Marvin Cheng
About Marvin Cheng
Marvin Cheng is the co-founder of Karat Packaging (KRT) in 2000 and serves as Vice President – Manufacturing and Secretary; he holds a B.S. in Business from California State University, Los Angeles and is one of KRT’s two largest stockholders . He is age 56 per the latest proxy . Company performance over the last three fiscal years shows revenues of $422.6M in FY 2024 vs $405.7M in FY 2023 and $423.0M in FY 2022, with net income of $30.0M in FY 2024 vs $32.5M in FY 2023 and $23.6M in FY 2022 .
Past Roles
- Not disclosed in SEC filings for Mr. Cheng beyond his continuous service since co-founding the company in 2000 .
External Roles
- Not disclosed in SEC filings; the employment agreement includes an attachment on permitted boards but does not list specific external roles in the publicly accessible excerpts .
Fixed Compensation
| Year | Base Salary ($) | All Other Compensation ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 240,000 | — | Employment arrangements contemplated $240,000 base in 2021 |
| 2020 | 204,000 | 19,469 | Car allowance included in “All Other Compensation” |
In the 2025 proxy, named executive officers listed for 2024/2023 are Alan Yu, Jian Guo, and Daniel Quire; Mr. Cheng is not included in the Summary Compensation Table for those years, implying he was not a NEO in 2024/2023 .
Performance Compensation
- No equity grants or option awards are shown for Mr. Cheng in the 2021 “Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End” table (entries for him are blank) .
- The 2025 proxy’s outstanding equity awards table covers Alan Yu, Jian Guo, and Daniel Quire; Mr. Cheng is not included, indicating no currently disclosed outstanding awards for him as of FY 2024 year-end .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| As-of Date | Shares Beneficially Owned | Ownership % of Outstanding |
|---|---|---|
| April 14, 2022 | 6,793,447 | 34.3% |
| April 22, 2024 | 6,119,772 | 30.6% |
| April 21, 2025 | 6,119,772 | 30.5% |
- Beneficial ownership tables explicitly state, “to our knowledge, there is no arrangement, including any pledge by any person of our securities … that may result in a change in control,” indicating no pledging of Mr. Cheng’s shares is known to the company .
- No options/RSUs are shown as outstanding for Mr. Cheng in the 2021 equity awards table; exercisable vs. unexercisable options breakdown is not applicable for him based on that disclosure .
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Agreement Execution | Employment Agreement dated April 19, 2021 (effective upon IPO closing) |
| Employment Type | At-will; agreements provide standard base salary and plan eligibility |
| Severance | In case of termination for cause or without good reason, no severance or termination payments; only accrued amounts/benefits per policy |
| Change-of-Control | Not specifically disclosed in accessible excerpts for Mr. Cheng; no single/double trigger terms referenced |
| Clawback | Company adopted a clawback policy per SEC/Nasdaq rules; requires repayment of certain incentive compensation upon restatement |
| Indemnification | Form of indemnification agreement filed; applies to executive officers/directors |
| Non-Compete/Non-Solicit | Not specified; agreement includes “no conflicts” representation by Mr. Cheng regarding prior covenants |
Performance & Track Record
Annual fundamentals:
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($USD) | 422,957,000 | 405,651,000 | 422,633,000 |
| EBITDA ($USD) | 40,388,000* | 55,384,000* | 51,188,000* |
| Net Income ($USD) | 23,648,000 | 32,470,000 | 29,975,000 |
| EBITDA Margin (%) | 9.55%* | 13.65%* | 12.11%* |
Quarterly fundamentals (most recent four quarters; oldest → newest):
| Metric | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($USD) | 101,649,000 | 103,624,000 | 123,986,000 | 124,516,000 |
| EBITDA ($USD) | 10,249,000* | 10,491,000* | 18,945,000* | 10,936,000* |
| Net Income ($USD) | 5,615,000 | 6,409,000 | 10,934,000 | 7,325,000 |
| EBITDA Margin (%) | 10.08%* | 10.12%* | 15.28%* | 8.78%* |
- Values retrieved from S&P Global.
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Mr. Cheng’s ~30–35% beneficial ownership over recent years reflects very high “skin in the game,” aligning incentives with long-term shareholder value . The company indicates no pledging arrangements, reducing forced-selling and collateral risk .
- Pay-for-performance: Recent proxies do not list Mr. Cheng as a named executive officer for FY 2024/2023 (SCT covers Yu, Guo, Quire), limiting visibility into his current cash/equity mix; historical data shows primarily fixed cash compensation with no disclosed performance awards for him in 2021 .
- Retention and change-of-control: At-will employment with no severance and no disclosed change-of-control economics suggests retention is principally anchored by his large equity stake rather than contractual protections .
- Trading signals: Lack of disclosed RSU/option overhang specific to Mr. Cheng and no pledging reduce mechanical selling pressure; however, absence of current Form 4 analysis limits assessment of near-term insider activity. The company-wide clawback policy adds governance rigor to incentive payouts .
Overall, the combination of co-founder status, substantial ownership, and absence of pledging indicates strong alignment and low involuntary selling risk. Limited recent disclosure on Mr. Cheng’s incentive metrics and severance/CoC terms shifts the retention and execution signal toward his founding stake and operating role rather than formal incentive levers .