Ronald Herring

About Ronald Herring

Ronald Herring (age 64) is an independent Class I director of Lakeland Industries (Lakeland Fire + Safety) serving since 2023, with his current term expiring at the 2026 annual meeting . He chairs the Board of Advisors at privately held C.N. Associates (radiation protection and remediation) and previously spent 30+ years at MSA Safety, including as Senior Vice President, President MSA International (2015–2017) and President, International (2011–2015), bringing deep safety-products and global operating expertise. The Board cites his safety-industry expertise and public-company executive experience as qualifications for service . The Board has affirmatively determined he is independent under NASDAQ/SEC standards .

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Independence and service: Independent director; Class I; director since 2023; term expires 2026 .
• Committee assignments: Audit Committee member (co-chairs are Glavin and Schlarbaum; both designated “audit committee financial experts”) . Herring is not the designated financial expert .
• Attendance: Board met 9x in FY ended Jan 31, 2025; Audit 5x; Compensation 7x; Nominating 5x. Each director attended at least 75% of Board/committee meetings during their service period .
• Annual meeting participation: All directors then in office attended the June 13, 2024 annual meeting .
• Executive sessions: Independent directors meet in executive session at least twice a year .
• Leadership structure: Combined CEO/Chair role held by CEO James Jenkins; Lead Independent Director is Thomas McAteer (appointed Aug 2023), who chairs independent director sessions .
• Risk oversight touchpoints: Audit Committee and Board oversee financial reporting/internal controls, and alongside the Technology Committee oversee cybersecurity program and contingency plans .

Committee Memberships (current)

Fixed Compensation

• Non-employee director pay policy (FY 2025): $70,000 annual cash retainer; $65,000 annual RSU grant; incremental retainers: $20,000 for lead independent director/Audit Chair; $7,500 for Compensation Committee Chair and each Audit Committee member; $6,000 Nominating Chair; $3,750 Compensation member; $3,000 Nominating member .
• Policy changes effective Feb 1, 2025: Annual director RSU grant raised to $75,000; lead independent director receives additional $85,000 cash retainer and an additional $30,000 in RSUs; one-time grant of 3,000 RSUs to Technology Committee members at the 2025 annual meeting (Herring is not on Technology Committee) .

Additional note: Following the June 13, 2024 annual meeting, each non-employee director received 2,842 time-based RSUs vesting on the first anniversary of grant, contingent on continued service .

Performance Compensation

• Structure for directors: Non-employee directors receive time-based RSUs; proxy discloses no performance-based equity or cash metrics for directors. The 2024 director grant vests after one year of continued service (time-based only) .
• Anti-risk features: Company-wide Clawback Policy adopted Nov 2023 applies to incentive awards; directors/officers are prohibited from hedging or pledging Lakeland securities .

No performance metrics apply to director compensation; RSUs are time-based for directors .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

• Related-party transactions: The company reports no related-party transactions in FY 2025 or FY 2024; oversight by Audit Committee under written policy .

Expertise & Qualifications

• Safety-products industry leadership; extensive international operating experience at MSA Safety; public-company executive background .
• Board explicitly cites his safety-industry expertise and public-company executive experience as qualifications for Board service .

Equity Ownership

• Beneficial ownership: 4,323 shares; less than 1% of shares outstanding (9,508,109 shares outstanding as of Mar 31, 2025; directors/officers table shows “<1%”) .
• Unvested equity: As of Jan 31, 2025, each non-employee director held 2,842 unvested RSUs (time-based) .
• Ownership guidelines: Directors must hold shares with fair market value ≥2x annual cash retainer; dispositions of shares from awards prohibited until guideline met; post-attainment dispositions limited to 50% of issued awards .
• Hedging/pledging: Prohibited for directors/officers/employees .

Governance Assessment

• Positive indicators:

  • Independence affirmed; Audit Committee membership supports financial oversight .
  • Attendance ≥75% for FY 2025 and attendance at 2024 annual meeting demonstrate engagement .
  • No related-party transactions reported; robust anti-hedging/pledging and ownership guidelines align director/shareholder interests .
  • Say-on-pay support: Stockholders approved NEO compensation on an advisory basis (For: 6,313,903; Against: 130,994; Abstain: 260,576), indicating broad shareholder support for compensation practices .
  • Auditor transition executed without disagreements; prior material weakness (FX translation at foreign subsidiary) remediated as of Jan 31, 2024—ongoing audit and cyber oversight by Audit/Technology Committees is appropriate; Herring’s Audit role is relevant .

• Watch items (contextual):

  • Combined CEO/Chair structure persists; mitigated by Lead Independent Director role and executive sessions of independents .
  • Audit Committee financial expert designation resides with co-chairs (not Herring); nonetheless, Herring contributes industry and international operating expertise .

Overall, Herring appears to strengthen board oversight through sector experience and Audit Committee service, with no disclosed conflicts, adequate attendance, and alignment policies that support investor confidence .