Drew Lufkin
BEYOND MEATAbout Drew Lufkin
Senior Vice President, Sales at Beyond Meat since April 2024; age 48 as of October 16, 2025; BS in Business Administration from Babson College . His background spans sales and marketing leadership across consumer-packaged goods, including low‑calorie sweeteners, coffee, creamers, adult nutrition, and liquid water enhancers . Context for performance during his tenure: BYND’s 2024 corporate STI metrics were all missed, resulting in zero payouts to executive officers, and Relative TSR for the 2024 PSU Tranche I was below the 30th percentile (0% vesting) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact / scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beyond Meat | Senior Vice President, Sales | Apr 2024–present | Oversees sales across retail and foodservice channels |
| Heartland Food Products Group | Vice President of Sales – Retail/Foodservice | 2017–2024 | Sales leadership across CPG categories (low‑calorie sweeteners, coffee, creamers, adult nutrition, liquid water enhancers) |
| Kruger Products USA | Division VP – Sales & Marketing; VP – Sales & Marketing | 2012–2016; 2016–2017 | Led sales and marketing for tissue and paper towel products |
| Crossmark Sales & Marketing | Various roles; Division Manager (most recent) | 2004–2012 | Sales and account management for consumer brands |
Fixed Compensation
- Not disclosed in proxy filings for non-NEO executive officers, including Mr. Lufkin. Executive officer bios list role and background but do not provide salary/bonus specifics; compensation detail tables cover named executive officers only .
Performance Compensation
In 2024, executive officers’ short‑term incentive design was 100% based on corporate metrics (net revenues, gross margin, free cash flow, operating expenses). Thresholds were not met; no STI payouts were made for 2024 .
| Metric | Weight | Threshold (50%) | Target (100%) | Stretch (150%) | Maximum (200%) | Actual | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net revenues ($M) | 20% | 345.0 | 355.0 | 365.0 | 400.0 | 326.5 | 0% / $0 under Bonus Plan |
| Gross margin (%) | 20% | 17.5 | 21.5 | 25.0 | 29.0 | 12.8 | 0% / $0 under Bonus Plan |
| Free cash flow ($M) | 30% | (65.0) | (55.0) | (45.0) | (35.0) | (100.0) (committee excluded $10M termination fee) | 0% / $0 under Bonus Plan |
| Operating expenses ($M) | 30% | 170.0 | 160.0 | 152.5 | 145.0 | 190.3 (committee excluded $7.5M litigation accrual) | 0% / $0 under Bonus Plan |
Notes on long‑term incentives:
- 2024 PSUs were introduced for CEO/CFO, vesting on Relative TSR vs S&P Food & Beverage Select Industry Index (ex‑S&P 500); vesting scale: <30th percentile = 0%, 50th = 100%, ≥80th = 200% with straight‑line interpolation . Tranche I (2024) vested at 0% given Relative TSR <30th percentile .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Anti‑hedging: employees and directors (including executive officers) are prohibited from short sales, buying/selling puts or calls, or other hedging arrangements in BYND securities .
- Anti‑pledging: employees and directors (including executive officers) are prohibited from holding BYND stock in margin accounts or pledging as loan collateral .
- Stock ownership guidelines: the board adopted guidelines for non‑employee directors in October 2024; executive officer ownership guidelines have not yet been adopted, with the committee intending to establish them in the future .
- Beneficial ownership tables list NEOs and directors; individual ownership for Mr. Lufkin is not disclosed in the proxy .
Employment Terms
Change‑in‑control and severance framework for executive officers (applies to current executive officers other than Mr. Boken) :
| Provision | Terms |
|---|---|
| Double‑trigger requirement | Benefits only if change in control occurs and executive is involuntarily terminated without cause or resigns for good reason within 3 months before to 18 months after the event |
| Cash severance | 12 months of then‑current base salary (18 months for CEO) in lump sum |
| COBRA continuation | 12 months of COBRA premiums in lump sum (18 months for CEO) |
| Equity acceleration (awards assumed by acquirer) | 100% immediate vesting of unvested time‑based equity (RSUs/options); performance‑based treatment follows plan/award terms |
| Equity acceleration (awards not assumed) | 100% immediate vesting of all unvested equity (time‑based and performance‑based) as of immediately prior to, and contingent upon, consummation of the change in control (except termination for cause or resignation without good reason) |
| 280G “better after‑tax” | Payments reduced or paid in full to maximize after‑tax amount; no excise tax gross‑ups |
Additional governance:
- Mandatory clawback policy (adopted Oct 2023) for recovery of excess incentive‑based compensation upon accounting restatements, regardless of misconduct .
- Annual grant timing aligned with open trading windows after earnings releases; awards typically approved first business day after results to mitigate information‑timing risk .
Investment Implications
- Alignment and selling pressure: strict anti‑hedging/anti‑pledging policies limit leverage or hedged monetization of equity, reducing potential forced‑selling risk from margin calls or hedges; executive ownership guidelines are not yet in force for officers, slightly weakening formal ownership alignment vs peers .
- Incentive design vs performance: 2024 STI metrics were rigorous and fully missed, yielding zero payouts; Relative TSR PSUs for the year vested at 0% for covered executives, signaling tight pay‑for‑performance and likely lower realized comp across leadership during Mr. Lufkin’s first year .
- Retention risk and change‑in‑control economics: double‑trigger severance (12 months salary/COBRA for executive officers) and time‑based equity acceleration provide downside protection in M&A scenarios, while absence of excise tax gross‑ups is shareholder‑friendly; equity not assumed by an acquirer accelerates in full, which can influence M&A negotiations and retention calculus .
- Shareholder sentiment: Say‑on‑Pay support remained strong (~85% in 2024; ~87% in 2025), suggesting investor acceptance of the compensation framework amid resets toward food & beverage peers and introduction of PSUs for top officers .