Michael Frumkin
EURONET WORLDWIDEAbout Michael N. Frumkin
Michael N. Frumkin, age 56, is an independent Class III director of Euronet (EEFT) who has served on the Board since June 2020; his current term expires in 2027. He brings 25+ years of technical and management leadership at high-growth technology companies, including Verity, Excite, NeXT, and Google, where he led engineering teams for AdWords, the initial launch of AdSense, Google’s personalization infrastructure, and founded the Google Accelerated Science team in 2012; he retired from Google in 2023. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science & Engineering from MIT. The Board values his deep technical and engineering expertise applied to scaling technology businesses.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering leadership; led teams for AdWords, initial AdSense launch, personalization infrastructure; Founder, Google Accelerated Science (within Google Research) | 2002–2023; GAS founded 2012 | Led large revenue-critical engineering teams; created applied research group to accelerate scientific discovery using machine intelligence and perception | |
| Gamechange (Accenture Technology Ventures/SoftBank VC seed-stage collaboration) | Chief Technology Officer | Not disclosed | Responsible for technical due diligence and providing management guidance to portfolio companies |
| Excite / Excite@Home | Engineering leadership (web crawl; e-commerce engineering); joined as part of an early internet search startup that scaled to a multi‑billion dollar public company | Joined 1995; end date not disclosed | Core engineering responsibility during high-growth scale-up and IPO phase |
| Verity | Engineering leadership | Not disclosed | Critical engineering functions at a company that went from startup to successful IPO during his tenure |
| NeXT | Technical/management roles (not specifically titled in proxy) | Not disclosed | Technical leadership experience cited by the company |
External Roles
- Not disclosed in the 2025 proxy statement for Mr. Frumkin. The company typically lists other directorships within each director’s biography; none are cited for Mr. Frumkin in the 2025 DEF 14A.
Board Governance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Independence status | Independent director; the Board determined all non-employee directors (other than the CEO) are independent under Nasdaq rules |
| Board tenure/class | Director since June 2020; Class III; term expires 2027 |
| Committees | Compensation Committee (Member); Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee (Member) |
| Committee chair roles | None (not listed as chair on any committee) |
| Attendance | Each director attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings in 2024; Board met 4 times |
| Committee activity (2024) | Compensation Committee met 4 times; Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee met 3 times |
| Compensation Committee governance | Committee comprised entirely of independent directors; no interlocks or Item 404 relationships; retains independent consultant FW Cook; committee concluded FW Cook had no conflicts |
Fixed Compensation
| Year | Cash Retainer | Equity Grant (Fair Value) | Total | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $100,000 | $160,000 | $260,000 | Non‑management director annual compensation is $260,000 split between $100,000 cash (paid at start of term) and common stock valued at $160,000 granted on the date of the annual meeting; directors may elect to take all fees in stock |
| 2024 grant mechanics | — | Value per share at grant date was $115.27; grant date May 16, 2024; stock awards vest immediately on grant | — | Aggregate grant date fair value computed per ASC 718 |
Performance Compensation
| Element | Applies to Director Pay? | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Performance-based equity (PSUs), options with performance conditions, cash performance bonus | No | The 2025 proxy describes director equity as time-based and vesting immediately on grant; no performance metrics are specified for director compensation |
Note: Pay-versus-performance and performance metrics (Adjusted EPS, adjusted operating income, stock price) referenced in the proxy apply to executive officer compensation design, not to director compensation.
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Current public company directorships (other than EEFT) | Not disclosed for Mr. Frumkin in the 2025 proxy |
| Compensation Committee interlocks | None; no committee member was an officer/employee in last 3 fiscal years; no relationships requiring disclosure under Item 404 of Regulation S‑K |
Expertise & Qualifications
- 25+ years of leadership in high-performance technology companies; led revenue-critical ad systems and personalization at Google; founded applied research team leveraging AI/ML for scientific discovery. The Board highlights his technical and engineering expertise and success scaling high-growth technology companies.
- Educational credentials: B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science & Engineering (MIT).
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Beneficially Owned Shares | Percent of Outstanding | As‑of Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael N. Frumkin | 9,441 | <1% | March 17, 2025 | Percent does not exceed 1% per proxy; total shares outstanding 43,233,526 |
| Stock ownership guidelines (Directors) | Requirement | Current Position | Measurement Date | Notes |
| Michael N. Frumkin | 5× cash portion of annual retainer | 10× cash portion of annual retainer | Dec 31, 2024 | Directors have a five‑year compliance period; newer directors must retain 100% of net vested shares until met |
| Hedging/pledging | Prohibited by policy for directors; exceptions may be granted by General Counsel under limited circumstances | — | Policy in force as of Dec 31, 2024 | As of Dec 31, 2024, the proxy discloses pledging only for the CEO; no director‑specific exceptions disclosed |
Governance Assessment
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Strengths
- Independent director with relevant domain expertise in large‑scale technology, data, and AI/ML—aligned with payments/fintech digitization and risk oversight. Committee service on Compensation and Nominating & Corporate Governance enhances board effectiveness.
- Solid engagement: attended at least 75% of Board/committee meetings in 2024; serves on two committees with active meeting cadence (Comp: 4; N&CG: 3).
- Alignment: beneficial ownership and compliance with ownership guidelines (10× retainer vs. 5× requirement) support skin‑in‑the‑game; hedging/pledging prohibited by policy.
- Compensation Committee governance: fully independent, no interlocks or related‑party disclosures; use of independent consultant FW Cook with no conflicts—positive for investor confidence.
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Potential watch items
- Director equity vests immediately on grant, which can reduce long‑term retention incentives versus multi‑year vesting; however, stock ownership guidelines partially mitigate this.
- Not a committee chair or lead independent director—limits direct leadership leverage; still, active on two oversight committees.
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Compensation Committee signals
- The committee engaged with investors in 2024 and committed to evolve the long‑term plan (shift mix more toward stock awards and add a stock appreciation metric akin to TSR starting 2026), indicating responsiveness to shareholder feedback—supportive of governance quality.
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Conflicts/related‑party exposure
- No Compensation Committee interlocks or relationships requiring Item 404 disclosure involving committee members (includes Mr. Frumkin).
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Compliance
- Section 16(a) filing timeliness: proxy notes late filings for certain individuals, but does not attribute any late filings to Mr. Frumkin for 2024.