Srikanth Padmanabhan
LEGGETT & PLATTAbout Srikanth Padmanabhan
Srikanth Padmanabhan, age 60, has served as an independent director of Leggett & Platt since 2018 and sits on the Audit and Nominating, Governance & Sustainability (NGS) Committees; he is designated an SEC “audit committee financial expert” . He was Executive Vice President & President, Operations at Cummins Inc. in 2024 and retired from that role effective April 4, 2025; his prior Cummins roles span engine operations, emissions solutions, and global leadership since 1991, with degrees from NIT Trichy (B.S. Mechanical Engineering) and Iowa State (Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering), plus Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cummins Inc. | EVP & President, Operations | 2024–Apr 4, 2025 | Led global operations across multi-billion-dollar industrial businesses |
| Cummins Inc. | President, Engine Business | 2016–2023 | P&L leadership of global engine segment |
| Cummins Inc. | Vice President—Engine Business | 2014–2016 | Senior leadership in core engine operations |
| Cummins Inc. | VP & GM, Emission Solutions | 2008–2014 | Managed emissions solutions unit |
| Cummins Inc. | Various roles | 1991–2008 | Progressive operating and technology leadership |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cummins Inc. | EVP & President, Operations | 2024–Apr 4, 2025 | Retired effective Apr 4, 2025 |
| Other public company boards | — | — | None; “Other Public Company Boards: 0” for Padmanabhan |
Board Governance
- Independence: The Board determined Mr. Padmanabhan is independent under NYSE standards .
- Committee assignments: Audit; Nominating, Governance & Sustainability (NGS); Audit financial expert designation .
- Attendance and engagement: Board met 7 times in 2024; Audit met 4; NGS met 5; all directors attended at least 75% of Board/committee meetings and the 2024 Annual Meeting .
- Overboarding: Company policy limits non-employee directors to ≤4 public boards; nominees were compliant; Padmanabhan shows 0 other public boards .
- Executive sessions: Independent directors held executive sessions at each quarterly Board meeting in 2024 .
Fixed Compensation
- Structure (annual retainers for non-management directors): Cash retainer $100,000; Audit chair $25,000, Audit member $10,000; HRC chair $20,000, HRC member $8,000; NGS chair $15,000, NGS member $7,000; Equity retainer $160,000; Lead Director +$30,000; Board Chair +$150,000 .
- 2024 director compensation (Padmanabhan-specific): Fees earned $117,000; Stock awards grant-date fair value $160,000; All other compensation $8,700; Total $285,700 .
- Deferral features: Directors may elect RSUs (deferred 2–10 years) with dividend equivalents accruing at a 20% discount; cash retainers can be deferred into stock units at a 20% discount or interest-bearing cash; options were an alternative through 2024, removed for 2025 .
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Cash Retainer | $100,000 | Standard director cash retainer |
| Committee Fees (member) | $10,000 (Audit); $7,000 (NGS) | Member retainers (Padmanabhan is Audit and NGS member) |
| Equity Retainer | $160,000 | Restricted stock or RSUs; vests day before the next Annual Meeting |
| 2024 Total (Padmanabhan) | $285,700 | $117,000 cash; $160,000 stock; $8,700 other comp |
Performance Compensation
- Directors are not on performance-based pay plans; equity is time-based (restricted stock/RSUs) with annual vesting aligned to the next Annual Meeting; RSU deferrals accrue dividend equivalents at a 20% discount but pay only upon vesting .
- No performance metrics (EBITDA/ROIC/TSR) apply to director compensation; those are executive-only plan metrics .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | No other public company boards; “0” shown for Padmanabhan |
- Related-party transactions: None disclosed involving Mr. Padmanabhan; the proxy lists related-person reviews and one employee relative to the CFO, not connected to Padmanabhan .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Deep operations, manufacturing, and technology expertise from 30+ years at Cummins across U.S., India, Mexico, U.K. .
- Audit committee financial literacy and “financial expert” designation .
- Education: B.S. Mechanical Engineering (NIT Trichy), Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering (Iowa State), Advanced Management Program (Harvard Business School) .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Common Stock | Stock Units (ESU/Deferred/RSUs) | Options Exercisable ≤60 Days | Total Beneficial Ownership | % of Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Srikanth Padmanabhan | 38,623 | 16,532 | — | 55,155 | <0.1% |
Unvested/vesting detail:
- Unvested restricted stock: 7,887 shares, vesting May 6, 2025 .
- Stock ownership guidelines: Directors must hold stock equal to 5x annual cash retainer within 5 years; as of Mar 5, 2025, Padmanabhan’s calculated ownership value was below threshold due to stock price decline, but he is compliant with retention requirements until threshold is met .
- Hedging/pledging prohibition: Directors and Section 16 officers are prohibited from hedging or pledging company securities .
Insider Trades
| Date | Type | Shares | Price/Value | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 5, 2024 | Open-market acquisition | 10,000 | $120,649 total |
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Independent director; Audit and NGS committee membership; designated audit financial expert; ≥75% meeting attendance; participation in independent director executive sessions; no other public boards (low overboarding risk) .
- Alignment: Mix of cash/equity with annual vesting; ability to defer compensation into stock units; direct share purchase in June 2024 signals alignment; director stock ownership guidelines enforced with retention rule; hedging/pledging prohibited .
- Watchpoints: Ownership guideline shortfall (price-driven) persists as of Mar 5, 2025—mitigated by retention requirements; no related-party issues identified; continued monitoring of attendance and committee workload advisable as board composition evolves .