Andrew Hendricks
CuriosityStreamAbout Andrew Hendricks
Andrew Hendricks (age 40) has served as an independent director of CuriosityStream since January 2021. He is Vice President of Hendricks Investment Holdings LLC (HIH) and the President & CEO of Experius VR, which he founded in 2015; he also founded Driven Experiences and is a partial owner of Experious I LLC. He attended the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The Board determined he is independent under NASDAQ rules, considering his family relationship to Chairman John Hendricks and his ownership interests, and placed him in Class I with a term expiring in 2027 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Experius VR | Founder, President & CEO | 2015–present | Led immersive VR initiatives; Lumiere Award for Best VR Education/Museum Experience for “Tutankhamun: Enter the Tomb” |
| Hendricks Investment Holdings LLC (HIH) | Vice President | Not disclosed | Oversees venture investments in advanced media, digital technologies, hospitality |
| Driven Experiences | Founder | Not disclosed | High-performance off-road training for OEMs; safety/recovery programs |
| Experious I LLC | Partial Owner | Not disclosed | Ownership interest (private) |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Experius VR | President & CEO | 2015–present | Advanced media and immersive VR; award-winning museum experiences |
| HIH | Vice President | Not disclosed | Venture investments in media/tech/hospitality |
| Driven Experiences | Founder | Not disclosed | Off-road performance driving school |
| Experious I LLC | Partial Owner | Not disclosed | Private investment entity |
Board Governance
- Classification: Class I director; term expires 2027 .
- Committee assignments: Member, Compensation Committee; Member, Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee. He is not listed on the Audit Committee .
- Chair roles: None; Compensation Committee chaired by Patrick Keeley; Nominating & Corporate Governance chaired by Matthew Blank .
- Independence: Board determined Andrew Hendricks is independent under NASDAQ Rule 5605(a)(2), explicitly considering family relationships and his ownership of Experius LLC .
- Attendance and engagement: Board met 7 times in 2024; Audit (8), Compensation (6), Nominating (1). No director attended less than 75% of meetings of the Board and committees of which they were a member; all directors attended last year’s annual meeting .
Fixed Compensation
| Component (2024) | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual retainer (cash) | $50,000 | Paid to non-employee directors (Chairman John Hendricks waives all compensation) |
| Committee membership fee (per committee) | $13,500 | Annual fee for members (non-chair) |
| Committee chair fee (per committee) | $24,000 | Annual fee for chair (not applicable to Andrew) |
| Total fees earned – Andrew Hendricks (2024) | $77,000 | Reflects retainer + committee membership fees |
Performance Compensation
| Award Type | Grant Date | Shares | Vesting | Fair Value | Performance Metrics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSUs (Director annual grant) | May 8, 2024 | 57,000 | Vest May 8, 2025 | $66,125 | None disclosed (time-based RSUs; no TSR/financial metrics) |
| RSUs referenced in ownership footnote | May 8, 2024 | 57,500 | Vest May 8, 2025 | Not disclosed | None disclosed |
Note: The proxy’s director compensation table footnotes list 57,000 RSUs for each non-employee director, while the beneficial ownership footnote references 57,500 shares vesting on May 8, 2025; this discrepancy is disclosed in separate sections of the proxy .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Committee Roles | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public company boards | None disclosed | — | Not disclosed in proxy biography |
| Related party interlock | HIH sublease | — | Company sublets office space to HIH, an affiliate of John Hendricks, Andrew Hendricks, and Elizabeth Saravia; related party rental income $19,594 (2024), $28,495 (2023) |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Advanced media and immersive VR entrepreneur; leadership in 360-video, augmented reality, and volumetric video; award-winning content experiences .
- Venture investing experience via HIH across media/tech/hospitality .
- Education: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Beneficial Shares | % Outstanding | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Hendricks | 128,883 | 0.2% | 71,383 shares held directly; 57,500 shares scheduled to vest on May 8, 2025 |
- Shares outstanding reference base: 56,930,262 as of April 8, 2025 (ownership table basis) .
- Hedging/pledging: Company policy prohibits hedging and short sales; pledging/margin accounts require advance approval from General Counsel . No specific disclosure of any pledging by Andrew Hendricks in the proxy .
Governance Assessment
- Independence with family ties: The Board explicitly reviewed and affirmed Andrew’s independence despite being the son of Chairman John Hendricks and sibling to Director Elizabeth Saravia; this is a potential perception risk for investors but formally compliant with NASDAQ standards .
- Committee influence: As a member of Compensation and Nominating & Corporate Governance committees, Andrew participates in executive/director pay decisions and board refreshment. The Compensation Committee retains Willis Towers Watson as an independent consultant; the committee concluded no conflicts of interest existed, which supports governance process quality .
- Attendance: No director fell below 75% attendance in 2024; all attended the annual meeting, indicating engagement .
- Pay mix and alignment: 2024 compensation for Andrew was balanced between cash ($77,000 fees) and equity (RSUs fair value $66,125), aligning director incentives with shareholders via time-based equity .
- Ownership: Andrew’s direct and scheduled-to-vest holdings total 128,883 shares (0.2%), providing some alignment, though ownership is modest relative to total shares outstanding .
- Related-party exposure: The company subleases office space to HIH (affiliate of John, Andrew, Elizabeth), generating $19,594 in 2024 rental income; while small, it is a related-party transaction that the Board should oversee under its policy .
RED FLAGS
- Family relationships: Andrew is the son of the Board Chairman (John Hendricks) and sibling to a director (Elizabeth Saravia), which can raise concerns about board independence and potential influence, notwithstanding formal independence determinations .
- Related-party transactions: Ongoing HIH sublease is a related-party arrangement involving Andrew’s affiliate; although amounts are limited, any expansion would warrant scrutiny .
- Documentation inconsistency: RSU share count referenced as 57,000 in the compensation section and 57,500 in the ownership footnote; this should be clarified to avoid confusion on director equity awards .
Additional context: Board diversity and governance policies (code of ethics, insider trading/hedging policy, related-person transaction approval procedures) are disclosed and in place, which supports governance frameworks .