Jayme Mendal
EverQuoteAbout Jayme Mendal
Jayme Mendal is EverQuote’s President and CEO and a director since November 2020; age 39 as of April 8, 2025, with prior roles as COO (Feb 2019–Nov 2020) and CRO (Aug 2017–Feb 2019). He holds a BS in finance and economics from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from Harvard Business School . Under his tenure, pay-versus-performance shows CAP aligned to improved TSR and a swing to positive net income in 2024: TSR value rose to $53.52 in 2024 from $32.77 in 2023, and net income improved to $32.2M in 2024 from a loss of $51.3M in 2023 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| EverQuote | President & CEO; Director | Nov 2020–present | Led marketplace strategy and execution as CEO; board member |
| EverQuote | Chief Operating Officer | Feb 2019–Nov 2020 | Ran operations; set execution cadence across functions |
| EverQuote | Chief Revenue Officer | Aug 2017–Feb 2019 | Led revenue functions during early scaling phase |
| PowerAdvocate, Inc. | VP Sales & Marketing | May 2017–Aug 2017 | Commercial leadership in energy intelligence |
| PowerAdvocate, Inc. | Sr. Director Sales & Marketing; Director Corp Strategy & Marketing; Manager Corp Strategy | Jun 2015–May 2017; Aug 2014–Dec 2015; Aug 2013–Aug 2014 | Strategy, marketing, and sales leadership in energy data platform |
| Monitor Deloitte | Management Consultant (Growth Strategy) | Aug 2007–Jul 2010 | Growth strategy consulting experience |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | $317,300 | $375,000 | $565,000 |
| Target Bonus ($) | Not disclosed in 2022 SCT | Not disclosed in 2023 SCT | Executive bonus plan; target stated in offer terms at $595,000 |
| Current Base Salary (as of 2025) ($) | — | — | $595,000 (offer letter terms) |
| Target Bonus as % of Salary | — | — | 100% (target bonus equals current salary) |
Performance Compensation
| Component | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual/Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual cash incentive (2024) | Executive bonus plan | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | $847,500 paid for FY 2024 | Cash, FY end |
| Special one-time cash bonus (2024) | Specific 2024 performance goal | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | $100,000 (one-time) | Paid in 2024 |
| Discretionary bonus (2023) | Board-recognized performance | — | — | $1,400,000 (approved Dec 26, 2023) | Paid in 2023 |
| PSUs (grant 2/12/2024, 200,803 units) | “Certain financial metrics” measured at time of 10-K | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Grant-date FV assumed probable: included in 2024 stock awards | 25% after 1 year from Jan 1, 2024, remainder quarterly; contingent on performance |
| RSUs (grant 2/12/2024, 108,768 units) | Service-based | — | — | Grant included in 2024 stock awards | Equal quarterly vesting over 4 years from Jan 1, 2024 |
Notes: Pay-versus-performance disclosure indicates CAP is evaluated against TSR, Revenue, Variable Marketing Dollars, Net Income, and Adjusted EBITDA; specific incentive weightings/targets are not enumerated in the proxy .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Ownership Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership (Class A) | 488,298 shares; 1.5% of Class A outstanding |
| Directly owned Class A shares | 186,186 |
| RSUs vesting within 60 days (Class A) | 7,143 |
| Options exercisable within 60 days (Class A) | 294,969 |
| Shares pledged as collateral | Not disclosed |
| Anti-hedging policy | Prohibits short sales, derivatives, and hedging instruments for executives/directors |
Outstanding equity awards and vesting cadence (as of 12/31/2024):
| Grant | Type | Exercisable | Unexercisable | Strike | Expiration | Unvested Units | Market Value | Vesting Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/18/2017 | Option | 125,880 | — | $6.96 | 10/17/2027 | — | — | Fully vested by 9/30/2021 |
| 6/11/2019 | RSU | — | — | — | — | 42,858 | $856,731 | Equal quarterly over 7 yrs from grant; first vest 8/25/2019 |
| 2/11/2022 | RSU | — | — | — | — | 17,761 | $355,042 | 25% after 12 months from 1/1/2022, remainder quarterly |
| 2/11/2022 | Option | 85,690 | 39,073 | $15.69 | 2/10/2032 | — | — | Equal annual over 4 yrs from 1/1/2022 |
| 2/17/2023 | RSU | — | — | — | — | 33,750 | $674,663 | Equal quarterly over 4 yrs from 1/1/2023 |
| 2/17/2023 | Option | 52,500 | 67,500 | $15.81 | 2/16/2033 | — | — | Equal quarterly over 4 yrs from 1/1/2023 |
| 2/12/2024 | RSU | — | — | — | — | 108,768 | $2,174,272 | Equal quarterly over 4 yrs from 1/1/2024 |
| 2/12/2024 | PSU | — | — | — | — | 200,803 | $4,014,052 | 25% after 1 yr from 1/1/2024; remainder quarterly; requires financial metric achievement |
Insider selling pressure signals:
- Quarterly RSU vesting through 2028 on 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024 grants and contingent PSU vesting from 2025 onward may create periodic supply; company permits Rule 10b5-1 plans while prohibiting hedging .
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Employment start date | Offer letter dated July 31, 2017; employment began Sep 4, 2017 |
| Current base salary | $595,000 |
| Target annual bonus | $595,000 (discretionary, based on agreed targets) |
| Non-compete | 18 months post-termination |
| Non-solicit | 24 months post-termination (employees and customers) |
| Clawback | Adopted Oct 2, 2023; recovery of incentive comp upon Accounting Restatement per Nasdaq/SEC rules |
| Executive Severance Plan | Effective Nov 5, 2023 |
Change-in-control economics (double-trigger indicative):
| Scenario (as of 12/31/2024) | Severance ($) | Bonus ($) | Benefits Continuation ($) | Accelerated Equity ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Termination following Change of Control | 847,500 (18 months salary) | 847,500 (1.5× Target Bonus) | 46,813 | 6,327,958 |
Other qualifying termination (no CoC):
| Scenario (as of 12/31/2024) | Severance ($) | Benefits Continuation ($) | Accelerated Equity ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Termination without cause/for good reason | 565,000 (12 months salary) | 31,208 | 3,839,978 |
Board Governance
- Board service history and independence: Mendal is a director since 2020 and is not independent; no committee memberships . Board leadership is separated (Blundin as Chair; Mendal as CEO) to balance oversight and management participation .
- Controlled company: EverQuote is a “controlled company” under Nasdaq rules, availing certain governance exemptions (e.g., majority-independent board not required; nominations not solely by independents; compensation committee independence as permitted) .
- Board/committee activity: Board met six times in 2024; each director attended at least 75% of meetings; independent directors hold executive sessions periodically; audit committee met four times; compensation committee met seven times .
- Director compensation program applies to non-employee directors not affiliated with Link Ventures (cash retainers and annual RSU grants) .
Multi-year Compensation Summary (CEO)
| Component ($) | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary | 317,300 | 375,000 | 565,000 |
| Bonus | — | 1,400,000 | 107,272 |
| Stock Awards | 891,710 | 948,600 | 4,181,765 |
| Option Awards | 1,347,856 | 1,329,600 | — |
| Non-Equity Incentive Plan | 225,000 | 70,313 | 847,500 |
| All Other Compensation | 4,406 | 4,751 | 24,366 |
| Total | 2,786,272 | 4,128,264 | 5,725,903 |
Pay Versus Performance Context
| Measure | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value of $100 Investment (TSR) | $39.46 | $32.77 | $53.52 |
| Net Income/(Loss) ($000s) | (24,416) | (51,287) | 32,169 |
| PEO CAP (Compensation Actually Paid) ($) | 2,205,651 | 2,532,429 | 9,450,223 |
Compensation Committee & Peer Benchmarking
- Committee composition: Bansal, Deninger, Wilczek; Wilczek chairs .
- Consultant: Compensia engaged for 2024–2025 to advise and benchmark against a peer list; committee determined no conflicts of interest .
Related Party Transactions (Governance red flags assessment)
- Payments to Link Ventures affiliates (controlled by Chair David Blundin) for marketing/data services: ~$12.3M in 2024; agreements asserted to be arm’s-length; audit committee oversees related-party review .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Significant equity-based pay with multi-year RSU/PSU vesting, anti-hedging policy, and beneficial ownership of 488k shares supports alignment; however, controlled-company status reduces some governance safeguards, warranted monitoring of related-party arrangements .
- Near-term selling pressure: Quarterly vesting of 108,768 RSUs and contingent vesting of 200,803 PSUs from 2024 grants may create consistent supply; Rule 10b5-1 plans allow pre-programmed trading, reducing signaling noise .
- Pay-for-performance: 2024 CAP spiked alongside TSR improvement and a sharp net income turnaround, indicating realized equity value accretion alongside operating progress; continued scrutiny of PSU metric disclosure and payouts is advisable .
- Retention risk and severance: Strong restrictive covenants (18-month non-compete, 24-month non-solicit) and robust severance/CoC economics (18 months salary + 1.5× bonus, full acceleration) lower departure risk but increase takeover costs; double-trigger mechanics mitigate windfall risk .
- Governance: Separation of Chair/CEO limits concentration of power, but controlled-company exemptions and material related-party spend necessitate focus on audit/comp committee independence and oversight integrity .