Amy Allbach Samford
KRONOS WORLDWIDEAbout Amy Allbach Samford
Amy Allbach Samford is an executive vice president at Kronos Worldwide (KRO) and has served in this role since 2022; she is age 50 as disclosed in the 2025 proxy . She concurrently serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Valhi, NL Industries, CompX, and Contran, with prior experience in accounting and finance roles across Contran-related companies since 2006 . KRO does not use specific financial performance measures to link executive compensation to company results (2024), and executive pay is delivered via an Intercorporate Services Agreement (ISA) with Contran, rather than equity grants, which reduces direct pay-for-performance linkage at KRO . Company performance context: Pay-Versus-Performance disclosures show TSR indexed to $100 at 12/31/2019 and net income outcomes below.
| Performance Metric | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSR Index ($100 start at 12/31/2019) | 118 | 125 | 83 | 95 | 98 |
| Net Income (Loss) $MM | 63.9 | 112.9 | 104.5 | (49.1) | 86.2 |
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kronos Worldwide (KRO) | Executive Vice President | 2022–present | Senior leadership within a controlled-company structure; cross-entity coordination with affiliates |
| Contran-related companies | Accounting & Finance roles (incl. officer positions) | 2006–present | Multi-entity finance oversight enabling ISA-driven shared services cost model |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valhi, Inc. | EVP & Chief Financial Officer | Current | Finance leadership at controlling parent; governance/related-party coordination |
| NL Industries | EVP & Chief Financial Officer | Current | Finance leadership across affiliate; alignment within controlled group |
| CompX International | EVP & Chief Financial Officer | Current | Finance leadership across affiliate; ISA coordination |
| Contran | EVP & Chief Financial Officer | Current | Group CFO role overseeing shared services, allocation methodology and ISA charges |
Fixed Compensation
KRO’s executives (including Samford) provide services as Contran employees under an Intercorporate Services Agreement. The ISA charges are based on Contran’s employment cost (base salary, prior-year bonus proxy, payroll taxes, standardized overhead) multiplied by estimated time allocation to KRO; charges are reviewed by KRO’s management development & compensation committee and approved by independent directors .
| Element | Policy / Amount |
|---|---|
| Compensation vehicle | ISA fixed-fee reimbursements; no KRO equity grants to executives |
| Performance linkage | Amount charged is not dependent on KRO financial performance |
| ISA renewals | Quarterly renewals; termination by either party with 30 days’ notice before next quarter |
| Aggregate fees to Contran | ~$23.7M in 2024; expected ~$25.8M in 2025 (includes services of named executive officers) |
| Section 162(m) | Contran absorbs tax deduction disallowance impacts on charges >$1.0M |
Notes: The proxy discloses detailed ISA-based “salary” amounts for KRO’s named executive officers (e.g., CEO, COO, CFO, CIO). Amy Samford is not one of KRO’s named executive officers, so her individual KRO-attributed ISA amount is not disclosed .
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial/operational metrics | Not used for executive compensation in 2024 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
- KRO did not use specific financial performance measures to link executive compensation to company performance for 2024; executive officers employed by KRO are eligible only for discretionary bonuses, and executives under the ISA model receive fixed-fee charges without equity grants .
- No grants of plan-based awards; no outstanding equity awards; no options or stock vesting activity for named executive officers in 2024 .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Topic | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Executive equity grants | None; KRO does not grant equity to executives under ISA model |
| Management ownership guidelines | None for management; stock ownership guidelines exist only for non-employee directors (≥3x base annual retainer) |
| Hedging/pledging | No formal hedging policy; insider trading policy applies to hedging transactions; pledging not disclosed |
| Insider equity overhang | Current directors and executive officers as a group (24 persons) held 144,283 KRO shares (<1% of 115,036,316 outstanding) as of record date |
| Control ownership | Harold C. Simmons Family Trust No. 2 and Lisa K. Simmons collectively 93,346,984 KRO shares (81.1%) via Valhi, NLKW, and Contran holdings |
Implication: Samford’s KRO-aligned equity exposure is not evident in filings; alignment primarily flows through her CFO roles at controlling affiliates and the ISA framework rather than direct KRO equity .
Employment Terms
| Clause | Details |
|---|---|
| Employment status | Contran employee providing services to KRO and affiliates (including CFO roles at Valhi, NL, CompX, Contran) |
| Agreement structure | Intercorporate Services Agreement (ISA) with Contran; fixed fee, quarterly renewal; 30 days’ notice prior to next quarter for termination |
| Severance / CoC | Not disclosed at KRO-level for Contran-employed executives; no individual employment agreements disclosed for Samford |
| Clawback / gross-ups | Not disclosed for executives; Contran absorbs Section 162(m) disallowance impacts |
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback
- 2024 say-on-pay received 87.3% approval; KRO did not make material changes to compensation practices following the vote .
- Next say-on-pay after 2025 annual meeting will be at the 2026 annual meeting; frequency vote next due at 2029 annual meeting .
Investment Implications
- Compensation alignment: Absence of equity grants and performance-based metrics at KRO reduces direct alignment of executive pay with KRO TSR/financial outcomes; ISA charges are cost-based and time-allocation driven, not performance-contingent .
- Insider selling pressure: With no executive equity awards at KRO and minimal disclosed insider share ownership (<1% group total), near-term selling pressure attributable to executive vesting/option exercises appears limited .
- Retention risk: Samford’s multiple concurrent CFO roles across controlling affiliates (Valhi, NL, CompX, Contran) suggest strong group-level retention and influence; ISA quarterly renewal adds operational flexibility but is routinely continued, indicating stable arrangements .
- Governance and control: The controlled-company structure (Family Trust and Lisa K. Simmons at 81.1% via affiliates) centralizes decision-making; related-party transactions (e.g., risk program, tax sharing, ISA fees, and a subordinated term loan) are overseen by the audit committee, but the ecosystem’s interdependencies merit continued monitoring for minority shareholder alignment .
- Performance context: Pay-Versus-Performance shows net income volatility (loss in 2023; profit in 2024) and modest TSR from the 2019 base; given compensation is not performance-linked, investors should focus on operational drivers and pricing cycles in TiO2 rather than expecting incentive-driven capital allocation changes from KRO executives .