Greg Somerville
About Greg Somerville
Greg Somerville (age 58) is an independent director of BranchOut Food Inc., appointed on June 21, 2023 . He is a 30-year U.S. food industry sales and marketing veteran; currently CEO of Maple Donuts, LLC (since October 2025), previously North America Controller & Chief Executive Officer at Savencia Fromage & Dairy (Aug 2021–Apr 2025), and prior to that held leadership roles at Land O’Lakes (2001–2021) . He holds a BS in Business from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago’s Quinlan School of Business . The Board has affirmatively determined he is “independent” under Nasdaq standards .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land O’Lakes, Inc. | Leadership positions across Sales, Customer Marketing, Category & Consumer Insights, Sustainability | Jul 2001–Jul 2021 | 20 years managing branded food across retail, foodservice, B2B ingredients |
| Savencia Fromage & Dairy (North America) | Controller & Chief Executive Officer | Aug 2021–Apr 2025 | Led specialty cheese categories across NA; industry leadership experience |
| Maple Donuts, LLC | Chief Executive Officer | Oct 2025–Present | CEO of retail in-store bakery leader |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association | Board position (prior) | Not disclosed | Industry association board experience |
| International Dairy Deli Bakery Association | Board position (prior) | Not disclosed | Industry association board experience |
Board Governance
- Independence and leadership
- Determined independent by BOF’s Board under Nasdaq rules .
- BOF combines CEO/Chair roles and has no Lead Director, citing company size and CEO familiarity; Board may reassess structure in future .
- Committee assignments (evolution)
- 2024: Audit (member; Jones chair), Compensation (member; Israel chair), Nominating & Governance (chair) .
- 2025: Audit (member; Jones chair), Compensation (member; Schwartz chair), Nominating & Governance (member; Jain chair) .
- Attendance and meetings
- 2024: Board held three meetings; each director attended at least 75% of meetings/committees served, except Mr. Jones who missed one meeting (Somerville met ≥75%) .
- Audit Committee financial expert
- Company states no current Audit Committee “financial expert” after CFO’s resignation from the committee; searching for a candidate (Somerville serves on Audit) .
- Shareholder voting signal (2024 election)
- Somerville re-elected with 2,277,473 For vs 108,220 Withhold at the 2024 Annual Meeting .
Committee Assignments Snapshot
| Committee | 2024 Membership | Chair (2024) | 2025 Membership | Chair (2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audit | Somerville; Israel; Jones | Jones | Somerville; Schwartz; Jones | Jones |
| Compensation | Somerville; Israel; Jones | Israel | Somerville; Schwartz; Jones | Schwartz |
| Nominating & Corporate Governance | Somerville; Israel; Jones | Somerville | Somerville; Jain; Jones | Jain |
Fixed Compensation
| Year | Annual Cash Retainer | Committee/Chair Fees | Meeting Fees | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $0 | Not disclosed as separate cash fees | $0 | Directors reimbursed reasonable expenses |
| 2023 | $0 | Not disclosed as separate cash fees | $0 | Directors reimbursed reasonable expenses |
Performance Compensation
| Grant Date | Instrument | Shares/Options Granted | Exercise Price | Term/Expiration | Fair Value (Grant-Date) | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 22, 2024 | Stock Option | 15,000 | $1.92 | 10-year term (exercisable over 10 years) | $17,111 (Black-Scholes) | Not disclosed |
| Aug 8, 2023 | Stock Option | 30,000 | $2.51 | Not disclosed | $23,655 (Black-Scholes) | Not disclosed |
No director RSUs/PSUs or performance metric-based equity grants were disclosed for Mr. Somerville; compensation appears equity-option heavy with no cash retainers in 2023–2024 .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company (Public) | Role | Interlocks/Conflicts |
|---|---|---|
| None disclosed | — | No public company directorships or interlocks disclosed for Mr. Somerville . |
Expertise & Qualifications
- 30-year commercial leadership across food categories; roles spanning sales, customer marketing, consumer insights, sustainability .
- C-suite leadership (CEO) experience at Maple Donuts and Savencia NA .
- Academic credentials: BS Business (University of Wisconsin); MBA (Quinlan School of Business) .
- Board service in key industry associations (NF&RFA; IDDBA) .
- Determined financially literate by Board (serves on Audit), though company lacks a designated “financial expert” currently .
Equity Ownership
| As-of Record Date | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Class | Composition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 2023 | 12,500 | <1% (“*”) | Consists of options to purchase shares |
| Sep 6, 2024 | 45,000 | <1% (“*”) | Consists solely of currently exercisable options |
| Nov 3, 2025 | 60,000 | <1% (“*”) | Consists solely of currently exercisable options |
No pledging or hedging, stock ownership guidelines, or compliance status were disclosed for directors in the proxy materials reviewed .
Governance Assessment
-
Strengths
- Independent director with deep food industry commercialization and C-suite experience; sits on all three key committees, including Audit and Comp .
- Solid meeting participation (≥75% in 2024) and strong re-election support in 2024 (2.28M For; 108k Withhold) .
- Director pay structure skewed to equity options (no cash retainer), aligning incentives with shareholders in early-stage growth context .
-
Risks / Red flags
- No designated Audit Committee “financial expert” as of 2024–2025 while Somerville serves on Audit; this is a governance gap that may impact financial oversight credibility .
- Combined CEO/Chair and no Lead Independent Director; increases concentration of power and may reduce independent oversight .
- Section 16(a) late filing: one late Form 4 reported for Mr. Somerville (also late filings by multiple insiders) — process discipline risk signal, albeit minor if isolated .
- Broader company related-party financing complexity (e.g., Kaufman Kapital, Eagle Vision) heightens governance scrutiny; no Somerville-specific related-party transactions disclosed .
-
Shareholder sentiment context
- Say-on-pay passed in 2024 (For: 2,305,844; Against: 24,107; Abstain: 60,258), and shareholders preferred annual say-on-pay frequency; indicates generally supportive governance environment despite structural gaps .
Related-Party Exposure (Mr. Somerville)
- No related-party transactions involving Mr. Somerville were disclosed in “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” in 2024–2025 proxies .
Notes on Attendance, Independence, and Engagement
- Independence: Affirmed by the Board under Nasdaq standards in 2024 and 2025 .
- Attendance: Met minimum ≥75% threshold in 2024; Board held three meetings (Mr. Jones missed one) .
- Executive sessions frequency: Not disclosed.
Appendix: Key 2024 Shareholder Votes (Governance Signals)
| Item | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Election of Greg Somerville | For: 2,277,473; Withhold: 108,220 |
| Say-on-Pay (NEO compensation) | For: 2,305,844; Against: 24,107; Abstain: 60,258 |
| Say-on-Pay Frequency | “Every Year” received the most votes (1,890,465) |
Overall, Somerville brings relevant operating expertise and broad committee participation, but board effectiveness would be strengthened by appointing an Audit Committee financial expert and adding a Lead Independent Director to balance the combined CEO/Chair structure .