Alexi Zawadzki
About Alexi Zawadzki
Alexi Zawadzki is Vice President, Resource Development at Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC), age 53, serving in this role since the October 2023 separation; previously he was President of North American Operations at “Old LAC” (Aug 2017–Oct 2023) and CEO of Lithium Nevada Corp. He trained as a hydrologist and holds a Master’s degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, with 20+ years developing mining and energy projects including founding a public renewable energy company that built two hydroelectric facilities . Company performance milestones relevant to his operating remit include the $2.26B DOE loan close (Oct 2024), GM’s JV investment and FID for Phase 1 (Apr 1, 2025), and a 2024 corporate scorecard outcome of 128%, driven by HSE/ESG, financing/JV execution, and project advancement .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lithium Americas (Old LAC) | President, North American Operations | Aug 2017–Oct 2023 | Led North American operations; progressed Thacker Pass towards construction readiness |
| Lithium Nevada Corp. | Chief Executive Officer | n/a | Executive leadership at project-level operating company |
| International Engineering Consultancy | Various roles | ~10 years | Technical/project development experience in mining/energy |
| Public Renewable Energy Company (founder) | Founder/Executive | 2007 | Constructed and operated two hydroelectric facilities |
External Roles
No public company directorships disclosed for Zawadzki in LAC’s filings .
Fixed Compensation
Zawadzki is not a Named Executive Officer (NEO) for 2024; detailed salary/bonus figures are not disclosed. LAC’s executive pay program targets market-median base salary with annual STI and three-year LTI awards, benchmarked by CAP; executives have significant at-risk pay through STI/LTI and are subject to stock ownership requirements .
Performance Compensation
LAC’s incentive architecture applicable to executives includes:
- STI: Base × STI Target % × (Corporate score + Individual score by weight); paid ~50% cash and ~50% RSUs; min/max 0–200% of target .
- LTI mix: 50% RSUs vesting 1/3 annually over 3 years; 50% PSUs cliff vest after 3 years, based on relative TSR vs a peer group with linear interpolation and 0–2.0x payout .
2024 corporate scorecard (drives STI for executives; CEO/Executive Chair at 100% corporate weight):
| Metric Category | Weight | Target Themes | Actual Performance (Corporate Score) |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSE & ESG | 20% | Safety, environment, governance & reporting | TRIF 0.722, zero reportable environmental incidents; comprehensive ESG report; strong governance; score 38% |
| Corporate Strategy | 50% | Financing & DOE Loan | Closed $2.26B DOE Loan; executed GM JV and offtake structure; equity avoided via JV; score 43% |
| Project Execution | 30% | Engineering/Permitting | Prepared for major construction; advanced detailed engineering to ~50%; permitting progress; score 48% |
PSU payout curve (three equal-weight periods; linear interpolation):
| LAC TSR Percentile vs Peers | Performance Multiplier |
|---|---|
| <25th | 0.0x |
| 25th | 0.5x |
| 50th | 1.0x |
| ≥75th | 2.0x |
Program controls:
- Clawback: Incentive Compensation Recovery Policy for restatements or misconduct with material adverse effect .
- No repricing of options/equity awards; LAC generally grants RSUs/PSUs (not options) .
- Securities Trading Policy: Preclearance required; blackout periods used; hedging, shorting, and pledging prohibited .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Ownership Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership | 436,108 Common Shares; <1% of outstanding |
| Near-term vesting/exercisable | Includes 62,305 shares underlying RSUs exercisable within 60 days of Apr 15, 2025 |
| Stock ownership guidelines | Executives must hold Common Shares equal to 5× base salary within 5 years of appointment (CEO 5×; directors 5× retainer) |
| Hedging/pledging | Prohibited for directors, executive officers, employees, and consultants |
| Instruments in plan | RSUs and PSUs used; options generally not granted under executive program |
Notes: The April 15, 2025 record date had 218,686,462 shares outstanding; LAC presents officers’ holdings and instruments exercisable within 60 days; compliance vs. ownership guidelines for individual executives is not disclosed .
Employment Terms
Executive employment agreement terms (base, severance, change-of-control triggers) are disclosed for NEOs only (CEO, Executive Chair, EVP Capital Projects, former CFO). No individual employment agreement economics are disclosed for Zawadzki .
Investment Implications
- Alignment and retention: Zawadzki’s meaningful share ownership (436K shares) plus RSUs exercisable within 60 days signals skin-in-the-game; LAC’s 5× salary ownership guideline and three-year LTI vesting support long-dated alignment and retention .
- Selling pressure: Near-term RSU vest/exercise (62,305) could create incremental liquidity events, but insider preclearance, blackout periods, and hedging/pledging prohibitions mitigate opportunistic selling risk; executives remain exposed to TSR outcomes via PSUs .
- Pay-for-performance levers: Executive STI/LTI ties to HSE/ESG, financing/JV execution, and project milestones with PSU payouts keyed to relative TSR reduce the likelihood of discretionary windfalls and emphasize externally benchmarked value creation .
- Data limitations: As a non-NEO, detailed cash/equity grant amounts, severance, and change-of-control terms for Zawadzki are not disclosed; monitoring future proxies and Form 4 filings is warranted to track grants, vesting, and dispositions .