Michael Crowe
About Michael Crowe
Michael Crowe is a Class I independent director of Envoy Medical (COCH), appointed June 7, 2024, and standing for a term that runs to the 2027 annual meeting if re-elected; he was age 61 in the 2025 proxy and 60 in the 2024 proxy . He has decades of operations leadership in medical devices, most recently as SVP Operations at Bioventus LLC (since March 2023) and previously VP Operations at Abbott Vascular (2015–2023) . Education: BS in engineering from the University of Louisville and MBA from Duke University . The Board has determined he is independent under Nasdaq rules .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bioventus LLC | Senior Vice President, Operations | Mar 2023–present | Oversight of distribution, supply chain, facilities, engineering, reimbursement, and product launch noted as relevant to COCH’s next stage |
| Abbott Vascular | Vice President, Operations | Jan 2015–Mar 2023 | Large-scale operations leadership in med-tech |
| Caris Life Sciences; Covidien Devices; Johnson & Johnson; Iomega; SKF USA | Operations leadership roles | Prior to 2015 (various) | Broad operations/supply chain experience across life sciences and industrials |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bioventus LLC | Senior Vice President, Operations | Mar 2023–present | Employment role; no public company directorships disclosed for Crowe in COCH filings |
Board Governance
- Classification and tenure: Class I director; term runs to the 2027 annual meeting if re-elected .
- Independence: Board determined Crowe meets Nasdaq independence standards; the Board is majority independent .
- Committee assignments: Member, Compensation Committee; not listed on Audit or Nominating & Corporate Governance committees .
- Attendance: In 2024, all directors other than Mr. Taylor attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings; Crowe attended the 2024 Annual Meeting .
- Executive sessions: Audit Committee met in executive session at each regular meeting in 2024 .
| Governance Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Independence | Independent director under Nasdaq rules |
| Committee Memberships | Compensation Committee (member) |
| Attendance (2024) | ≥75% meetings (Board/committees) for all directors except Taylor; Crowe attended Annual Meeting |
| Years of Service | Director since 2024; Class I |
| Lead Independent Director | Not disclosed |
| Executive Sessions | Audit Committee executive sessions each meeting |
Fixed Compensation
| Year | Fees Earned / Paid in Cash ($) | Option Awards ($) (grant-date fair value) | Total ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $22,556 | $37,859 | $50,415 |
- Program structure: COCH pays annual cash retainers for Board and committee service and intends to grant annual restricted stock to non-employee directors; details (amounts) to be determined within plan limits .
Performance Compensation
| Item | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Performance-based director pay metrics | Not disclosed; director equity described as annual restricted stock (no PSUs/metrics specified) |
| Plan-level provisions (general) | Equity plan allows performance awards and includes clawback compliance with exchange listing standards |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| None disclosed | — | COCH proxies list Crowe’s employment roles but no other public company board seats |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Operations leadership across med-tech; deep experience in supply chain, distribution, sourcing, facilities, engineering, customer service, reimbursement, and product launches .
- Engineering BS (University of Louisville) and MBA (Duke) .
- Governance fit: independent, Compensation Committee member; brings execution discipline to a development-stage med-tech platform .
Equity Ownership
| As-of Date (Shares Outstanding Reference) | Beneficial Ownership (# shares) | % of Shares Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2024 (19,618,492 shares o/s) | 0 | — | Not a beneficial owner then |
| Apr 10, 2025 (21,326,619 shares o/s) | 0 | — | Not a beneficial owner then |
| Oct 2, 2025 (23,809,975 shares o/s) | 7,813 | <1% | Footnote indicates shares issuable upon exercise of stock options |
- Anti-hedging and margin restrictions: Directors are prohibited from holding COCH securities in margin accounts and from engaging in hedging/monetization transactions under the Insider Trading Policy .
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Crowe is independent; brings large-cap med-tech operations expertise; active Compensation Committee involvement; satisfactory attendance and annual meeting participation; Board majority independent; formal executive-session practice in Audit Committee; anti-hedging policy in place .
- Compensation alignment: Modest director pay (pro-rated in 2024) with equity component; Board intends to use restricted stock annually for alignment .
- Shareholder sentiment: Strong 2024 support for say-on-pay (11,117,644 for vs. 29,673 against) and annual frequency; indicates investor confidence in compensation governance .
- Red flags/risks (company-level context): COCH has a controlling stockholder (Glen Taylor ~51.8% as of Oct 2, 2025) and related-party financings/lease arrangements with Taylor entities; while not implicating Crowe, concentrated control and related-party exposure elevate governance risk for investors .
Notes and References
- Director biography, independence, classification:
- Committee assignments:
- Attendance and executive sessions:
- Director compensation (Crowe):
- Equity ownership tables:
- Insider trading policy:
- Say-on-pay and frequency results (Item 5.07 8-K):
- Related-party transactions and controlling stockholder context: