Rhonda S. Tudor
About Rhonda S. Tudor
Rhonda S. Tudor, age 60, is Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) of BayFirst Financial Corp. and BayFirst National Bank. She has served as the Bank’s CAO since April 2021 and became the Company’s Principal Accounting Officer effective July 24, 2023. She is a Certified Public Accountant and holds an MBA from Eastern Michigan University . The Compensation Committee oversees executive pay with input from independent consultant Pearl Meyer, but company performance-linked compensation disclosures do not provide specific metrics or payouts for the CAO role .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| BayFirst National Bank | Chief Accounting Officer | 2021–present | Elevated to Company Principal Accounting Officer effective July 24, 2023, expanding scope to SEC reporting |
| BayFirst Financial Corp. | Principal Accounting Officer | 2023–present | Member of executive leadership team per proxy |
| Isabella Bank (Mt. Pleasant, MI) | Vice President and Controller | 2015–2021 | Controller responsibilities prior to joining BayFirst |
External Roles
No external public company directorships or committee roles are disclosed for Ms. Tudor in the 2024 and 2025 proxy statements .
Fixed Compensation
- Executive compensation governance: The Compensation Committee sets base salary and any incentive bonus for executive officers, engaging Pearl Meyer for peer analysis and independent advice; decisions incorporate individual performance, duties/responsibilities, and BayFirst performance .
- Ms. Tudor is not listed as a named executive officer (NEO) in the Summary Compensation Tables; her specific base salary and bonus amounts are not disclosed in the 2024 or 2025 proxies .
Performance Compensation
- Annual Incentive Plan (AIP): Provides short-term cash bonuses and long-term equity (options or restricted stock) based on objective and subjective criteria set by the Compensation Committee; explicit maximum bonus percentages are disclosed for CEO (100%), President/COO (70%), and CFO (50%). No AIP cap or specific performance metric weightings/targets are disclosed for the CAO role .
- Equity grant timing: Board is developing an Equity Grant Timing Policy to grant awards only during open trading windows and when not in possession of MNPI, aiming to avoid “spring-loading.” Grants were made in February 2024 following year-end earnings release, consistent with prior practice .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | 07/24/2023 | 03/25/2024 | 03/24/2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beneficial Shares (Total) | 1,093.9214 Direct; 115.0822 ESOP | 1,521.46 Total | 1,910.08 Total |
| Direct Shares | 1,093.9214 | Not separately broken out (included in total) | Not separately broken out (included in total) |
| ESOP Shares | 115.0822; vest based on Years of Vesting Service; fully vested at normal retirement age 65 | Not disclosed (included in total) | Not disclosed (included in total) |
| Rights to Acquire within 60 days (Options/Warrants) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Percent Ownership | n/a (Form 3 initial statement) | 0.04% | 0.05% |
- Hedging/derivatives: Company prohibits directors, officers, and employees from trading in puts, calls, or similar options on Company securities and from short selling Company securities .
- Stock ownership guidelines and pledging: No specific officer stock ownership guidelines or pledging restrictions are disclosed in the proxies; security ownership tables indicate no options exercisable within 60 days for Ms. Tudor .
- Section 16 compliance: Company reports overall compliance by executives/directors for 2023 and 2024 except one late Form 4 by a director; no exceptions noted for Ms. Tudor .
Employment Terms
- Appointment and role: Principal Accounting Officer of BayFirst Financial Corp. effective July 24, 2023; Bank CAO since April 2021 .
- Employment agreement: Proxies detail employment agreements, severance and change-in-control terms for CEO, President/COO, and CFO, but do not disclose an employment agreement for the CAO/Principal Accounting Officer .
- Non-compete/Non-solicit: Agreements for other executives include 18-month non-compete/non-solicit post-termination; no parallel CAO-specific terms are disclosed .
Investment Implications
- Alignment and selling pressure: Ms. Tudor’s beneficial ownership is small (0.05% as of March 24, 2025) with no options exercisable within 60 days, suggesting limited insider selling pressure relative to overall float; ESOP shares vest with service and fully vest at age 65, supporting retention via deferred ownership .
- Governance and risk: Hedging and short-selling prohibitions for officers reduce misalignment risk; the absence of disclosed CAO-specific severance/change-in-control terms limits visibility on potential retention economics in a transaction scenario .
- Compensation transparency: As a non-NEO, her exact cash/equity pay and performance metric weightings/targets are not disclosed; monitoring future proxies for any elevation to NEO status or explicit AIP participation details would improve pay-for-performance assessment .