Kathleen Valiasek
President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Financial Officer at Local Bounti Corporation/DE
CEO
Executive
About Kathleen Valiasek
Kathleen Valiasek is President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Financial Officer of Local Bounti (LOCL). She has served as CFO since November 2021, was promoted to President in June 2024, and appointed CEO in March 2025; age 61; B.B.A., University of Massachusetts at Amherst . The company emphasizes equity-based pay (no companywide cash bonus plan) and adopted an SEC-compliant clawback and anti-hedging policy, aligning incentives to long-term performance and compliance .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Bounti | Chief Financial Officer | 2021–present (CFO since Nov 2021) | Led finance and capital raising; later assumed broader operating oversight as President and then CEO . |
| Local Bounti | President | Jun 2024–present | Expanded oversight of operations, innovation, commercial and marketing; focus on scaling and operational efficiency . |
| Local Bounti | Chief Executive Officer | Mar 2025–present | Transitioned from Executive Chairman/CEO leadership to consolidate execution under a single operator . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amyris, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMRS) | Chief Financial Officer; then Chief Business Officer | 2017–2019 (CFO); 2019–2021 (CBO) | Finance leadership and commercial/strategic roles at a public synthetic biology company . |
| Lenox Group, Inc. | Chief Executive Officer (founder) | 1994–2021 | Advised high-growth companies on M&A, debt/equity financings, IPOs; clients included Albertsons, CVS, Gap, Kaiser Permanente, SoftBank . |
Fixed Compensation
| Year | Base Salary ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 425,000 | CFO base prior to 2024 increase . |
| 2024 | 442,000 | 4% increase effective Jan 1, 2024 . |
| 2024 | 500,000 | Increased effective Jun 24, 2024 upon promotion to President . |
| 2024 (Total Salary Paid) | 472,351 | Summary Compensation Table; no annual cash bonus paid . |
| Bonus (2023–2024) | — | No bonus reported; company does not currently offer a cash bonus plan, relying heavily on equity awards . |
Performance Compensation
- Equity program: Company states it does not grant stock options or similar awards; equity compensation is primarily RSUs. SEC-compliant clawback policy recovers incentive pay after restatements (3-year lookback) . Anti-hedging policy prohibits hedging and short sales; pledging requires compliance approval .
| Grant Type | Grant Date | Shares/Units | Grant-Date Fair Value ($) | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSU (Annual) | Apr 25, 2024 | 91,363 | Included in 2024 total $558,089 stock awards | 1/3 on Feb 1, 2025; 1/3 on Feb 1, 2026; 1/3 on Feb 1, 2027 . |
| RSU (Promotion) | Jun 24, 2024 | 100,000 | Included in 2024 total $558,089 stock awards | 1/3 on Jun 24, 2024; 1/3 on Jun 24, 2025; 1/3 on Jun 24, 2026 . |
| Outstanding (prior awards) | Various 2021–2023 | 11,468; 24,357; 33,405; 12,821 | — | 2021 awards: 10% then 30% annually through 2025; 2023 award: 1/3 annually 2023–2025 . |
| Planned RSU (subject to share reserve increase) | 2025 proxy disclosure | 1,400,000 | — | Awarded under 2021 Plan Amendment after shareholder approval and Form S-8 filing; later Form 4 (6/13/2025) reported 1.4M RSUs granted . |
| 2024 Stock Awards (SCT) | Amount ($) |
|---|---|
| Stock Awards (RSUs) | 558,089 |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Hedging/Pledging: Hedging and short sales prohibited; pledging or margin requires compliance approval .
- Clawback: Covers incentive compensation on GAAP restatements, 3-year lookback regardless of fault .
- Ownership:
| As-of Date | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2024 | 197,321 | 2.3% | 2024 proxy baseline . |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 296,453 | 2.8% | Includes 24,289 RSUs expected to vest within 60 days; excludes planned 1.4M award pending plan amendment . |
| Aug 11, 2025 | 678,097 | 3.0% | Special meeting proxy ownership table . |
- Unvested RSUs at 12/31/2024 (market value using $2.07/share):
- 66,667 (6/24/2024 grant) – $138,001
- 91,363 (4/25/2024 grant) – $189,121
- 12,821 (1/1/2023 grant) – $26,539
- 33,405 (1/24/2022 grant) – $69,148
- 11,468 (11/19/2021 grant) – $23,739
- 24,357 (11/19/2021 grant) – $50,419
Insider Transactions and Selling Pressure
- Open-market buys (signal of alignment):
- Purchased 2,100 shares on 12/16/2024 at $1.9369; 300 shares on 12/17/2024 at $2.1967; 1,950 shares on 12/18/2024 at $1.8599 .
- RSU-related tax withholdings (administrative, not open-market selling):
- 9,783 shares withheld on 6/24/2024 (promotion RSU vest); 3,365 shares withheld on 5/1/2025; 84,517 withheld on 10/1/2025; indicates withholding for taxes upon RSU settlement, not discretionary sales .
- Large RSU award filed:
- 1,400,000 RSUs reported granted on 6/13/2025 (post-share reserve increase) .
Net: Activity is dominated by RSU grants/withholding; open-market purchases suggest confidence; no pattern of discretionary selling seen in 2024–2025 filings above.
Employment Terms
| Provision | Base Case (Non-CIC) | Change-in-Control (within 12 months) |
|---|---|---|
| Cash Severance | 6 months of base salary, paid over 6 months . | 1.5x base salary lump sum . |
| COBRA | 6 months reimbursement . | 18 months reimbursement . |
| Equity Vesting | Accelerates RSUs that would have vested over the 12 months following termination (if ≥12 months of service) . | All unvested outstanding equity awards accelerate (if ≥12 months of service) . |
| Restrictive Covenants | Confidentiality and IP assignment; non-compete and non-solicit during employment and 1 year post-termination . | |
| Clawback | Restatement-based recovery policy (3 years) . | |
| Hedging/Pledging | Hedging prohibited; pledging/margin requires approval . |
Performance Compensation (Metric Design and Weighting)
- The company’s equity plan allows performance awards with a wide array of possible metrics, but executive awards disclosed for Ms. Valiasek are time-based RSUs; no explicit annual cash bonus plan is in place and no option grants are used. No specific metric weightings or payouts were disclosed for 2024 for Ms. Valiasek beyond RSU vesting schedules .
Related Party Transactions (Risk Indicators)
- Residential lease with Spencer Properties I, LLC (owned by Ms. Valiasek and husband): $27,500 paid in 2023; lease terminated effective Oct 31, 2023 . No current ongoing related-party payments disclosed for 2024–2025.
Equity Plan and Share Reserve (Dilution/Retention Context)
- 2025 Proxy sought to increase 2021 Plan reserve by 2,473,042 shares; company emphasizes reliance on equity over cash bonuses for retention. Ms. Valiasek and Mr. Hurlbert were “awarded” 1.4M and 0.7M RSUs, respectively, conditional on shareholder approval and S-8 filing; later Form 4 shows 1.4M granted to Ms. Valiasek in June 2025 .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment: Heavy use of RSUs, clawback, and anti-hedging features support long-term alignment; absence of cash incentive plan reduces near-term pay-for-performance visibility but concentrates incentives in equity value accretion .
- Retention and overhang: The large 2025 RSU award (1.4M) and share reserve increase bolster retention but increase potential dilution; investors should monitor burn rate and future award pacing .
- Selling pressure: Recent insider activity is primarily RSU-related tax withholding, not discretionary selling; open-market purchases in Dec 2024 are a positive insider signal .
- Severance/CIC economics: Non-CIC severance is moderate (6 months); CIC protection at 1.5x salary plus full equity acceleration is standard-to-modest; restrictive covenants and clawback mitigate risk of value leakage .
- Governance/related-party: Prior small related-party lease (terminated 10/31/2023) lowers current conflict risk, but continued monitoring advisable .