Benjamin Piggott
About Benjamin Piggott
Benjamin Piggott (age 45) is ECD Automotive Design’s former Chief Financial Officer (appointed September 2024) and, effective August 15, 2025, transitioned to Director of Corporate Development; Victoria Hay succeeded him as CFO . He holds a B.S. in Finance from Bentley University (2002) and previously served as Chairman & CEO of EFHT and Chairman of ECD; he was a Managing Director at EF Hutton (June 2020–Aug 2024), Head of Corporate Development at Laird Superfood (helped with IPO and Danone minority stake), and spent ~15 years on the buy-side at Fidelity and Legg Mason covering multiple sectors . During his tenure, ECD reported Q2 2025 revenue of $7.0M (vs. $6.5M y/y), gross profit of $1.4M (down y/y on tariff impacts), and a net loss of $4.3M; Adjusted EBITDA was -$1.5M .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| EFHT (pre-business combination) | Chairman & CEO | Not disclosed | Led SPAC platform prior to ECD combination |
| ECD Automotive Design (pre-CFO) | Chairman | Not disclosed | Oversight role prior to assuming CFO position |
| EF Hutton | Managing Director | Jun 2020 – Aug 2024 | Capital markets leadership at EF Hutton since inception |
| Laird Superfood (NYSE American: LSF) | Head of Corporate Development | Not disclosed | Supported IPO (Sep 23, 2020) and negotiated minority stake sale to Danone S.A. |
| Fidelity Management & Research (Small Cap Team) | Research Analyst & Sector Portfolio Manager | Not disclosed | Buy-side coverage across consumer, tech, healthcare, energy, industrials, utilities |
| Legg Mason Capital Management | Generalist Analyst | Not disclosed | Small/mid-cap coverage |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| EFHT | Chairman & CEO | Not disclosed | Led SPAC vehicle used in business combination with ECD |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | 2024 | 2025 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | $315,000 | Not disclosed | Employment agreement set base salary at $315,000 beginning in Sep 2024 |
| Automobile Allowance | $24,000 ($2,000/month) (policy) | $24,000 ($2,000/month) (policy) | Stated as part of NEO/CFO employment package; applies to CFO role |
| Health, Dental, Vision Premiums | Company pays full premiums for employee and spouse (policy) | Company pays full premiums for employee and spouse (policy) | Per employment terms outlined for NEOs/CFO |
| 401(k) Match | Company matches 100% of first 3% + 50% of next 2% (policy) | Same (policy) | NEO/CFO eligible |
| PTO | 20 days per year (policy) | 20 days per year (policy) | Prorated for partial years |
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Type | Metric(s) | Weighting | Target | Actual/Payout | Vesting/Terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Cash Bonus | Discretionary; may consider total revenue, profitability, other factors at Board’s discretion | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | 2024 bonus for Piggott: $0 | Annual/quarterly at Board discretion |
| Equity – Options (one-time) | N/A | N/A | N/A | Granted fully vested options to purchase up to 100,000 shares in Jan 2025 | Fully vested upon grant in Jan 2025; strike not disclosed |
| Equity – Common Stock (issuance) | N/A | N/A | N/A | Issued 100,000 common shares on Jan 2, 2025 under employment agreement | Issued shares; no vesting schedule disclosed |
Note: Proxy states a one-time fully vested option grant (100,000 shares) in Jan 2025, while Q1 2025 10-Q reports an issuance of 100,000 common shares to Piggott on Jan 2, 2025 under his employment agreement; company disclosures should be read together for reconciliation .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total Beneficial Ownership | 836,328 shares; 1.8% of 47,582,259 shares outstanding as of July 2, 2025 |
| Recent Purchases/Issuances | 25,000 shares purchased via subscription at $10.00 on Jan 11, 2024 ($250,000) ; 100,000 shares issued Jan 2, 2025 under employment agreement |
| Options/RSUs | Proxy notes fully vested options to purchase up to 100,000 shares (Jan 2025); strike price and expiration not disclosed |
| Vested vs. Unvested | Not disclosed (common share issuance appears fully delivered; options described as fully vested) |
| Pledging/Hedging | Insider Trading Policy prohibits short sales, publicly traded options, hedging transactions (e.g., collars/forwards), and holding in margin accounts; no explicit pledging disclosure beyond margin prohibition |
| Ownership Guidelines | No executive stock ownership guideline disclosure found |
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Appointment & Role | Appointed CFO in September 2024 ; transitioned to Director of Corporate Development effective Aug 15, 2025 |
| Contract Term | NEO/CFO agreements are 2-year terms with automatic 1-year renewals (form agreements referenced) |
| Cash Compensation | Base salary $315,000; discretionary annual/quarterly bonus at Board discretion |
| Benefits & Perqs | $2,000/month auto allowance; company-paid premiums for health/vision/dental including spouse; 401(k) participation; 20 PTO days |
| Change-in-Control/Severance | No CFO-specific severance/change-in-control terms disclosed in proxy; form agreements referenced but terms not excerpted |
| Clawback | Board-adopted clawback policy for executive incentive compensation tied to restatements per Section 10D/Nasdaq |
| Insider Trading | Policy mandates preclearance, restricts trading windows; prohibits short sales, hedging, publicly traded options, and margin accounts |
| Post-CFO Engagement | Engagement Agreement for Benjamin Piggott dated Aug 15, 2025 (filed as Exhibit 10.1); Victoria Hay engagement as CFO same date (Ex. 10.2) |
Performance & Track Record
- Q2 2025 results (under Piggott’s finance leadership through mid-August): revenue $7.0M (vs. $6.5M y/y), gross profit $1.4M (vs. $2.1M y/y), net loss $4.3M (vs. $2.0M y/y), Adjusted EBITDA -$1.5M (vs. -$0.0M y/y) .
- Capital markets and corporate development experience includes leading EF Hutton MD role (2020–2024), Laird Superfood IPO support and Danone minority stake transaction, and extensive buy-side tenure across multiple sectors .
Governance and Compliance Notes
- Section 16 reporting: company disclosed one late Form 4 by Piggott (filed Jan 23, 2025, ~8 days late for FY2024 reporting period) .
- Proxy holders: Piggott named as a proxy together with CEO Scott Wallace for the 2025 Annual Meeting .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Piggott’s beneficial ownership (836,328 shares; 1.8%) and prior personal subscription ($250,000 at $10/share) indicate meaningful skin-in-the-game, supporting shareholder alignment via direct equity exposure .
- Incentive design: Heavy reliance on discretionary cash bonus with no disclosed objective weightings/targets weakens pay-for-performance clarity; clawback policy is a positive mitigant for restatement risk .
- Retention/role transition: Transition from CFO to Director of Corporate Development with a new engagement agreement suggests continued involvement in M&A/investor engagement/treasury strategy, reducing immediate departure risk while potentially shifting accountability away from core finance KPIs .
- Trading/overhang: January 2025 issuance of 100,000 shares and potential fully vested options (as described in proxy) could add selling pressure depending on liquidity plans; no 10b5-1 plan or pledging disclosed; insider policy prohibits hedging and margin .
- Process discipline: One late Form 4 is a minor governance blemish; continued adherence to Section 16 compliance and trading preclearance remains important as capital markets activities expand .