 Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Director cash fees (Stober) | $40,000 | Likely partial-year service; standard annual retainer is $80,000 for directors, $88,500 for Audit Chair, paid quarterly . |
| Policy Component | Amount | Applicability |
|---|---|---|
| Annual director cash stipend | $80,000 | Non-chair directors. |
| Audit Committee Chair stipend | $88,500 | Additional duties noted. |
Performance Compensation
| Grant Type | Grant Date | Shares/Units | Grant-Date Fair Value | Vesting | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted Stock (RS) | May 14, 2025 | 3,000 | $5.90 per share ($17,700 total) | Vests in three equal annual installments beginning May 14, 2026 | One-time grant; directors no longer receive annual equity after Dec 22, 2022; awards made at committee discretion . |
No director performance metrics (TSR, EBITDA, ESG) are disclosed for director equity; RS awards vest time-based rather than performance-based .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Current public company boards | None disclosed in ASTC proxy for Stober . |
| Prior public company boards | Not disclosed for Stober; biography highlights CFO and PE roles . |
| Committee roles at other issuers | Not disclosed . |
| Potential interlocks | None disclosed involving Stober; Board explicitly reviews related-party transactions annually . |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Finance, capital markets, and leadership experience as ASTC CFO and PE roles; executed corporate restructuring and significant M&A (Lockheed Martin asset sale) .
- Education: MBA (UT McCombs), BS Finance (University of Illinois) .
- Board qualification noted by ASTC: accounting, finance, capital markets, and leadership expertise .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Common Shares | Unvested RS | Options (Exercisable in 60 Days) | Total Beneficial Ownership | % of Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Stober | 7,331 | 3,000 | — | 10,331 | 0.6% (out of 1,769,269 shares outstanding) . |
| Additional Ownership Details | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Unexercised vested options (directors) | Stober: none . |
| Pledged shares | Not disclosed; pledging requires pre-approval under Insider Trading Policy . |
Governance Assessment
- Alignment: Independent status and modest, time-vested RS grants support alignment; beneficial ownership of ~0.6% is notable for a micro-cap but largely reflects RS and personal holdings rather than options risk-taking .
- Influence: Not currently on the three standing committees (Audit, Compensation, Corporate Governance), limiting direct committee oversight influence; however, independence and Board-level participation are affirmed, with strong overall Board attendance norms .
- Conflicts: No related-party transactions disclosed involving Stober; prior employment (CFO) ended April 2022 and falls outside the three-year independence look-back; Board annually reviews related-party exposures .
- Compensation structure: Cash fees plus discretionary RS grants vesting over three years; no director options or performance-conditioned equity; standard retainer policy transparent; Audit Chair carries higher stipend reflecting workload .
- Risk indicators:
- Board Diversity: Company discloses it does not meet Nasdaq diversity matrix thresholds; this is a board-level governance risk that could affect investor sentiment and index eligibility over time, though not specific to Stober .
- Hedging/shorting: Prohibited under Insider Trading Policy; pledging requires pre-approval (mitigates alignment concerns) .
- Legal proceedings: None involving directors or executive officers in past ten years .
Overall, Stober brings deep finance/M&A expertise and prior ASTC-specific knowledge, with clean independence and no disclosed conflicts. The main governance watchpoint is his non-membership on key committees, which tempers direct oversight influence despite strong board-level practices; broader board diversity shortfalls are a separate governance risk to monitor .