Ashley Goldsmith
About Ashley D. Goldsmith
Ashley D. Goldsmith (Age: 52) is Chief People Officer of Workday, Inc. (since 2013) and has served on Kontoor Brands’ Board since February 2022. She currently chairs the Talent and Compensation Committee and serves on the Nominating and Governance Committee, bringing deep human capital and ESG “social” expertise; prior roles include CHRO at Polycom, SVP HR/Comms/EHS at Ventana Medical Systems (Roche), and HR leadership at The Home Depot; degrees include a BA (Vanderbilt), MHRD (Georgia State), and MBA (Kellogg/Northwestern) . The Board deems her an independent director under NYSE and company standards, noting her Workday executive role and that KTB paid Workday ~$1.82 million in fiscal 2024 (≈0.02% of Workday’s revenue), with transactions at arm’s length and below independence thresholds .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polycom, Inc. | EVP & Chief Human Resources Officer | Three years prior to 2013; led through high growth | Human capital leadership during expansion |
| Ventana Medical Systems (Roche) | SVP, HR, Corporate Communications, EHS | Three years before Polycom | Cross-functional people, communications, and EHS oversight |
| The Home Depot, Inc. | Multiple HR leadership roles; most recently VP HR, Northern Division | 1995–2007 | Large-scale retail HR leadership |
| Great-West Life & Annuity | Early career | Not specified | Early foundational HR experience |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workday, Inc. | Chief People Officer | 2013–Present | Current executive role; Workday is a supplier to KTB |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments:
- Talent & Compensation Committee: Chair; 7 meetings held in 2024; retained CAP and then FW Cook as independent compensation consultants; scope includes CEO/NEO pay, director pay, clawback policy oversight, succession planning (non-CEO), and CD&A review/report .
- Nominating & Governance Committee: Member; 4 meetings in 2024; scope includes board composition, ESG oversight, governance updates, and CEO emergency/retirement succession recommendations .
- Independence: Determined independent; Workday relationship reviewed with payments of ~$1.82 million in 2024 (≈0.02% of Workday revenue); arm’s-length and below categorical thresholds (greater of $1 million or 2% of counterparty’s revenue) .
- Attendance: Board held 5 meetings in 2024; each director attended >85% of Board and committee meetings on which they served; all eight directors attended the 2024 annual meeting .
- Board structure context: 7 of 8 directors are independent; independent directors meet in executive session at least four times per year; robust governance guidelines and share ownership requirements in place .
Fixed Compensation (Non-Employee Director – 2024)
| Component | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Cash Retainer | $85,000 | Paid quarterly; standard for all non-employee directors |
| Committee Chair Fee (Talent & Compensation) | $25,000 | Chair fee level per program |
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash (reported) | $110,000 | Reported total cash compensation for Goldsmith in 2024 |
Performance Compensation (Director Equity – 2024)
| Element | Detail | Quantification |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Equity Retainer | RSUs granted April 1, 2024; fully vested at grant; earn dividend equivalents; settle in shares one year later (April 1, 2025) | 2,652 RSUs; grant-date fair value $160,000; $60.34 per RSU |
| Options | None | No non-employee director holds stock options as of Dec 28, 2024 |
| Performance metrics | None disclosed for director equity; grants are time-based and fully vested at grant | Not applicable |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Other public company board seats (current) | None disclosed for Goldsmith in KTB’s 2025 proxy . |
| Interlocks/Relationships | Executive at Workday, a KTB supplier; KTB paid Workday ~$1.82 million in FY2024 (≈0.02% of Workday’s revenue); Board determined independence and arm’s-length terms . |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Human capital leadership across large public companies and scaling organizations; ESG “social” expertise highlighted as board-relevant .
- Education: BA (Vanderbilt), MHRD (Georgia State), MBA (Kellogg, Northwestern) .
- Committee leadership experience in executive compensation and governance (Chair, Talent & Compensation; Member, Nominating & Governance) .
Equity Ownership
| Item | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (as of Feb 13, 2025) | 9,874 shares; <1% of class | Based on 55,322,973 shares outstanding |
| Director stock awards/phantom shares held (as of Dec 28, 2024) | 5,254 units | Includes RSUs and phantom shares under director deferred plan |
| Options held | 0 | None for non-employee directors |
| Director ownership guideline | 5x annual cash retainer | Program requirement |
| Compliance with guideline | Exceeds target | Goldsmith exceeds the director stock ownership target |
| Pledging/hedging policy | Prohibited for directors | No pledging or derivatives allowed |
Governance Assessment
- Independence with supplier tie: While Workday is a vendor to KTB, the payment magnitude (~$1.82 million; ≈0.02% of Workday revenue) and arm’s-length nature kept the relationship below independence thresholds; the Board affirmatively determined independence, mitigating conflict concerns .
- Engagement and effectiveness: Goldsmith chaired a highly active Talent & Compensation Committee (7 meetings) that uses independent consultants (CAP, then FW Cook), oversees clawback policies, director pay, and CD&A; she also serves on Nominating & Governance (4 meetings). Board-wide attendance was >85%, supporting engagement .
- Alignment: Director pay mix skews toward equity ($160,000 RSUs vs $110,000 cash), with mandatory ownership guidelines (5x cash retainer) that Goldsmith exceeds, and prohibitions on pledging/hedging—supporting shareholder alignment .
- Compliance: No Section 16(a) delinquencies reported for Goldsmith; company noted two late Form 4s in 2024 for other insiders (CEO Baxter and COO Waldron) due to administrative error .
Overall signal: Goldsmith’s HR/ESG expertise, committee leadership, and ownership compliance are supportive of board effectiveness and investor confidence; the Workday supplier relationship was reviewed and deemed immaterial under independence standards .