Kevin O'Brien
HYDROFARM HOLDINGS GROUPAbout Kevin O'Brien
Kevin O’Brien is Hydrofarm’s Chief Financial Officer and Principal Financial Officer, appointed effective January 1, 2025 (age 45). He previously served as Hydrofarm’s Chief Accounting Officer from March 2022 to December 2024 and holds Colorado CPA credentials with B.S. and M.S. in Accounting from the University of Colorado . During his CFO tenure to date, Hydrofarm has operated through industry headwinds; recent quarterly revenues and EBITDA trends are shown below for context and to anchor compensation alignment .
| Metric | Q2 2024 | Q3 2024 | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($USD) | $54.793M | $44.009M | $37.314M | $40.534M | $39.245M | $29.350M |
| EBITDA ($USD) | $0.895M* | ($0.717M)* | ($7.252M) | ($3.315M)* | ($2.613M)* | ($4.725M)* |
| Values with asterisk (*) retrieved from S&P Global. |
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrofarm Holdings Group, Inc. | Chief Accounting Officer | Mar 2022–Dec 2024 | Elevated to CFO as part of leadership succession plan |
| CPI Card Group Inc. (Nasdaq: PMTS) | Chief Accounting Officer | Apr 2018–Mar 2022 | Senior accounting leadership; prior Director of Corporate Accounting & SEC Reporting (Mar 2016–Apr 2018) |
| Deloitte & Touche LLP | Senior Audit Manager | Not disclosed | Part of >20 years of accounting experience |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed | — | — | No public company directorships or external roles disclosed for O’Brien |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | $350,000 | Effective Jan 1, 2025 upon CFO appointment | |
| Target Annual Bonus | 75% of base salary | Structure approved with CFO appointment | |
| 2024 Target Cash Bonus (pro-rated) | $110,000 | Increased concurrent with promotion timing |
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Type | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual/Payout | Vesting | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSU Grant | Service-based | n/a | 100,000 RSUs (pre-split) | n/a | One-third on each annual anniversary of Jan 1, 2025 (i.e., 2026/2027/2028) | |
| Annual Incentive Bonus | Company/individual goals | Not disclosed | 75% of base salary | Not disclosed | Annual | |
| Notes | Reverse Stock Split | — | — | HYFM executed a 1-for-10 reverse split on Feb 12, 2025; share counts in the 10/17/2024 8-K are pre-split |
No PSU metrics, formulae, or CFO-specific performance weighting disclosures appear in 2025 proxy materials; NEO PSUs and payout determinations are disclosed only for other executives .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Stock Ownership Guideline: CFO required to hold equity equal to 4x base salary; executives are monitored for sustained progress (no fixed deadline) .
- Hedging/Pledging: Prohibited for directors and executive officers under the Insider Trading Policy (no short sales, options, collars, pledging) with preclearance requirements for designated insiders .
- Clawback: Company-adopted clawback policy requires recovery of incentive-based compensation upon an accounting restatement, covering GAAP/non-GAAP, stock price, and TSR-linked pay; no restatements in 2023–2024 .
- Beneficial Ownership: The 2025 proxy lists individual holdings for certain directors and NEOs; a consolidated figure is shown for “all directors and current executive officers as a group (10 persons),” but Kevin O’Brien’s individual share count is not separately disclosed in the beneficial ownership table .
- Section 16 Compliance: Company records reflect all required insider ownership change reports were filed timely .
Employment Terms
| Term | Details | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment Effective Date | Jan 1, 2025 (CFO & Principal Financial Officer) | |
| Role Confirmation | CFO certification and 10-Q signatory as Principal Financial Officer | |
| Severance | Not disclosed for Kevin O’Brien in 2025 proxy/8-K; company discloses severance terms for other executives | |
| Change-of-Control Treatment | Plan-level change-of-control mechanics exist (2019/2020 Plans) including assumption/substitution, accelerated vesting, cash-out provisions; CFO-specific terms not disclosed | |
| Insider Trading Controls | Preclearance for designated insiders; MNPI restrictions | |
| Reverse Stock Split | 1-for-10 completed Feb 12, 2025; share references in proxy are post-split; October 2024 8-K awards are pre-split |
Investment Implications
- Alignment and retention: CFO package mixes cash (base + 75% target bonus) with multi-year RSUs vesting 1/3 annually, supporting retention and pay-for-performance alignment; clawback and no-hedging/pledging policies strengthen governance .
- Vesting-driven supply: Annual RSU vest dates (anniversaries of Jan 1, 2025) may introduce incremental selling pressure around vest events; monitor Section 16 filings for actual sales given preclearance requirements and policy constraints .
- Ownership discipline: CFO guideline of 4x salary and monitoring of progress suggest increasing “skin-in-the-game” over time; individual beneficial ownership not disclosed, but executive group totals are provided .
- Performance backdrop: Revenues declined sequentially from $40.534M in Q1 2025 to $29.350M in Q3 2025 while EBITDA remained negative, underscoring execution demands on the finance function; compensation design with equity and variable pay is appropriate for turnaround conditions . Values with asterisk (*) retrieved from S&P Global.