Jeffrey Ford
LIVEPERSONAbout Jeffrey Ford
Jeffrey Ford, 46, served as LivePerson’s Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) and Senior Vice President of Finance from August 2023 through Q3 2025, overseeing FP&A, treasury, billing/collections, corporate and international accounting, M&A, tax, technical accounting, SEC reporting, procurement, payroll, equity administration, and business systems; he provided notice on September 10, 2025 of his voluntary departure after the quarter ending September 30, 2025 to assume another position, with no disagreements noted regarding the Company’s policies or practices . He is a CPA with a B.S. in Accounting and B.A. in Business Administration and Economics (University of Redlands) and completed the Stanford Executive Program (GSB), having held senior finance and accounting roles at CrowdStrike and Stripe, and previously spent 20 years at KPMG, including partner and National Office roles . Company performance backdrop during his tenure shows revenues of $514.8M in FY2022, $402.0M in FY2023, and $312.5M in FY2024, with EBITDA losses improving from -$147.5M (FY2022) to -$31.7M (FY2023) and -$21.8M (FY2024)* .
Company performance context
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($USD) | $514.8M | $402.0M | $312.5M |
| EBITDA ($USD) | -$147.5M* | -$31.7M* | -$21.8M* |
| * Values retrieved from S&P Global. |
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| KPMG LLP | Partner; National Office (Department of Professional Practice) | 20 years | Led audit/technical accounting leadership; elevated accounting policy rigor |
| Stripe, Inc. | Senior finance & accounting roles | Not disclosed | Optimized finance and accounting operations |
| CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. | Senior finance & accounting roles | Not disclosed | Drove innovation and scaling in finance |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative Family Services | Board Member and Audit Committee Chair | Not disclosed | Governance and financial oversight at a non-profit |
Fixed Compensation
Not disclosed. As a smaller reporting company, LivePerson’s proxy provides detailed compensation disclosure only for the CEO and the next two most highly compensated executive officers at year-end, which did not include the CAO .
Performance Compensation
Company annual incentive plan mechanics and outcomes (FY2024) applicable to NEOs and indicative of executive plan design:
| Metric | Weighting | Threshold | Target | Maximum | Actual | Payout % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B2B Recurring Monthly Revenue ($M) | 30% | 296 | 307 | 320 | 289 | — |
| B2B New Annual Recurring Revenue ($M) | 30% | (31) | (23) | 8 | (55) | — |
| B2B Free Cash Flow ($M) | 40% | (6) | 2 | 10 | 3 | 100% |
| Companywide payout vs target | — | — | — | — | — | 30% |
| Notes: |
- Definitions: Adjusted EBITDA less capitalized software and other capital purchases for FCF; Adjusted EBITDA excludes taxes, net interest, other income/expense, D&A, SBC, restructuring, transaction costs, earn-out adjustments, and other non-cash charges .
- The Compensation Committee did not adjust bonuses for individual performance; payouts tracked formulaic results .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Executive stock ownership guidelines | CEO: 5x salary; Other NEOs: 2x salary; Directors: 5x annual cash retainer; 5-year compliance window from April 2022; hold-all-net-shares if below guideline until met |
| Hedging/shorting/options/pledging | Hedging, short sales, and LivePerson-based options trades restricted; margining/pledging of Company stock prohibited (no new pledges) |
| Beneficial ownership (Ford) | Not individually disclosed in Ownership of Securities tables in 2025 proxy |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Role and start date | CAO & SVP Finance since August 2023 |
| Responsibilities | FP&A, treasury, billing/collections, corporate & international accounting, M&A, tax, technical accounting, SEC reporting, procurement, payroll, equity admin, business systems |
| Departure | Notice given Sept 10, 2025; voluntary departure post Q3 2025 to assume another role; no disagreements with the Company’s policies/practices |
| Clawback | Omnibus clawback policy effective Oct 2, 2023 per Rule 10D-1/Nasdaq; recovers erroneously awarded incentive comp for 3 fiscal years preceding an accounting restatement |
| Ownership, hedging/pledging policy | Formal guidelines and prohibition on hedging/shorting/margining/pledging, supporting alignment and risk controls |
Investment Implications
- Retention risk: Ford’s planned post-Q3 2025 departure creates near-term transition risk in accounting leadership; CFO/COO will assume principal accounting officer duties, partially mitigating continuity concerns .
- Alignment safeguards: Executive stock ownership guidelines and prohibitions on hedging/pledging/margining reduce misalignment and collateral-driven selling pressure; clawback policy adds accountability on financial-reporting-linked incentives .
- Pay-for-performance framework: Company incentives keyed to FCF, recurring revenue, and new ARR create discipline around cash generation and durable topline quality; FY2024 outcomes yielded a 30% payout, evidencing downside sensitivity when growth metrics miss .
- Performance backdrop: Revenues declined and EBITDA losses narrowed over FY2022–FY2024, indicating restructuring and cash discipline during Ford’s tenure; accounting leadership remains pivotal to sustaining improvement trajectories* .
Citations:
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