Max Levchin
COCA COLAAbout Max Levchin
Max Levchin (age 50) was elected to The Coca-Cola Company’s Board of Directors on October 16, 2025 and appointed to the Talent and Compensation Committee. He is a technologist and entrepreneur, best known as PayPal’s co-founder and CTO, and later founder and leader of Affirm, which became a public company in 2021. Levchin holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and is a Ukrainian-born US executive with a long track record in fintech and consumer internet platforms.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confinity/PayPal | Co-founder; Chief Technology Officer | 1998–2002 (PayPal acquired by eBay in 2002) | Built core payments technology at scale; foundational fintech expertise |
| Slide | Founder; CEO | Acquired by Google in 2010 | Consumer media-sharing product; exit to Google |
| HVF (Hard Valuable Fun) | Founder (innovation lab) | Launched prior to Affirm (led to Affim in 2012) | Incubated data-driven ventures; created Affirm |
| Affirm | Founder; leader | Founded 2012; public in 2021 | Scaled BNPL fintech; public market experience |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affirm | Founder; leader | 2012–present (public since 2021) | Ongoing executive leadership at a public company |
| Yelp Inc. | Director | Not specified | Prior public company board service |
| Yahoo! Inc. | Director | Not specified | Prior public company board service |
Board Governance
- KO appointment: elected Director effective Oct 16, 2025; appointed to the Talent and Compensation Committee .
- Independence: Participates as a non-employee Director under the KO Directors’ Plan (non-employee directors receive cash/equity retainers) .
- Attendance: Board held 5 meetings and committees 25 meetings in 2024; overall attendance ~98% (Levchin joined after this period; individual attendance not yet disclosed) .
- Majority voting/resignation policy: KO requires majority of votes cast; failure triggers a tendered resignation subject to Governance Committee recommendation and Board decision within 100 days .
- Overboarding guidelines: Directors should not serve on more than four public company boards (including KO), and if actively serving as an executive officer of a public company, not more than three (including KO); exceptions may be granted sparingly by the Governance Committee . Given Levchin’s executive leadership at Affirm (a public company), monitor total board commitments against KO limits .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | 2025 Terms | Mechanics | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer | $90,000 (prorated for 2025) | Paid quarterly; optional deferral into share units | Non-employee Director program |
| Annual equity retainer | $200,000 (deferred share units; prorated for 2025) | Units credited based on $200k at April 1 price; dividend equivalents; paid in cash post-board exit | Long-term, paid only after leaving Board |
| Committee chair fees | $30,000 (Audit Chair); $25,000 (Talent & Compensation Chair); $20,000 (other chairs) | Additional cash for chair roles | Levchin is a committee member, not chair as of appointment |
| Meeting fees | None | No fees for Board or committee meeting attendance | Cost discipline and alignment |
| Payout timing of equity units | After departure (lump sum or up to five annual installments) | Cash payout; installments elected by Director | Deferral promotes long-term alignment |
Highlights: KO emphasizes equity and long-term focus in director pay; deferral ensures alignment and retention; no changes to director compensation since 2020 .
Performance Compensation
- KO directors do not receive performance-based compensation (no option awards or non-equity incentive plan payouts in the director compensation program), as evidenced by the 2024 Director Compensation Table columns showing $0 for options and non-equity incentives across non-employee directors .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Relationship | Potential Interlock/Conflict | Disclosure Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affirm | Founder/leader (public since 2021) | Executive role at a public company; monitor KO overboarding limits | No Item 404(a) related-party transactions disclosed at appointment |
| Yelp Inc. | Prior Board | No current KO transactional link disclosed | Prior service noted; no 404(a) transactions |
| Yahoo! Inc. | Prior Board | No current KO transactional link disclosed | Prior service noted; no 404(a) transactions |
- KO Item 5.02 disclosure explicitly states there are no transactions in which Levchin has an interest requiring disclosure under Item 404(a) and no arrangement/understanding pursuant to which he was selected .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Fintech and payments expertise: Co-founded and led development/growth at PayPal; founded Affirm; extensive technology background in data-driven consumer finance .
- Public company and capital markets experience: Built companies from startup to public listing (Affirm’s IPO in 2021) .
- Consumer internet and product scaling: Founded Slide; experience with user growth and platform dynamics .
- Technical credentials: Bachelor’s in computer science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign .
Equity Ownership
- KO director ownership mechanism: Annual equity retainer granted as deferred share units; units accrue dividend equivalents and are paid in cash only after board service ends .
- Ownership guideline proxy highlight: After three years of service, all Directors maintain an equity ownership level of at least five times the annual cash retainer, due to deferral structure .
- Beneficial ownership disclosure: The March 3, 2025 table lists beneficial holdings for directors and executives as of that date; Levchin joined later in 2025, so he is not included in that table .
Governance Assessment
- Positives
- Clear independence as a non-employee Director; compensation under Directors’ Plan with strong equity deferral alignment and no meeting fees .
- Appointment to the Talent and Compensation Committee brings relevant tech/scale experience to pay design oversight; KO has robust majority voting/resignation and high board-wide attendance culture .
- No related-party transactions or selection arrangements disclosed at appointment, reducing conflict risk .
- Watch Items / Potential Red Flags
- Overboarding risk: KO policy caps executives at three public boards (including KO); monitor Levchin’s total board load given ongoing executive leadership at Affirm (public) .
- New appointment means no KO-specific attendance/performance history yet; track committee engagement and future proxy disclosures .
- Director compensation is stable (unchanged since 2020) with strong equity deferral, but confirm future compliance with KO’s ownership expectations as tenure accrues .
Overall signal: Levchin’s appointment adds significant fintech/technology acumen to KO’s board and its Talent & Compensation oversight, with clean conflicts disclosure at entry and strong alignment via deferred equity. Monitoring overboarding and engagement metrics will be key for governance quality assurance through the next proxy cycle.