Emily E. Pichon
About Emily E. Pichon
Emily E. Pichon, 61, has served on Lakeland Financial Corporation’s board since 2002 (23 years). She is Chairman of ETP Asset Holdings, Inc. (formerly ExTech Plastics Inc. & ETP Inc.), and President/officer/director of multiple Fort Wayne-based private charitable foundations; she is trained as an attorney. She is an independent director under Nasdaq rules and currently serves on the Compensation and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committees, with recent service as Chair of the Compensation Committee.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| ETP Asset Holdings, Inc. (formerly ExTech Plastics Inc. & ETP Inc.) | Chairman | Not disclosed | Corporate leadership; industry operating background |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Sector | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olive B. Cole Foundation, Inc. | President | Private charitable foundation | Focus on education, economic development and/or conservation in NE Indiana |
| M E Raker Foundation, Inc. | Officer and Director | Private charitable foundation | Governance role |
| Howard P. Arnold Foundation, Inc. | Officer and Director | Private charitable foundation | Governance role |
Board Governance
- Independence: Board determined all directors except the CEO and President are independent; Pichon is independent. Nine of eleven directors are independent.
- Committees: Compensation Committee (Chair during 2024; company anticipates chair to transition to A. Faraz Abbasi after 2025 annual meeting) and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee (member).
- Attendance/Engagement: Board met 6 times in 2024; all incumbent directors attended at least 75% of Board and applicable committee meetings; all current directors attended last year’s annual meeting. Compensation Committee met 2 times in 2024; Nominating & Corporate Governance met 2 times.
- Lead Independent Director and Executive Sessions: Blake W. Augsburger is Lead Independent Director; independent directors held two executive sessions in 2024.
- ESG Oversight: The Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee oversees ESG matters.
- Risk, Hedging/Pledging, Clawback: Robust insider trading policy prohibits hedging and restricts pledging without prior approval; enhanced clawback policy adopted Oct 2, 2023 per SEC/Nasdaq.
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Policy Amount | Pichon 2024 (Cash) | Pichon 2023 (Cash) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Director Retainer (cash) | $35,000 | — | — |
| Committee Chair Fee – Compensation | $10,000 | — | — |
| Total Fees Earned (Pichon) | — | $45,000 | $45,000 |
Notes:
- The 2024 cash fees of $45,000 are consistent with the $35,000 director retainer plus $10,000 Compensation Committee Chair fee.
- No separate compensation for service on the bank subsidiary board.
Performance Compensation
| Year | Equity Structure | Grant(s) | Shares | Grant-Date Reference Price(s) | Grant-Date Fair Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Fully vested stock awards to directors (1,300 shares total) | 650 shares in Jan; 650 shares in Jul | 1,300 | $63.03 (Jan 9, 2024) and $57.94 (Jul 9, 2024) | $78,631 (Pichon) |
| 2023 | Fully vested stock awards to directors (1,300 shares total) | 650 shares in Jan; 650 shares in Jul | 1,300 | $73.66 (Jan 10, 2023) and $48.01 (Jul 11, 2023) | $79,086 (Pichon) |
Additional points:
- Equity awards to directors are fully vested at grant; Company does not currently grant new stock options.
- Directors may defer fees; returns track LKFN stock; Pichon participates (see Equity Ownership).
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Current public company boards | None (no nominee/director other than Mr. Welch has served on another public company board in past five years) |
| Private/Non-profit boards | See External Roles table (multiple Indiana-based foundations) |
| Interlocks/Conflicts | No related-party transactions disclosed involving Pichon; related-party items in 2024/2025 involved other directors (lease with EOZ Business, LLC tied to Brian Smith; Centerfield Capital funds tied to A. Faraz Abbasi), with independence reaffirmed for those directors. |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Legal training; experience leading private foundations with regional economic development and conservation focus; prior leadership of an industrial company (ETP Asset Holdings, formerly ExTech Plastics).
- Governance/committee experience: Compensation Committee (Chair in 2024), Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee (member).
Equity Ownership
| As-of Date | Total Beneficial Ownership (shares) | Percent of Class | Notable Footnotes | Deferral Plan Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 18, 2025 | 19,759 | <0.5% (*) | Includes 10 shares held by husband (no voting/investment power) | 911 shares credited as of Feb 5, 2025 |
| Feb 20, 2024 | 18,432 | <0.5% (*) | Includes 10 shares held by husband (no voting/investment power) | 884 shares credited as of Feb 5, 2024 |
Additional alignment policies:
- Director stock ownership guideline: minimum 5,000 shares within five years; all non-employee directors were in compliance as of Dec 31, 2024.
- Hedging prohibited; pledging requires prior approval; no violations disclosed.
Governance Assessment
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Strengths and positive signals
- Independent, long-serving director with recent leadership as Compensation Committee Chair; committee oversees CEO and executive pay, director pay, equity plans, and conducts compensation risk assessments.
- High say-on-pay support improved to ~96% in 2024 from ~81% in 2023, indicating constructive investor feedback loop during her tenure as comp chair.
- Clear director pay structure and modest cash/equity mix; fully vested equity aligns directors with shareholders; ownership guidelines achieved.
- No related-party transactions disclosed for Pichon; Section 16 review in 2025 cited a delinquency for another director (Mr. Ross) but none for Pichon.
-
Watch items
- Tenure refreshment: Pichon has 23 years of service. The board enforces a mandatory retirement age (72) and shows active refresh (e.g., anticipated Compensation Committee chair rotation post-2025). Continued rotation and skill refreshment mitigate tenure risk.
- Committee cadence: Compensation Committee met twice in 2024, alongside significant actions (e.g., proposing the 2025 Equity Incentive Plan). Ongoing monitoring of meeting frequency versus workload is prudent.
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Overall: Pichon’s governance profile supports investor confidence—independence, pay oversight leadership with strong say-on-pay outcomes, compliance with ownership alignment policies, and no disclosed conflicts. Upcoming comp committee chair transition further evidences healthy governance processes.