Eve Yen
About Eve Yen
Eve Yen (age 69) is an independent director of Karat Packaging Inc. (KRT), serving since January 2019. She is the founder and CEO of Diamond Wipes International, Inc. (founded in 1994) and holds an M.S. in Management Information Systems from the New York Institute of Technology, bringing manufacturing expertise and operational perspective to KRT’s board .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond Wipes International, Inc. | Founder and CEO | 1994–present (founded 1994) | Brings perspective and experience as CEO/founder of a California-based manufacturer to KRT board |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 Mile Club® | Board member | Not disclosed | Grass-roots non-profit focused on healthy lifestyle through physical activity |
| Asian Pacific Community Fund (APCF) | Former board member | Not disclosed | Focused on supporting small organizations and minority community leaders |
Board Governance
- Independence: The Board determined that Eve Yen is independent for Audit, Compensation, and Nominating & Corporate Governance (N&CG) Committees under SEC and Nasdaq rules .
- Committee assignments and chair roles:
- Audit Committee: Member; Audit Chair is Paul Y. Chen (Audit Committee Financial Expert) .
- Compensation Committee: Chair; oversees officer and director compensation, clawback policies, goals/objectives, succession planning, and equity awards .
- N&CG Committee: Member; oversees board composition, independence, related-party transactions policy and reviews conflicts of interest .
- Board leadership and attendance:
- Combined CEO/Chair structure (Alan Yu) with Lead Independent Director (Paul Y. Chen) .
- 2024 board/committee activity: Board held 4 meetings (all directors ≥75% attendance and all attended 2024 Annual Meeting); Audit held 4 meetings; Compensation held 2 meetings; N&CG held 0 meetings with 2 actions by unanimous written consent .
- Shareholder engagement: 2025 re-election support for Eve Yen: 17,338,182 For; 83,794 Withheld; 820,674 broker non-votes .
Fixed Compensation
| Year | Fees Earned (Cash) | Stock Awards (Fair Value) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $37,500 | $56,440 | $93,940 |
| 2023 | $30,000 | — | $30,000 |
- Policy note: On Aug 7, 2023, per-meeting compensation for non-employee directors increased from $5,000 to $7,500 .
Performance Compensation
| Grant Date | Instrument | Shares/Units | Vesting Schedule | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 2024 | RSUs | 2,000 | 50% vests May 7, 2025; 50% vests May 7, 2026 | Annual director RSU grant |
| Performance Metric | Used in Director Comp? | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Financial/operational performance targets (e.g., revenue/EBITDA/TSR) | Not disclosed; director RSUs are time-based | Director RSU grant and vesting terms do not reference performance conditions |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company/Organization | Type | Role | Committee Positions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public company boards | Public | None disclosed | — | No other public directorships disclosed in KRT proxies |
| 100 Mile Club® | Non-profit | Board member | — | Community/non-profit role |
| APCF | Non-profit | Former board member | — | Community/non-profit role |
- Shared directorships/interlocks with KRT competitors/suppliers/customers: None disclosed in proxy materials .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Founder/CEO of a manufacturing company, providing supply chain and operations perspective aligned with KRT’s business .
- Graduate education in MIS, supporting technology/process orientation for governance oversight .
- Independent director with Compensation Committee chair experience and Audit/N&CG membership .
Equity Ownership
| As-of Date | Shares Beneficially Owned | Ownership % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 2025 | 12,000 | <1% | Includes RSUs/options vesting within 60 days per SEC rules |
| Apr 22, 2024 | 7,667 | <1% | Includes RSUs/options vesting within 60 days per SEC rules |
- Ownership concentration context: Directors/executives as a group (7) controlled ~66.2% of outstanding shares as of Apr 21, 2025 .
Insider Trades (Form 4)
| Filing Date | Transaction Date | Type | Security | Shares | Price | Post-Transaction Holdings | SEC Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-15 | 2025-05-07 | M-Exempt; Acquisition (A) | Common Stock | 1,000 | $0.00 | 7,000 | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1758021/000121390025044538/0001213900-25-044538-index.htm |
| 2025-05-15 | 2025-05-07 | M-Exempt; Disposition (D) | Restricted Stock Units | 1,000 | $0.00 | 1,000 | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1758021/000121390025044538/0001213900-25-044538-index.htm |
| 2025-04-24 | 2024-05-16 | M-Exempt; Acquisition (A) | Common Stock | 5,000 | $18.80 | 6,000 | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1758021/000121390025035083/0001213900-25-035083-index.htm |
| 2024-05-09 | 2024-05-07 | A-Award; Acquisition (A) | Restricted Stock Units | 2,000 | $0.00 | 2,000 | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1758021/000121390024041377/0001213900-24-041377-index.htm |
- Section 16 compliance note: Proxy states that Eve Yen (and two other directors) filed one late Form 4 transaction for 2024 .
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback
| Year | Proposal | Votes For | Votes Against | Abstentions | Broker Non-Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Director Election – Eve Yen | 17,338,182 | 83,794 | — | 820,674 |
| 2025 | Say-on-Pay | 16,925,755 | 485,849 | 10,372 | 820,674 |
| 2024 | Director Election – Eve Yen | 15,356,922 | 2,009,147 | — | 748,560 |
| 2024 | Say-on-Pay | 16,989,274 | 367,006 | 9,789 | 748,560 |
Related Party Transactions (Conflict Risk Context)
- Material related-party transactions with Keary Global/Keary International (owned/controlled by Jeff Yu, brother of CEO Alan Yu): purchases of $35.109M (2024) and $39.595M (2023); accounts payable $3.130M (2024) and $5.306M (2023). Also, sale of Bio Earth JV stake to Keary Global for ~$6.1M in 2023. N&CG Committee oversees related-person transactions policy .
Governance Assessment
-
Strengths:
- Independent status and service on all key committees; chairs Compensation Committee, indicating central role in pay oversight .
- Strong shareholder support for re-election in 2025 and 2024, signaling investor confidence .
- Presence of Lead Independent Director and formal charters; Audit Committee oversight includes cybersecurity risk .
- Clawback policy in place per SEC/Nasdaq rules (officer incentive comp) .
-
Risks and RED FLAGS:
- Combined CEO/Chair structure reduces independent board leadership influence .
- High insider ownership (~66.2%) may limit minority shareholder leverage and dilute independent director influence .
- Related-party exposure with entities controlled by CEO’s brother; requires continued rigorous committee oversight .
- One late Section 16(a) filing by Eve Yen (administrative compliance lapse) .
-
Alignment signals:
- Director equity via RSUs with multi-year vesting provides some alignment; however, no disclosed performance conditions for director equity (time-based) .
- Cash compensation is modest and meeting-based; increased per-meeting fee in 2023 reflects updated director compensation policy .