Daniel Stauber
About Daniel Stauber
Daniel J. Stauber (age 63) has served on the Hawkins, Inc. (HWKN) board since 2016. He is Chief Brand Officer of Stauber Performance Ingredients, Inc., a wholly owned HWKN subsidiary; previously he was CEO of Stauber (1998–2015), President (1994–1998), and held multiple roles since 1984, bringing deep health and nutrition industry expertise to HWKN’s Health & Nutrition segment . He is not classified as an independent director under Nasdaq rules due to his management role at a HWKN subsidiary .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stauber Performance Ingredients (HWKN subsidiary) | Chief Brand Officer | 2015–present | Segment expertise for Health & Nutrition growth strategy |
| Stauber Performance Ingredients | VP – Health & Nutrition; President of Stauber | 2018–2019 (VP H&N); 1994–1998 (President) | Operational leadership in segment |
| Stauber Performance Ingredients | Chief Executive Officer | 1998–2015 | Led company until acquisition by HWKN in 2015 |
| Stauber Performance Ingredients | Various roles | 1984–1994 | Progressive operating roles |
External Roles
- No other public company directorships are disclosed in the proxy biography for Mr. Stauber .
Board Governance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Independence | Not independent (employee director) |
| Board service start | Director since 2016 |
| Age | 63 |
| Committee memberships | None (not listed on Audit, Compensation, or Governance & Nominating) |
| Committee chair roles | None |
| Board meetings held (FY25) | 5 |
| Attendance | All directors attended at least 75% of Board/committee meetings (individual rates not disclosed) |
Governance context: The Board is majority independent; committee members are all independent; chairs are independent (Audit Chair Wright; Compensation Chair Schumacher; Governance & Nominating Chair Faulconbridge) .
Fixed Compensation (Director)
| Component | Amount/Terms |
|---|---|
| Cash retainer | $0 (non‑employee directors receive $70,000 plus committee/chair retainers; Mr. Stauber, as an employee director, received no cash fees) |
| Equity retainer | 962 restricted shares granted July 31, 2024; grant‑date fair value $99,952; one‑year vest (scheduled July 31, 2025) |
| Total director compensation (FY25) | $99,952 (all equity) |
Notes:
- Standard director program: non‑employee directors receive cash ($70,000 base; $8,000 per committee; Chair of Board $80,000; Audit/Comp/Gov chairs $15,000/$10,000/$7,000) plus $100,000 in restricted stock; only the equity retainer applies to Mr. Stauber (CEO is excluded from equity retainer) .
Performance Compensation (Director)
| Item | Terms/Metric |
|---|---|
| Performance‑based pay | None for directors; equity retainer is time‑vested restricted stock (1‑year vest; accelerates on death/disability) |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Other public company boards | None disclosed |
| Compensation committee interlocks | Company reports no interlocking relationships; Mr. Stauber is not on the Compensation Committee |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Health & Nutrition industry operator: Former CEO/President of Stauber; practical operating and commercial expertise aligns with HWKN’s Health & Nutrition segment .
- Board skills: Industry and commercial domain knowledge; not designated an “audit committee financial expert” (financial experts designated are Faulconbridge, Spethmann, Wright, Schumacher) .
- Tenured HWKN director with subsidiary executive role since the 2015 acquisition (director since 2016) .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (shares) | 33,799 shares (includes 962 restricted shares vesting July 31, 2025) |
| Percent of shares outstanding | <1% |
| Restricted stock included | 962 shares; vest July 31, 2025 |
| Hedging/pledging | Company policy prohibits hedging and pledging by directors and officers |
| Section 16(a) compliance | Company states all directors/officers complied except specifically listed persons; Mr. Stauber not listed among exceptions |
Related‑Party and Conflict Review
| Transaction | Counterparty | FY25 Amount | Mr. Stauber’s Attributable Portion | Oversight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lease of Fullerton, CA office/warehouse used by Stauber subsidiary | Entity partially owned by Daniel J. Stauber | $0.6 million | ~$72,000 | Reviewed and ratified in advance by Audit Committee; all related‑party transactions approved per charter |
RED FLAG: Ongoing related‑party leasing with a director who is also a subsidiary executive creates conflict optics despite Audit Committee review; continued monitoring of terms vs. market and periodic re‑tendering advisable .
Governance Assessment
- Independence and committee participation: Mr. Stauber is not independent and serves on no key committees—appropriate given his management role, but limits his contribution to formal oversight (audit/compensation/governance) .
- Alignment and skin‑in‑the‑game: Holds 33,799 shares; receives equity-only director compensation (no cash), supporting alignment with shareholders; hedging/pledging prohibited by policy .
- Attendance/engagement: Board reports all directors met at least 75% attendance; individual details not disclosed; Board met five times; each committee met four times in FY25 .
- Compensation structure (board): Employee director—no cash fees; receives time‑vested equity consistent with peer practice; no performance metrics for director pay .
- Conflicts/related‑party exposure: Lease with entity partially owned by Mr. Stauber (total $0.6m; ~$72k attributable to him) presents a governance risk indicator; mitigated by Audit Committee review and policy requiring approval of related‑party transactions, but remains an optics risk if not benchmarked regularly .
- Shareholder context: Say‑on‑pay support ~95% at Aug 2024 meeting suggests broad investor comfort with overall pay design (executive program), but this does not directly address director‑specific related‑party matters .
Overall signal: Valuable segment expertise and ownership alignment, offset by non‑independence and a recurring related‑party lease. Investors should monitor continued exclusion from key committees, transparency of lease benchmarking, and adherence to no‑hedge/no‑pledge policies .