Anu Hariharan
AVIS BUDGET GROUPAbout Anu Hariharan
Anu Hariharan, age 44, has served as an independent director of Avis Budget Group (CAR) since January 2022 and is a member of the Audit Committee. She is Founder and Managing Partner of Avra, and previously held senior investing and operating roles at Y Combinator’s Continuity Fund (2016–Mar 2023), Andreessen Horowitz (2014–2016), The Boston Consulting Group (2010–2014), and Qualcomm; she holds a B.E. (NIT Karnataka), M.S. (Virginia Tech), and an MBA (Wharton) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Y Combinator Continuity Fund | Managing Director (growth-stage investing) | 2016–Mar 2023 | Led investments in Convoy, Brex, Gusto, Faire |
| Andreessen Horowitz | Partner, investment team | 2014–2016 | Growth-stage investing |
| The Boston Consulting Group | Principal | 2010–2014 | Strategy and operations advisory |
| Qualcomm | Senior software engineer | Prior to 2010 | Engineering and technology execution |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Avra | Founder and Managing Partner | Current |
| Public company directorships (past 5 years) | — | None disclosed in nominee biography |
Board Governance
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Independence | Board affirmatively determined Hariharan is independent under Nasdaq rules |
| Committees | Audit Committee member; Audit met 4x in 2024 (Audit Chair: Glenn Lurie; members: Lurie, Krominga, Hariharan) |
| Audit expertise designation | Audit Committee “financial expert” designation held by Lurie and Krominga (not Hariharan) |
| Board activity & attendance | Board held 7 meetings in 2024; all directors attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings during their service period |
| Election outcome (May 14, 2025) | Votes For: 28,460,569; Against: 129,726; Abstain: 15,850; Broker Non-Votes: 2,818,406 |
Fixed Compensation
| Component (2024) | Amount ($) |
|---|---|
| Cash fees (50% of director fees) | 132,500 |
| Stock awards (50% of director fees RSUs) | 132,501 |
| All other compensation (charitable match) | 5,000 |
| Total | 270,001 |
| 2024 Director Fee Schedule | Annual ($) |
|---|---|
| Base director retainer | 250,000 |
| Lead Independent Director | +30,000 (if applicable) |
| Audit Committee Chair | +35,000 |
| Audit Committee Member | +15,000 |
| Compensation Committee Chair | +30,000 |
| Compensation Committee Member | +15,000 |
| Corporate Governance Chair | +30,000 |
| Corporate Governance Member | +12,000 |
Notes: Director fees are paid 50% cash and 50% RSUs, with annual RSUs capped at 30,000 units; directors can defer fees under the NED plan .
Performance Compensation
| Equity Award Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Annual director RSU grant form | RSUs (time-based; no performance conditions) |
| Vesting | One-year anniversary of grant date |
| Outstanding director stock units at FY-end | 2,470 units (includes deferred and DEUs) |
| Performance metrics | None for non-employee director equity; RSUs are time-based |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Current public company boards | None disclosed |
| Prior public company boards (past 5 years) | None disclosed |
| Identified interlocks/conflicts through other boards | None disclosed for Hariharan; Compensation Committee notes potential indirect interests related to SRS for Sarma; not applicable to Hariharan |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Advisory experience in business strategy and growth; investment and technology; cybersecurity; diverse background .
- Technical education and experience (engineering at Qualcomm) plus MBA from Wharton .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Outstanding | Shares Acquirable Within 60 Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anu Hariharan | 2,928 | <1% | 2,928 |
Director stock ownership guidelines require 5× annual cash retainer; directors must retain at least 50% of net shares until threshold is met. As of Dec 31, 2024, all directors met the threshold except Hariharan (joined Jan 2022), who remained below threshold .
Governance Assessment
- Board effectiveness: Independent Audit Committee membership with explicit cybersecurity and IT risk oversight; Audit met 4x in 2024; Board held 7 meetings; Hariharan met minimum attendance threshold (≥75%) .
- Investor confidence: Strong shareholder support in 2025 director election (28.46M “For”), among the highest vote totals; Say-on-Pay also approved (28.28M “For”) .
- Alignment and incentives: Simple, transparent director pay mix (50% cash/50% RSUs) with one-year vesting; no meeting fees or perquisite-heavy director benefits; RSUs are time-based (no performance awards), which is typical for directors .
- Ownership alignment: Beneficial ownership is small (2,928 shares, <1%); she has not yet met the 5× retainer guideline as of year-end 2024—an alignment gap to monitor as tenure continues .
- Conflicts and related parties: No related-person transactions involving Hariharan are disclosed; company’s notable related-party exposure is with SRS affiliates via AMV (fleet services and finance lease exposure), but this pertains to SRS, not Hariharan .
- Skills relevance: Hariharan’s investment, technology, and cybersecurity experience aligns with Audit oversight of IT/cyber risks; however, she is not designated an “audit committee financial expert,” with that designation held by Lurie and Krominga—balanced committee composition mitigates any gap .
RED FLAGS
- Below-threshold director stock ownership as of Dec 31, 2024 (monitor for progress to guideline compliance) .
- Significant related-party arrangements exist with SRS affiliates (AMV) at the company level; while not involving Hariharan, they warrant continued Audit oversight for governance optics .