Amit Walia
BOXAbout Amit Walia
Amit Walia (age 53) is an independent Class I director of Box, Inc., serving since August 2022. He is the Chief Executive Officer and a director of Informatica Inc.; he holds a B.Tech. from IIT Varanasi and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University . His background spans operations, product, and marketing leadership in cloud data management, data governance, and cybersecurity .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informatica Inc. | President, Products & Marketing (responsible for product/market strategy, product management/development, UX, cloud operations, ecosystems/partnerships, global marketing) | Oct 2013–Jan 2020 | Scaled cloud data management and governance capabilities |
| Symantec Corporation | Leadership positions | Not disclosed | Cybersecurity leadership experience |
| Intuit Inc. | Leadership positions | Not disclosed | Business/financial management solutions experience |
| McKinsey & Company | Leadership positions | Not disclosed | Strategy/management consulting experience |
| Tata Group; Infosys Technologies Ltd | Early career roles | Not disclosed | Multinational operations and digital services experience |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informatica Inc. (NYSE: INFA) | Chief Executive Officer; Director | CEO since Jan 2020; current director | Leads AI-powered data management platform; public company governance experience |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Member, Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee; committee is chaired by Dana Evan and is composed solely of independent directors .
- Independence: Board determined Walia is independent under NYSE and SEC rules .
- Attendance: In FY ended Jan 31, 2025, the Board met six times; each incumbent director attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings (Walia met the ≥75% expectation) .
- Tenure and term: Director since Aug 2022; Class I term current through the 2027 annual meeting .
- Board leadership: Independent Chair role (Bethany Mayer) with defined duties; separation of Chair/CEO .
Fixed Compensation
Policy framework and current-year actuals:
- Outside Director Cash Retainers (effective April 2024): Board member $45,000; Audit member $12,500 (chair $25,000); Compensation member $10,000 (chair $20,000); Nominating & Corporate Governance member $5,000 (chair $10,000). Chair’s additional $50,000 cash retainer removed effective April 15, 2025 .
- Outside Director Equity Awards: Annual RSU grant increased from $200,000 to $215,000 effective April 15, 2025 (initial and additional initial awards also to $215,000); director RSUs vest fully over ~12 months tied to the annual meeting schedule; change-in-control accelerates director equity .
| Director (FY 2025) | Fees Earned (Cash) | Stock Awards (Grant-Date Fair Value) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amit Walia | $48,996 | $200,452 | $249,448 |
Notes: Grant-date fair value for RSUs follows ASC 718 methodology; as of Jan 31, 2025, Walia held 12,307 RSUs .
Performance Compensation
- Outside director equity is time-based RSUs; no performance metrics are applied to director compensation grants .
- Box’s executive pay program (company-level context) uses revenue, non-GAAP operating income, and stock price, but these metrics do not govern outside director pay .
| Performance Metric (Director Compensation) | Status |
|---|---|
| Revenue growth; Operating income; TSR/stock price | Not applicable to outside director RSUs; director equity vests time-based |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Current public company boards: Informatica Inc., director .
- Compensation Committee Interlocks: None reported (no Box executive served on boards/compensation committees of entities with reciprocal interlocks) .
- Related-party and interlocks: No Box-related person transactions involving Walia or Informatica disclosed; Audit Committee reviews and must approve any related party transactions >$120,000 (none reported beyond KKR’s preferred investment) .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Education: B.Tech., IIT Varanasi; MBA, Kellogg School of Management .
- Domain expertise: Cloud data management, data governance, cybersecurity, product/market strategy .
- Leadership: CEO of a large enterprise software company; board governance experience at a public issuer .
Equity Ownership
Ownership alignment, pledging/hedging policy, and guidelines:
- Beneficial ownership over time:
| Date | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Class A |
|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2023 | 0 | — |
| May 15, 2024 | 11,768 | <1% (noted as “—/ *”) |
| April 16, 2025 | 16,484 | <1% (marked “*”) |
- RSUs held (director equity): 12,307 RSUs as of Jan 31, 2025 .
- Ownership guidelines: Non-employee directors must own stock valued at 5× annual cash retainer; directors met/exceeded/on-track as of April 16, 2025 .
- Hedging/pledging: Box policy prohibits hedging, pledging, short sales, derivatives, and margin accounts for directors/officers .
Insider Trades
| Filing | Date | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Form 3 (initial statement) | Aug 18, 2022 | “No securities are beneficially owned” at onboarding |
Governance Assessment
- Alignment and independence: Independent status, NCGC membership, and ≥75% attendance support board effectiveness and investor confidence .
- Ownership alignment: Compliance trajectory with director stock ownership guidelines (5× retainer), and prohibited hedging/pledging reduce misalignment risks .
- Compensation: Cash retainer plus time-based RSUs is a standard, shareholder-friendly director mix; recent adjustment to $215,000 RSU grants aligns with peer reviews; no performance-linked director pay avoids conflicting incentives with oversight duties .
- Conflicts and related-party: No related party transactions or disclosed conflicts involving Walia/Informatica; Audit and NCGC charters cover conflict review; independent Chair structure and committee independence further mitigate risks .
- Company-level signals: Strong say-on-pay support (~98% in 2023 and 2024) indicates broader investor confidence in Box’s governance and pay practices (context) .
RED FLAGS: None disclosed specific to Walia. No related-party dealings, no hedging/pledging, and independent committee membership reduce conflict risk .