Anthony Friscia
About Anthony Friscia
Anthony Friscia, age 69, is an independent director of Forrester Research, Inc., serving since June 2017. He is currently an independent business consultant and previously founded and led AMR Research, and served as CEO of Eduventures; he also advised The New School’s President, reflecting deep experience in research/advisory and strategic leadership .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMR Research | Founder, President & CEO | 1986–2010 | Built leading research/advisory firm in supply chain and enterprise tech |
| The New School | Consultant & Special Advisor to the President | 2011–2014 | Senior advisory capacity to university leadership |
| Eduventures, Inc. | President & CEO | 2014–2016 | Led higher-education research/advisory firm |
| Independent Business Consultant | Consultant | Current | Ongoing advisory work |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| None disclosed (public company boards) | — | — |
| Independent business consultant | Consultant | Current |
Board Governance
- Independence: The Board determined all current directors except the CEO (George Colony) are independent; Audit Committee members (including Friscia) satisfy Sarbanes-Oxley and NASDAQ independence and financial literacy standards .
- Committee Assignments: Audit Committee member; Audit Chair is Warren Romine. Audit Committee members: Romine (Chair), Neil Bradford, Anthony Friscia, Corinne Munchbach .
- Attendance: The Board held six meetings in fiscal 2024, and each director attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings; the Audit Committee held five meetings in fiscal 2024 .
- Election cycle: Directors elected annually; Friscia is a 2025 nominee for a term expiring at the 2026 Annual Meeting .
| Committee | Role | 2024 Meetings |
|---|---|---|
| Audit Committee | Member | 5 |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric (USD) | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash | $35,000 | $35,000 |
| Director Retainer (structure) | Annual retainer $30,000; $5,000 per committee membership; Audit Chair +$8,000; Comp & Nominating Chair +$5,000; Lead Independent Director +$10,000; payable quarterly | Same structure |
Performance Compensation
| Equity Grant Details | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| RSUs Granted (units) | 4,136 (June 1, 2023) | 6,737 (June 3, 2024) |
| Grant Date Fair Value | $119,985 | $119,986 |
| Vesting Schedule | RSUs vest in four equal quarterly installments over one year | Not restated for 2024 in proxy; RSU value based on grant date close |
| Change-of-Control Treatment | RSUs granted to directors vest in full upon a change of control unless assumed/substituted/cashed-out | Same plan governs director RSUs |
- Performance metrics tied to director compensation: None disclosed; director equity awards are time-based RSUs, not PSU/metric-based .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Current public company boards | None disclosed for Friscia |
| Compensation Committee interlocks | None; disclosure states no committee member was an officer/employee and no interlocks occurred in the past fiscal year (Friscia not on the Comp & Nominating Committee) |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Multi-decade CEO and founder in research/advisory (AMR Research), with strategic leadership across enterprise tech and supply chain domains .
- Higher education advisory and leadership experience (Eduventures CEO; advisor to The New School) aligning with analytical governance perspectives .
- Financial literacy affirmed by Audit Committee membership standards .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | As of/Period | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Common Stock Beneficially Owned | March 17, 2025 | 24,253 shares |
| Options (exercisable within 60 days) | March 17, 2025 | — |
| RSUs scheduled to vest within 60 days | March 17, 2025 | — |
| RSUs Outstanding (Directors) | December 31, 2024 | 3,369 units |
| % of Shares Outstanding | March 17, 2025 | * (table indicates de minimis) |
- Stock Ownership Guidelines: Directors must hold shares equal to at least two times total annual director compensation (cash retainer + grant-date value of equity), with a five-year compliance window; unexercised options and unvested RSUs do not count. The company reports full compliance since adoption; targets adjusted in April 2024 using the 200-day moving average stock price and compensation as of April 1, 2024 .
Governance Assessment
- Committee effectiveness and independence: Friscia serves on a fully independent Audit Committee with financial literacy standards; the committee met privately with auditors and recommended inclusion of audited financials, indicating robust oversight .
- Alignment and incentives: Director pay mix (≈$35k cash + ≈$120k equity) aligns directors with shareholders via annual time-based RSUs and stringent ownership guidelines (2x total compensation), promoting long-term alignment. Change-of-control full vesting is standard for directors but warrants monitoring in potential transactions .
- Attendance and engagement: Meets minimum attendance thresholds (≥75%) with regular Board and Audit meetings, though the proxy discloses only threshold compliance, not exact rates; continued monitoring of individual attendance is advisable .
- Conflicts/related-party exposure: No related-party transactions disclosed involving Friscia; the Audit Committee reviews and approves any related-person transactions, reducing conflict risk .
- Risk indicators: Company discloses it currently does not have a hedging policy, which is a governance gap for alignment; however, stock retention guidelines and clawback policy for officers mitigate some risk. Note: the clawback applies to covered officers, not directors .
- Board structure context: Combined Chair/CEO (Colony, ~39% beneficial ownership) may concentrate control, increasing the importance of effective independent oversight by Audit Committee members like Friscia .
Overall signal: Friscia’s long-tenured research/advisory CEO background and Audit Committee service support board effectiveness and financial oversight. Compensation and ownership structures align interests, with no disclosed conflicts; the absence of a hedging policy is a modest red flag to track, particularly in the context of change-of-control acceleration provisions for director equity .