Patricia A. Hubbard
HEXCEL CORP /DE/About Patricia A. Hubbard
Patricia A. Hubbard (age 58) is Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Cabot Corporation and has served on Hexcel’s board since 2024; she holds a Ph.D. in Polymer Science and brings deep materials, product development, and sustainability expertise relevant to aerospace and industrial end-markets . She is an independent director and serves on Hexcel’s Nominating, Governance & Sustainability (NGS) Committee .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabot Corporation | Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer | Feb 2018–present | Leads technology strategy; sustainability implementation |
| Avery Dennison (Label & Graphic Materials, North America) | Vice President of R&D | Sep 2016–Feb 2018 | Oversaw product development processes |
| Avient Corporation | Leadership roles of increasing significance | Not disclosed | Materials development, alternative energy applications |
| General Electric | Leadership roles of increasing significance | Not disclosed | Product qualification; technology strategy |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Chemical Society | Member | Not disclosed | Professional association membership |
| National Academies’ Chemical Sciences Roundtable | Member | Not disclosed | Scientific advisory participation |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Member, Nominating, Governance & Sustainability; not a chair .
- Independence: Board determined independence for all committee members; Dr. Hubbard not cited in any relationship review, and committees are composed exclusively of independent directors .
- Attendance and engagement: Company states each incumbent director attended or participated in at least 75% of board and applicable committee meetings in 2024; directors are expected to attend the annual meeting and all then-serving directors attended .
- NGS committee cadence: 2 meetings in 2024; 2 actions by written consent .
- Lead Independent Director: Jeffrey C. Campbell (since 2018) with robust authorities including executive sessions, agenda-setting, CEO evaluation feedback, and shareholder communications .
- Executive sessions: Non-management directors are required to meet in executive session at least twice annually and routinely do so .
Fixed Compensation
Program structure (non-employee directors):
- Annual cash retainer: $88,000; Lead Director add-on $30,000; Audit member $10,000; Compensation member $7,500; NGS member $7,500; Audit Chair $12,500; Compensation Chair $7,500; NGS Chair $7,500 .
- Annual RSU grant value increased to $140,000 in 2024; grant-date fair value per share $67.87; vest on earlier of one year or pre-next Annual Meeting; dividend equivalents accrue when declared .
- Directors may elect RSUs in lieu of cash retainer (Retainer RSUs); fully vested at grant; convert into common shares on first anniversary unless deferred .
Patricia A. Hubbard – 2024 director compensation details:
| Component | Amount/Units | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($) | $95,417 | Includes grant-date fair value of Retainer RSUs elected in lieu of cash |
| Stock Awards ($) | $39,952 | Pro-rated initial Annual RSUs (559 shares at $71.47 FV) granted Jan 5, 2024 |
| Retainer RSUs (in lieu of cash) | 306 (Jan 12, $71.73); 305 (Apr 5, $72.05); 329 (Jul 12, $66.72); 365 (Oct 4, $60.27) | Fully vested at grant; conversion typically at 1-year unless deferred |
| Annual RSUs (board-wide) | Per proxy, each non-employee director held 2,062 Annual RSUs not yet eligible for conversion as of Dec 31, 2024 | 2024 annual grant FV $67.87 per RSU |
Performance Compensation
- No performance-based equity (e.g., PSUs) or cash incentives are disclosed for non-employee directors; director equity is time-based RSUs (with dividend equivalents when declared) .
| Performance Metric | Weight | Payout Mechanism | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed for directors | — | — | Company uses time-based RSUs for directors |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Committee Roles | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed | — | — | Biography lists no other current public company directorships |
- Interlocks/conflicts: Independence review flagged certain other directors’ external ties; Dr. Hubbard was not cited, and the board concluded relationships reviewed did not impair independence .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Ph.D. in Polymer Science; extensive product development and qualification process experience, including automotive and defense; development of materials for alternative energy and sustainability strategy implementation; senior leadership in global manufacturing with technology strategy and business integration focus .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patricia A. Hubbard | 4,267 | <1% (asterisk) | Includes vested/deferred RSUs, RSUs vesting within 60 days, and Retainer RSUs; no pledges |
| Shares outstanding reference | 80,389,391 | — | Company shares outstanding as of record date |
- Ownership guidelines: Directors must hold 5x annual cash retainer; as of Dec 31, 2024, all then-appointed non-employee director nominees met required holdings . Policy prohibits hedging and pledging; directors must retain 100% of net shares until guideline met .
Governance Assessment
- Board effectiveness: Dr. Hubbard strengthens the NGS committee’s oversight of sustainability and governance with deep materials science and technology strategy expertise; her election to receive RSUs in lieu of cash and deferral of RSU conversion indicates long-term alignment with shareholders .
- Independence and attendance: Classified independent, committee is fully independent; company reports strong attendance standards met by incumbents, supporting reliability of oversight .
- Compensation alignment: Director pay follows market benchmarking with increased equity emphasis in 2024; RSU structure, mandatory retention ratios, and no hedging/pledging policies align incentives with long-term value creation .
- Signals from shareholder feedback: Say-on-Pay approval was ~94% in 2024, indicating broad investor support for compensation governance, though this applies to executives and is an indirect governance quality signal .
- Potential conflicts/RED FLAGS: None disclosed specific to Dr. Hubbard; independence review did not cite her employer relationships; no pledging/hedging; meeting participation thresholds met; no related-party transactions disclosed for her in the proxy sections referenced .