Deana La Rosa
About Deana La Rosa
Deana La Rosa is Chief Operating Officer of La Rosa Holdings Corp. (appointed February 2024), age 54, with 30+ years in finance and real estate and prior leadership across mortgage origination and operations; she studied business management and accounting at Adelphi University and holds a certification in equities and bond market trading from the NY Institute of Finance . She joined LRHC as Director of Operations in September 2023 and is the spouse of CEO/Chairman Joseph La Rosa . Company-level TSR, revenue growth, or EBITDA growth tied specifically to her tenure are not disclosed in the proxy.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lighthouse Mortgage Solutions | Chief Executive Officer | Jun 2022–Aug 2023 | Led mortgage operations; coaching loan officers and realtors to top-tier performance |
| Union Home Mortgage Corp. | Management roles | Jan 2019–Jun 2022 | Managed teams; drove production performance |
| The Federal Savings Bank | Senior Vice President | Jul 2015–Jan 2019 | Led teams to top producer status |
| LRHC | Director of Operations | Sep 2023–Jan 2024 | Operational leadership prior to COO appointment |
External Roles
No public company directorships or external board roles are disclosed for Ms. La Rosa in the proxy .
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | 62,500 | 250,000 |
| Target Bonus (%) | — | Up to 50% of salary |
| Actual Bonus Paid ($) | — | — |
| Stock Awards ($) | — | — |
| Option Awards ($) | — | 399,000 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | — | — |
| Total Compensation ($) | 62,500 | 649,000 |
Notes:
- Target bonus up to 50% of salary is established in her employment agreement; the proxy does not detail specific performance metrics beyond “individual and corporate objectives” set by the Board/Compensation Committee .
- No cash bonus was paid for FY2024 per the Summary Compensation Table .
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Type | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Cash Bonus | Individual and corporate objectives | Up to 50% of salary | Up to $125,000 (50% of $250,000) | $0 in FY2024 | $0 | Cash at year-end if approved |
| Stock Options (NQSO) | Equity award | — | 3,750 options @ $138.66 strike; grant date Feb 1, 2024 | Granted | Grant-date fair value $399,000 | Vested immediately; 10-year term to 2/1/2034 |
- The proxy does not disclose quantified revenue/EBITDA/TSR metrics, weightings, or actuals tied to Ms. La Rosa’s bonus beyond the general framework .
- Option grant detail around SEC timing and fair value is provided in the equity grant timing table .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total Beneficial Ownership | 23,761 shares (includes 20,011 common shares granted Aug 11, 2025 and 3,750 options exercisable within 60 days) |
| Ownership as % of Outstanding | 1.94% (based on 1,225,046 shares outstanding at record date) |
| Vested vs Unvested | Options fully vested; no unvested RSUs disclosed for Ms. La Rosa at FY2024 year-end |
| Options – Exercisable | 3,750 options at $138.66 strike, expiring 2/1/2034 |
| Options – Unexercisable | None disclosed |
| In-the-money Value | Not disclosed |
| Shares Pledged as Collateral | Prohibited by insider trading policy (no pledging/margin accounts/hedging) |
| Ownership Guidelines | Not disclosed |
| Compliance with Guidelines | Not disclosed |
Employment Terms
| Term | Provision |
|---|---|
| Role and Start | COO, effective Feb 1, 2024; Director of Operations from Sep 2023 |
| Agreement Term | Initial one-year term; auto-renews for successive one-year periods unless either party gives ≥45 days’ notice not to extend |
| Base Salary | $250,000 per year |
| Target Bonus | Up to 50% of salary; objectives set by Board/Comp Committee; must be employed on Dec 31 to be eligible |
| Equity Awards | Non-qualified stock option to purchase 3,750 shares at $138.66; immediately vested; 10-year term; additional equity at Comp Committee discretion |
| Severance (No Cause / Good Reason) | Salary continuation for six months, plus lump-sum payment of all “Accrued Obligations” |
| Other Termination | If terminated for reasons other than without cause/good reason, entitled to accrued/unpaid salary, reimbursed expenses, approved but unpaid bonus, and benefits per plan terms |
| Non-Compete | Not disclosed for Ms. La Rosa (non-compete is disclosed for CEO; Ms. La Rosa’s section lists non-solicit and non-disparagement) |
| Non-Solicit | During employment and for two years thereafter |
| Non-Disparagement | Yes |
| Clawback | Company-wide clawback policy adopted Nov 29, 2023 to recoup erroneously awarded incentive compensation upon accounting restatement (10D-1 compliant) |
| Change-of-Control Economics | Plan-level provision: upon certain change-in-control events, outstanding options become immediately exercisable and restricted stock vests/performance shares paid; Ms. La Rosa’s 3,750 options are already vested |
Compensation Structure vs Performance Metrics
- Pay mix shifted from cash-only in 2023 to equity-heavy in 2024: $399k option grant with immediate vesting versus no equity in 2023, while base rose from $62.5k to $250k . Performance metrics for bonus are qualitative (“individual and corporate objectives”) without disclosed weights/targets; no FY2024 bonus payout .
- Plan-level allows option repricing and cancellations/exchanges, a governance risk factor if used imprudently; use not specifically tied to Ms. La Rosa’s awards in the proxy .
Vesting Schedules and Insider Selling Pressure
- 3,750 NQSO vested immediately at grant (Feb 1, 2024) and are exercisable for 10 years; strike $138.66, expiration Feb 1, 2034 .
- A grant of 20,011 common shares on Aug 11, 2025 is disclosed in ownership footnotes; vesting terms are not specified in the proxy .
Related Party and Governance Considerations
- Ms. La Rosa is the spouse of the CEO/Chairman, and the company is a controlled company due to CEO’s voting power (Series X Super Voting Preferred) . Her employment agreement and equity grant are disclosed as related party transactions .
- Insider trading policy prohibits pledging and hedging, reducing alignment risks from collateralization or derivatives .
- Section 16 compliance: Ms. La Rosa filed certain Form 4s late in 2024/2025, as did Joseph La Rosa for an Aug 21, 2024 transaction (late in Feb 2025), a governance process flag .
Equity Ownership & Alignment Table (Detail)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Beneficial Shares (incl. exercisable options within 60 days) | 23,761 |
| Percent of Common Outstanding | 1.94% |
| Components | 20,011 common shares granted Aug 11, 2025 ; 3,750 options (exercisable) |
| Pledging/Hedging | Prohibited by policy |
Performance & Track Record
- The proxy provides career accomplishments in mortgage operations and coaching to top-tier performance but does not provide LRHC financial performance metrics (TSR, revenue or EBITDA growth) specifically attributable to Ms. La Rosa’s tenure .
Compensation Committee and Peer Group; Say-on-Pay
- Compensation Committee chaired by independent director Siamack Alavi; uses “market standard metrics” at its discretion but peer group composition and target percentile are not disclosed in the proxy .
- Historical say-on-pay approval percentages and shareholder feedback are not disclosed in the proxy.
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Immediate vesting of her 2024 option and 20,011-share grant in 2025 meaningfully increases equity exposure; pledging/hedging prohibitions support investor alignment . Ownership at ~1.94% is sizable for an operating executive at LRHC’s share count, aligning interests with shareholders .
- Retention: Contract auto-renewal with six months’ salary severance offers moderate retention; absence of explicit change-of-control cash protections (beyond plan-level equity acceleration) reduces golden parachute risk .
- Governance risk: Spousal relationship in a controlled company and late Section 16 filings introduce governance/process risk; plan permits option repricing, which can be shareholder-unfriendly if utilized .
- Pay-for-performance: No FY2024 cash bonus despite eligibility suggests compensation leaned toward equity rather than near-term cash; lack of disclosed quantitative performance metrics limits visibility into pay-for-performance rigor .